Instructions: Just how the hot dog got its name also is an urban legend.

Both Frankfurt and Coburg, Germany, as well as Vienna, Austria - its European name is Wien, hence wieners - claim to be the birthplace of the hot dog, around 1850. When German immigrants brought them to America in the late 1800s, they were called frankfurters, wieners and even dachshund sausages, after the long thin member of the dog family.

The story goes that they started being called hot dogs after newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan, on deadline at a baseball game at the old Polo Grounds in New York in 1901, hastily drew a picture of vendors who often called out

"get your red-hot dachshund sausages" during games. Not knowing how to spell dachshund, Dorgan shortened the caption to "get your hot dogs." However, historians note the cartoon has never been found, and others point to evidence that "hot dogs" was a popular phrase at Yale University in the 1890s.
Others believe that hot dogs predate the Germans, noting Homers allusion.

Some have traced them back to Babylon.

"All food history is written in Jell-O," Sebak said. "But its fun to speculate. To think that people in the Middle Ages werent wrapping sausages in bread is probably a little naive. And there were probably Roman hot dogs."
Around the country
What is known is that style and toppings are sacred.

New Yorkers and Chicagoans are the most fervent about their dogs, Riley said.

In New York and New England, kosher dogs are preferred, with steamed onions.

Chicagoans put more toppings on their dogs - eight or more - and they must come on a steamed poppy-seed bun with fresh onions. Chicago also is a mustard town.

Down South, redder and spicier dogs called "red hots" are the rage, and cole slaw is a popular topping.

In Texas, corn dogs are king. In Milwaukee, the bratwurst, a close but spicier sausage relative of the hot dog, rules.

"America is such a blend of peoples - and hot dogs are a reflection of that," concessionaire Chuck Banicki said.

Sebak saw the variations firsthand in his hot dog journey across the land. He ate hot dogs on the streets of Anchorage at the start of the Iditarod dog-sled race, went to the annual July 4 hot dog eating contest at New Yorks Coney Island, and had a half-pound hot dog - which some have dubbed the "baby arm" hot dog - at the Slots-A-Fun casino on the Las Vegas strip.

The Vegas hot dog, he said, wasnt stellar, but that wasnt the point.

"Its not great, but the scene is wonderful," Sebak said. "Its cool that they came up with this quirky idea. It works, because everyones a little goofy in Vegas."
Similarly, ballpark franks arent the best, but youre biting into something more than meat.

"Hot dogs taste better at a baseball game because you are not just tasting the hot dog and the bun, you are tasting the ballpark and an American tradition," he said.

For the record, the best hot dog Sebak had was at the Super Duper Weenie stand in Fairfield, Conn. Sebak, a self-proclaimed hot dog lover, marveled at the stands hand-cut relish and sweet buns made fresh at a nearby Portuguese bakery.

Sebaks California stop was at Pinks, where he was impressed with the Mexican flavor to hot dogs, offerings on tortillas and topped with sour cream, guacamole and the like.

"We really loved that," he said. "It really said California to us."
Common links
Americans eat about 20 billion hot dogs every year, the Hot Dog Council estimates. Laid end to end, they would circle the globe at the equator 80 times.

Though elbowed out on some grills by steaks, burgers, chicken and tri-tip, hot dogs remain a top 10 lunch-dinner entree, Riley said.

At Pinks, where they offer 21 different varieties, Richard Pink sells about 500,000 every year. The chili dog remains the top seller. More Hollywood morsels:
Pinks has been the site of an Aerosmith video.

Tom Hanks stocks all his movie-wrap parties from Pinks. When Sandra Bullock brought her nephew by, she refused an offer of hot dog freebies, saying she wanted to pay and show her nephew what its like to be a normal person, Pink said.

On the Fourth of July, Takeru Kobayashi of Japan broke his own world record - by half a dog - when he ate 50 1/2 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes at the hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island in Brooklyn.

Sebak called it "absolutely staggering." He was there in 1998, when the winner did a mere 21. Sebak called being there "the quintessential American experience" and "the best of All-American looniness." Fun, easy to make, easy for kids to eat, the hot dog endures. You dont have to be a kitchen genius to figure them out.

As with tales about gunslingers in the Old West, indulging in a hot dog is taking a bite into the American story.

Chew on this ...
Americans ate more than 20 billion hot dogs last year (yes, 20,000,000,000 - or about 70 hot dogs each).

During July, which is National Hot Dog Month, the tally is 2 billion. The No. 1 day is July 4, when we eat 150 million hot dogs.

Los Angeles is the top city for grocery store sales: 36.6 million pounds. New York was second at 33.3 million pounds; Chicago third at 20.5 million pounds.

Americans will eat 26.3 million hot dogs at baseball stadiums this year.

Dodger Stadium sells the most, 1.5 million. Others: 2. Jacobs Field

(Cleveland), 1.1 million. 3. The Ball Park (Arlington, Texas), 990,000. 4. Edison Field (Anaheim), 980,000. 5. Fenway Park (Boston), 872,500. A list of hot dog dos and donts at www.hot-dog.org includes such gems as

"always dress the dog, not the bun" and the all-important rule,

"Dont put ketchup on your hot dog after age 18."

(National Hot Dog & Sausage Council spokeswoman Janet Riley meant the list as a spoof of Emily Post, but thats not how it went over. "I got e-mails from people just livid that I told them what they could put on their hot dog," she said.)

Americans prefer fattier franks. Low-fat and fat-free hot dogs such as veggie dogs and tofu dogs made a big splash when they were introduced about a decade ago, but they now represent only 10 percent to 15 percent of the market.

Mustard is the favorite topping, favored by 30 percent of Americans. Ketchup is next at 22 percent, followed by chili at 12 percent and relish at 10 percent.

The average hot dog has 13 to 17 grams of fat and 150 to 190 calories.

TED BENSON, THE SACRAMENTO BEE

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