Brooke 1

Brooke Findlay

Ross Bullen

ENGL1003

6,10,2022

The Mystery of Hot Dogs

Is a hot dog a sandwich? This is a universal question that has been around for centuries,

but to this day, has never been answered. In this essay, I will analyze the article "A Hot Dog is

Definitely a Sandwich" written by Ted Berg and his viewpoint on this controversial dispute. Ted

writes about the foundations that make up a sandwich and why a hot dog in actuality is one.

Some people believe that hot dogs are considered to be in the taco family, while others think that

they belong to their own category of food. Although many people would disagree, a hot dog is a

sandwich, and here is why.

What are the foundations of a sandwich? This may seem like an easy question but is actually

quite difficult. There is a fine line of different factors that come into play when talking about the

subject matter of sandwiches. Ted states that "It's a protein served inside bread, with or without

condiments." Now, this is where the topic starts to get specific. An army of people on the

internet believes that the ingredients in a hot dog need to be served between two separate slices

of bread for one to count as a sandwich. Therefore this would imply that a hot dog is in fact not a

sandwich. However, with that statement comes the arguing factors. For example, in talking about

this, Ted mentions deli-style sandwiches and how "creating a hinge on a roll is often a goal of
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bread-slicing, depending on the sandwich that's to occupy it". Cutting the sandwich this way

stops the insides from falling out. If the "two slices of bread theory" were to be correct then it

would make every sub from subway invalid. The idea of this is just so incorrect. If a sub not

being considered a sandwich is ridiculous, why is it different for a hot dog?

Another point that Ted makes in his essay is about people arguing that a hot dog doesn't "feel"

like a sandwich. Ted writes "But I ask: What does a sandwich feel like? Good sandwiches should

evoke so many feelings, not just the feeling of "sandwich" — whatever that is. The "feeling" of a

sandwich is an indescribable thing that does not make a lot of sense. Anyone could make the

argument that one thing does not feel like what it is, therefore this argument is completely

invalid. The argument is based on one's personal experience and can not be used as a fact. It

conveys the message that it is essentially up to the eye of the beholder to determine what a hot

dog is. I also agree with Ted about how sandwiches should give the consumer many feelings, not

just a sandwich feeling. Any person is going to get different feelings when eating a BLT versus

eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I think that some people think that hot dogs don't give off the

sandwich feeling simply because they have never been deemed under that name in Main Street

media. Hot dogs have always had their own separate branding and identity, but this doesn't stop

them from being under the sandwich category.

As someone who is very fond of hot dogs, I personally believe that hot dogs are sandwiches

because as Ted wrote "The hot dog is basically a better-conceived version of the bologna

sandwich." It is all the same to me, meat in bread equals a sandwich. I think that the word

"sandwich" is a broad term that can be used for a larger scale of foods. However, I also think that
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it is up to the interpreter to decide. Eating a sandwich is an intimate experience, so if one wants

to believe that their hot dog is not a sandwich, but in fact its own special thing, it is. Life is how

we perceive it. I think that not all questions are meant to have answers and this is one of them.

Hot dogs will forever remain a mystery in many ways, including the making of them. They are

meant to be something you just simply eat and enjoy. When you start overthinking the idea of

what a hot dog is, it ruins the experience. So with that, I ask you, what do you think, will the

mystery of the hot dog ever be solved?

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Work cited

Ted Berg “A Hot Dog is Definitely a Sandwich”

March 24, 2015

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/a-hot-dog-is-a-sandwich