Show Notes

Episode 11: Hot Dog-ish (Sandwich or Not a Sandwich, that is the question)

1. Bumper w/ Music
2. Live Intro
   1. House Cleaning
3. It's time to pick a side! Is a hot-dog a sandwich?!
   1. The Sandwich
      • Definition
        1. Merriam-Webster offers two definitions (Lets be honest these raise even more questions…but we will discuss that later)
           1. Two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between
           2. One slice of bread covered with food (According to these definitions the answer is YES.)
      • Origins
        1. Named after John Montagu, who was the fourth Earl of Sandwich
        2. Although he didn’t invent the sandwich as people were eating them before they had a name. 
        3. Legend says Montagu was a notorious gambler and asked for . (a meal he could eat with one hand while playing cards with the other hand. 
      • Open vs Closed Sandwiches
        1. The Seam Argument
        2. The Filling Argument
   2. The Hot Dog 
      • Origins
        1. According to NYC Historian, Michael Quinn, the hot dog is NOT a sandwich.
        2. The first hot dog was made in 1867, the year BEFORE the word “sandwich” was added to the dictionary. 
        3. It also didn’t originally come in a bun. The inventor, Charles Feltman, intended for his legendary frankfurter to be eaten by hand…like a sausage.
4. Maybe Everyone is Wrong
   1. Theories
      • The Cube Rule of Food
        1. Identifies dishes based on starch location
      • The Sandwich Alignment
        1. A chart showing the various alignments of popular sandwiches. The two dimensions of the Sandwich Alignment Chart are both based on what a person accepts as being a sandwich. One end of each scale is more strict (it accepts fewer things as being a sandwich), and one more permissive (it accepts more things). 
5. What's the Verdict?
   1. Experts
      • Barry Popik (Etymologist/Writer) - YES
      • Anthony Bourdain (Chef) - NO 
      • Joey Chestnut (Hot Dog Eating Champion) - NO
      • Jeff Mauro (Food Network Host, The Sandwich King) - YES
   2. Celebs/Political Figures
      • Meryl Streep - YES 
      • Jimmy Kimmel - ,NO
      • Justin Trudeau - YES
      • Ruth Bader Ginsburg - by definition YES
      • Matt Damon - NO
   3. Organizations
      • The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council - NO
      • USDA - In order to tax, YES
   4. States
      • New York - YES. Officially decreed a hot dog is a sandwich in 2011
      • Pennsylvania - YES for tax purposes
      • Massachusetts - YES for tax purposes
      • California - YES for tax purposes
      • South Carolina - YES for tax purposes
   5. Blantant-ish Hosts
      • Nic opinion - 
      • Brandy opinion - I agree with RBG, based on the definition alone, YES. 
   6. Is a hot dog a sandwich? - Poll Results
6. Other Questions this Controversy Raises
   1. In trying to answer this highly debated topic we just create more chaos and more questions. 
      • Is a calzone a sandwich?
      • Is biscuits and gravy a sandwich?
      • A hot pocket?
      • Hoagie/Submarine Sandwich
      • Pita pocket?
      • Wraps?
      • Taco?

1. Outro w/ Music