A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich - What’s The Best Hot Dog Topping? ft. Richard Pink

Episode Date: May 15, 2024

Today, Josh and Nicole are joined by the Hollywood legend himself Richard Pink, for an exhilarating dive into the world of iconic hot dog styles. Leave us a voicemail at (833) DOG-POD1 Check out the video version of this podcast: http://youtube.com/@mythicalkitchen To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This, this, this, this is Mythical. Hot dogs, get your hot dogs! Hot dogs, yeah, get your hot dogs! Hot dogs, get your hot dogs! Fresh hot hot dogs over here! You are hired! This is a Hot Dog is a Sandwich! Ketchup is a smoothie.

Yeah, I put ice in my cereal, so what? That makes no sense. A hot dog is a sandwich. A hot dog is a sandwich. What? Welcome to our podcast, A hot dog is a sandwich. A hot dog is a sandwich. What? Welcome to our podcast, A Hot Dog is a Sandwich, the show we break down the world's biggest food debates. I'm your host, Josh Scherer. And I'm your host, Nicole Inaidi.

And today we have a very special guest joining us. He is the co-owner of Pink's Hot Dogs, an absolute Hollywood legend that has sold over 16 million hot dogs since they opened in 1939. Please welcome hot dog icon, Richard Pink. Hi, Josh. Hi, Nicole. I'm going to eat this. Nice talk.

Thank you so much for coming. As you can all see, we have a plethora of hot dogs over here. And also, Richard, you and I have a fair amount of history now. At this point,

we recorded a great podcast with Phil Rosenthal and David Wild who had their own share of Pink Stories. And then, when we were coming out with the Mythical Cookbook, available wherever you get cookbooks, still buy it, you were so gracious enough to have us put our own

signature Mythical dog on the Pinks menu, which is, that's a huge deal. So many incredible celebrities have their own special hot dog on your menu. And you do, too. You deserve it. And it's a fabulous hot dog. Okay. It's a nine-inch stretch, all-beef hot dog topped with French fries.

Okay. And nacho cheese and bacon and ranch dressing. And to top it all off, jalapenos. It is the best. It's a perfect hot dog. Multiple layers of complexity, I have to say. Thank you so much. That is an absolute honor.

I was, not that I was shocked the first bite that I took of it, but I did not expect it to be as good as it was. But you have the acidity from the jalapenos, a little bit of spice, the fatty, smoky bacon, the warm nacho cheese, the ranch to cool it all down, French fries to soak it all up. And so that made me wonder, you have so much experience in the hot dog business. I wonder what you think the single best way to top a hot dog is because you have so many options at Pinks. And that's one of the things that I really, really love about your institution. Well, we have over 40 varieties of hot dogs on our menu.

So I'm constantly creating new flavor profiles, new ways to kind of tantalize customers to try something new. So what do I like the best? Personally, I'm mustard, onions, chili, and shredded cheddar cheese. Which I just ate. Yes. And it was phenomenal.

Okay. So good. I haven't had a chili dog in years. Wow. I'm diving in. You two talk. I've got to dive into this right now. So you like something a little bit more classic.

I think it's the way to introduce a hot dog to somebody where it's not a snack, but it's a meal because it's got four different kinds of toppings. But we top things with guacamole, jalapenos, coleslaw, pastrami, bacon, bacon bits. I mean, there's so many different ways to top a hot dog because it's like just this platform on which you can just build different layers of taste. A clear slate, and you can do whatever you want. I remember you guys did something crazy for Lord of the Rings, and you put onion rings, and I thought,

what kind of genius is doing this stuff? And it's you guys. Well, the Lord of the Rings dog with a very yummy barbecue sauce is really good. But also we created the chili cheese dog topped with four onion rings to represent the four championship rings that Shaq O'Neal won when he was a Laker. And Shaq did it. And he said, I love this dog. And we put it on the menu, the Shaq O'Neal dog when he was a Laker and Shaq did it. And he said, I love this dog. And we put it on the menu, the Shaq O'Neal dog with four onion rings. There's so much thought that goes into what you guys do, which I really respect.

Because, you know, hot dogs, clean slate. But the way you guys just build on it is so magical. And I feel like you got the emphasis of like mythical through a hot dog, which is hard to do, you know. It's hard to pinpoint what mythical is, but being able to do that through a hot dog is quite poetic, to be completely fair. But I also want to talk about what the best hot dogs regionally, like what are they? And I personally, I love the, what is it?

What is it? It's from Rochester, New York, and it's the split. It's a white hot dog that's split and then seared really hard with chili and onions. What is that called? Interesting. Splitting hot dogs. I'm ethically opposed to splitting hot dogs. How do you feel about that? Well, I don't like to split hot dogs because our hot dog is natural casing. It snaps when you bite into it. We've had people that have put a camera over the hot dog when they're eating it to make sure that it truly does snap. So I don't like to split, but we get people that say, look, I want a grilled hot dog.

We'll customize a hot dog any way you want, but the reality is I want that snap. Yeah, I agree with you entirely. I want the sear. To me, the tube of the hot dog, the way it fits neatly into the bun, that's something that I love. Richard, your favorite hot dog is pretty dang close to my favorite hot dog of all time as well. Because to me, this is the absolute classic. And this, when I'm going to Pink's, this is actually my move when I go to Pink's. This is the Brando dog, right?

Right. I get one Brando dog, and then I get another hot dog on the side. I'll get the Giada with the mozzarella and the peppers and onions. But I always need the one anchor dog because to me, the crunchy onions, you get that kind of like greasiness of the chili that sort of soaks into the bun and softens everything. Right. The salty cheese on top and then a little bit of acidic kick from the mustard. To me, this is dang near the platonic ideal of a hot dog.

I also like relish on my hot dogs, too, though. I like that acidity. When I went to Chicago, I think I had like three Chicago dogs. And I just love how complex it is and how sour it is. I never associate sourness with a hot dog, right? But a Chicago dog, it's like a salad. It's phenomenal. That's right.

I personally like it that way. Well, with the Giada dog, okay, that's like a salad. It's phenomenal. That's right. I personally like it that way. Well, with the Giada dog, okay, that's like a pizza on a bun. Yeah, it is. Okay, so it's grilled vegetables topped with mozzarella cheese. But in terms of relish, Martha Stewart was in line at Pink's, and she says, I've got to create my own hot dog here. Oh, of course she did. And she did. And it has relish and onions and chopped tomatoes and sour cream and sauerkraut.

So actually we do a sweet relish, but the sauerkraut offers that acidity that you're talking about. Sure. And I can't believe it, but when we have like football players that show up at Pink's and these big, tall, strong, you know, burly guys, I'll have three Martha's Sports players. I love that. That's so funny. She would love that, too.

That's incredible. Richard, what do you think about hot dog purists? Do you ever encounter other people, especially in the hot dog industry, who are like, the only thing you can top a hot dog with is kraut and mustard and that's it? Well, that's a New York purist. Okay. That's our Carl Reiner dog, because if you're from New York, you're going to do mustard and kraut, or you're going to do basically a sweet and spicy New York onion, which is a Subret's onion on it. So look, I like a mustard and kraut dog like anybody else. I think it's perfect, the balance between the sort of, you know, unique taste of the sauerkraut.

I guess somewhat sour against the mustard that kind of has that bite to it. And then you top it off with a nice snap to the dog. It's perfect. It could be a baseball, you know, dog. It could be a New York dog. But, you know, we have people, Betty White, okay, used to come to Pink's and she says, I like my hot dogs naked. No way.

We used to say Betty White gets naked at Pink's. That's a great catchphrase. She wanted nothing on it at all. And she would just hold it up and just eat it. And the way she would eat it would always be sort of interesting. With a bun? With a bun. So, okay.

You know, and so that was the Betty White. All pure dog, nothing on it at all. Oh, that's incredible. There is something. I love the actual unique flavor of hot dogs. Nicole and I both, we're both Jewish. And so we grew up eating Hebrew national hot dogs. Yes, our whole lives.

My grandma is also from South Africa, so she's like kind of half British-y. And so I'd come home from school and she'd say, Josh, would you like some sausages? And I'd say, yeah. And she would throw two hot dogs in the microwave and then serve them on potatoes. And so I ate a lot of just naked hot dogs growing up. Yeah. And there is something genuine that I love about the unique spicing of a hot dog compared to any other sausage. Yeah. And so that just the simplicity, the purity set against like a, you know, pillowy white bun. It's really nice. No, it's totally nice. I remember we since we grew up in like a Jewish

neighborhood in L.A., there was specific sausage places where you get like merguez or even like, isn't it called boerwurst in South Africa? Boerwurst? Boerwurst. Like they would have these really cool. It's the worst sausage in the world. Really? I think it's okay.

It's so dramatic. I'm so sorry. No, I like it. You don't like it? Why would you like it? Have you ever had this South African sausage called boerwurst? Don't know it. I have.

I got to try it. Why did you like it? Because it is, by definition, has to be 90% lean. It has to be no less than 90% lean. Got it. And so every, it's this beef sausage, very coarsely ground, coriander, black pepper spicing. Very coriander-y. But it's so lean that it is just, ooh, it almost eats like a ground-up hamburger inside of a case.

I mean, it's not as good as hot dogs, but it is good. So you want some fat in the hot dog for taste. It's super emulsified. 100%. And I grew up with parents in the low-fat era, too. So even when we go to the store, they get, like, the fat-free hot dogs. Disappointing. They never taste quite right.

I've got to try that. I like to try all hot dogs. You're pretty sure you've tried it. You know. If it works, it goes on the menu. Try it. Have you ever seen any hot dog experiments that have gone too far? Is there anything that doesn't work on a hot dog? Because I was a little bit worried about the French fries initially. I think the French fries were great.

The onion rings are great. You know, have you ever had Marmite? Sure. Okay, that doesn't work on a hot dog. We found Marmite doesn't work on anything, okay? That's for sure. Anything that is just sort of foul-tasting, forget it. You know, I mean, it doesn't work. But I'm going to create maybe some French hot dogs, and I was thinking truffles, caramelized onions. Oh, that's a great idea. Brie cheese. Yeah. And brie cheese and, you know, and a brioche bun. Because I love brioche bun, but it doesn't work with the chili because it just sort of dissolves the bun.

Makes sense. You know, so our bun holds up to the chili. But at any rate, I've been thinking about French, something new and different. That's a great idea. You know, right. I had a very unique hot dog in Paris once, and I did not realize that that was the thing, but it was really spectacular, and it wasn't called like a sandwich au saucisse. It was called un hot dog in Paris, and what they did is they took the baguette,

and they hollowed it out a little bit. They put a hot dog in, and they put like a really thick bechamel sauce and then broiled it. Oh, yum. So it's like a croque monsieur but a hot dog. And I think one that speaks to the power of the hot dog that people around the world are putting their own spins on it. Is there a French celebrity that you have attached to your French hot dog? Or are you looking for one right now, taking auditions? No, I'm thinking about a French restaurant that would do a collaboration.

That's where I'm going. I think I know who you're thinking. Is it Ludo's restaurant? No, but I like Ludo's. I love Ludo. It's phenomenal. What's the other one? Le Petit Paris?

Le Petit Paris. That would be really, really fun. Do you think I – I mean, do I like a French – Yeah, Charles and Aznavour dog. But I don't know how many people still remember him. Wait, who is this? Charles Aznavour. Oh, my God.

I'm sorry. He's such a big singer. Okay, all right. I don't know him. I only know, like, French soccer players. Timothee Chalamet. Timothee Chalamet. He's almost French.

You should get him in. Yeah, we should do that. Timothee Chalamet dog with a truffle supplement at $50. The dune dog. The dune dog. It's just a mouthful of sand. It's just sand on top of it, and should do that. Timothy Chalamet dog with a truffle supplement at $50. The dune dog. The dune dog. It's just a mouthful of sand. It's just sand on top of it, and that's it. Maybe like a blue liquid, and that's it.

What has been your favorite celebrity interaction? I know it's tough to choose, but you are so dialed into the culture of Hollywood on every single level. And you're talking about making these hot dogs for Shaquille O'Neal to Gustavo Dudamel to us, which that is a heck of a triangle. Well, yeah, and you deserve to be right there with them. Oh, God. I mean, we've got the Emeril Lagasse dog, which is just the BAM dog. Drew Barrymore hot dog, you know. We've got the Ozil Lagasse dog, which is just the BAM dog. Drew Barrymore hot dog, you know. We've got the Ozzy Osbourne dog.

Is it all like black metal? Is it dipped in black? It's a bat. It's really funny. He was getting a star on the Walk of Fame, and Johnny Grant at the time, who was the honorary mayor of Hollywood, said, oh, and they have a hot dog named after you at Pink's, and we didn't. But he just made it up. Why do they keep springing this up on you, Richard?

What the heck? What? And so we just created, you know, something really spicy. So it's a spicy Polish dog. I mean, it turns your eyeballs to sprinklers. I mean, you immediately start crying when you're eating it. And, you know, American cheese and nacho cheese and jalapenos and all that. And surprisingly, people order it, you know.

But, you know, we're constantly thinking. Diane Warren, we just did a dog for. Charles Fox, the composer, we did a dog for. You know, who was at Pink's, and I wanted to create a hot dog for her, but she said, I don't want you to do that. Nicki Minaj. No, it was Michelle Obama. Oh, my God.

Get out of here. Yeah, no, Michelle Obama. Oh, my God. Get out of here. Yeah, no, Michelle Obama came in. Sweet potato fries. Yeah. She went through the whole menu. And it's really funny because I'm amazed that people can look at our menu and then create a hot dog. So she was so smart. That was a unique challenge.

But she looked and said, I'll have the Polish dog. And then she just put various toppings on it. And it turned out to be a really good dog. And I said, I'm going to call Michelle. She says, no, I don't think you should do that, politics and all that. But still, that was really cool. That's so cool to have a first lady come and, like, build their own hot dog. I know.

Build your own. So cool. Nicole, I want to ask you a question. What's up, man? As a chef, have you ever, like, driven deep down into the hot dog rabbit hole and tried to create some, like, like very chefy out there hot dogs? No, I think at my heart and soul, I think I'm a hot dog purist as well. But I will say the way that I heat up my hot dog might be a little bit controversial.

I like to do a lot of slits in my hot dog. And I'm talking about like basically like Freddy Cougaring it. I chop it up, I cut it in, and then I fry it on a nonstick frying pan with like three drops of oil. And I let it get super, super, super crispy. And then I put sauerkraut on it

and ketchup, mustard, and relish. So I have never really... Do you do this? No, I don't do that. Do you do this? I think this is a crime that. Josh, I don't do that. No, I don't do the spot. I don't spiralize my hot dogs. What I do is I just cut them a lot so they get a lot of slits so they can get really, really crispy. And that's what I do at home. But whenever it comes to like going out and getting a hot dog, I just like them. I like them boiled in water. I just like them simple and delicious hot dog watery ones. But whenever I cook at home, I mean, have I done a Korean hot

dog and put kimchi on it and made a gochujang aioli? Sure, I've done that. Have I made, I don't know, an Italian hot dog? Sure, I've done all these things. But I always find myself going back to the pure expression of hot doggy goodness. Yeah. Which is a simplicity. But I do know that my method of warming them up is a little bit controversial. You know what we've tried at Pink's? We've created a Bollywood dog.

Not a Hollywood, but a Bollywood dog. Oh, cool. With curry. Oh, right. It's the curry verse. You go to Berlin, you get the curry verse. We love curry verse, yeah, of course. But you guys are such gourmets.

My parents started Pink's 1939. Yeah. You know, they liked a hot dog, much like you probably, you know, they did a hot dog at home. And they ran across an ad for a hot dog cart. And they were out of work. And they bought the hot dog cart for $50. They borrowed the cart for the $50 from my grandmother. And my mom went all the way down Wausianago, wheeled two miles up,

found out the La Brea and Melrose was available for rent for $15 a month. Wow. Put the hot dog cart on La Brea and Melrose. There was no electricity there. They had to go out

and buy a 100-yard extension cord in order to plug into a friendly neighbor's outlet to fire up that cart. That's how Pink's got started in 1939 with a love of hot dogs that they were doing at home, and that's all they knew about it. What a story.

Your description reminded me of that story. $15 a month? $15 a month. Hot dogs? La Brea and Melrose? Yeah. Hot dogs were 10 cents. Cokes were a nickel.

Why wasn't I born back then? I could have done so much. wasn't I born back then? I could have done so much. And in 1941, the landlord raised the rent to $25 a month and they could not afford it. So how did they manage to keep the business? Because they went over to Bank of America. It was a branch right across the street. And the branch manager said, well, do you have any collateral? They said, we don't have any collateral. We have a good hot dog and that's it. And he said, well, God, I don't want you to move. This is where I eat lunch every day. So he says, what do you need to buy the property? Well, this will really kill you, Nicole. Oh my gosh, I'm ready.

$4,000. What am I? And that's the actual plot of land, right? Yeah. Yeah, the land. That's incredible. So they bought that property in 1941. They celebrated by putting a little awning over their hot dog cart. And the hot dog stand that you see today, the one that, you know, is open front to the sidewalk, was built in 1946.

How special. And now how many pink stores are there in the U.S.? There's eight. Okay. That's brilliant. Well, actually, I take that back. There's six. And there's two in the Philippines.

Because the Philippines love American hot dogs. They really do. They do. That's incredible. They put it on their spaghetti. Oh, we love Filipino spaghetti. Oh, big Filipino spaghetti fans. We're big Filipino spaghetti fans.

Do you know what the original toppings they had at Pink's in the 1940s were? Mustard, onions, and chili. And the hot dog that we had then is the same recipe today, and the chili we had then is the same recipe. So you talk consistency. People, you know, that are now grandfathers or great-grandfathers, they say it tastes the same. I can't believe it. That's so special. I was a kid 50, 60, 70 years ago.

That's so special. When did the other toppings start to get added? Like how many toppings have you added over the years? Well, it was really pretty much when my wife and I got involved with Pinks, okay? My parents did not want to keep things very simple, the mustard, the kraut, and like that, you know? And then I got involved and I said, Dad, you're putting bacon on your hot dogs. You're putting pastrami. He says, yeah, but I don't want to, I have to follow all the ordering and keep track of it and all of that. And so finally, when we got involved, I said, oh my God, I want a hot

dog stand that people go, wow, I can't believe how many hot dogs there are in this menu. And I wanted people to keep coming back. And sometimes I'll go to Pink's and someone will say, excuse me, are you Mr. Pink? Yes. I'm on number 32. And I said, well, we don't have a number 32. He says, no, I'm working my way through the menu. And it's a woman and she's working her way through. That rocks. That's right. Living my dream. I know, right? But the all-time record for the most hot dogs eaten at one sitting? I think I know this one. Okay, it's like Jeopardy. Is it

Oscar Wilde? No. It's Orson Welles. Oh, I'm sorry, I was next to you. Close, close. Oscar Wilde. I'm so sorry, I pick them up all the time. I was close, but I knew what I was saying. He didn't eat it, Pinks.

He was over in the UK in prison. You guys knew what I was saying, right? Yeah, I knew you were going there. Josh. I saw the O coming out. I thought you were going to say Oscar Wells, but you just hit Oscar Wild. I'm sorry. I always get them confused.

But yeah, I didn't eat like 44 to 46 hot dogs. That's way too many hot dogs. No, 18 chili dogs. I keep screwing up. My dad counted them. That's way too many hot dogs. No, 18 chili dogs. I keep screwing up. My dad counted them. That's incredible. Do you know what year that was? Let's see.

It showed up in a Merv Griffin autobiography. So it was somewhere in the 1950s. And supposedly he was having dinner with Sophia Loren and Merv Griffin and Jane Mansfield and all of that. And he wasn't eating. And they said, oh, my God, finally, Oscar Wilde's got. You did it, too. You did it, too. Arson Wells is on a diet.

And then it turns out he lived in the same neighborhood as Merv Griffin. And Merv Griffin was in the car and followed Orson home, and Orson makes a quick left turn into Pink's, and that's where he did it. Brilliant. Has anybody mounted a serious challenge to his 17 number? Because I can put him away. I can put him away. I think I can do it.

Do you really think you can do it? Well, I have to say, you know, because it's you, I probably would say, okay, it is Orson Welles and Josh Shearer. But most people that say it, I say, look, no matter how many you eat, and we have competitive eaters that come to Pink. Oh, sure, yeah. I mean, you know, and they're not that heavy. No, no, no. They're thin.

I don't know how they do it. They're champions. I don't know if they're purging or how they do it. They're athletes. Yeah. Okay. But, and, you know, I say, but it'll always be Orson Welles. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because it's part of the history of Pink's that, you know, back in the day people like Howard Hughes and Spencer Tracy and Marlon Brando would come to Pink's and, you know, just sit back and just relax and have a hot dog. Yeah, and that's such an awesome thing to be able to go there and, like, you feel the history. You have all the photos up. and that's such an awesome thing to be able to go there. You feel the history. You have all the photos up, and it's such a beautiful sense of place and time that you don't get from a lot of other experiences.

Totally. It feels very uniquely L.A., even in the way that you're not a purist about it. You're not too precious about the fact that, oh, nobody can put ketchup on a hot dog here. Nope. The fact that you are open to it is very cool, and it means a lot. I created a couple hot dogs in my own home recently, and I want you to judge what I've done because I was issued a challenge. Can I judge too?

You can judge too. Thank you. I probably told you about these. I was very excited. Maybe. Go ahead. But I had a lovely little date night that was three cocktail pairings with three hot dogs.

Ooh. And so I was pairing these hot dogs with a dark and stormy, a Manhattan, and a margarita variation. And so for the dark and stormy, it was very Caribbean, so I did a jerk oxtail marmalade, except I did it to have the same consistency as hot dog chili. So I tried to make it really run like hot dog chili, but it was braised oxtail with jerk spices,

a lot of scotch bonnet pepper, and then I did a little fermented pineapple and scallion relish on top. Fancy boy. That was the first one. I can't believe it. I didn't think it would work. I don't know. Would you?

Yeah, I would do that. It might be better. No, I like that. You know, I like the fact it's Caribbean. You've got to name it so that you already know what you're getting into. Yeah, sure. But, yeah, I would try that. I thought that was brilliant.

Me too. It was maybe the best. It might be tough to, you know, have somebody braising and pulling oxtails, you know, in the kitchen. But if that wants to make its way to Pink's... Outsource it, whatever. Well, we don't have a kitchen quite large enough

to even think oxtail, let alone my staff. Yeah, yeah. What? But anyhow, I love that dog. I had a lot of time on my hands. I love it. You're brilliant. There was one, I was really proud of this other creation. It was But anyhow, I love that dog. I had a lot of time. I love it. You're brilliant.

There was one, I was really proud of this other creation. It was very simple. It was a Manhattan. I just went off of the New York name, so I made my own sauerkraut.

But what I did... How long did you ferment your sauerkraut for? It was like a week. It was a light, it was a quick, a little quick pickle. Okay, okay.

I love the flavor of pastrami, but sometimes when you put pastrami on a hot dog, the pastrami meat to me takes away from the actual hot dog a little bit. Okay. But I love the flavor. So I thought, what if I put the flavor of pastrami into the sauerkraut? So I added smoked salt to ferment it.

Okay. And I added a little bit of MSG to give you the meatiness. And I did caraway, black pepper, and coriander. That simple brown mustard hot dog, I'm telling you, out of this world. It sounds great, I have to say. But pastrami on a hot dog can be really good. So good. You know, even if you're not tasting the hot dog as much because the pastrami overpowers it. I have a Let's Help Ukraine dog.

Oh, very cool. Okay, okay, which is basically, and I give all the profits to World Central Kitchen to help Ukraine. Very nice. But it's basically pastrami on a dog with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. And I love that dog, but I think it's because I love the pastrami. Yeah. It's a fairly lean pastrami, so you really taste it. It's not a lot of fat in it. Is it the really thinly shaved one? Yeah. It's a fairly lean pastrami, so you really taste it. It's not a lot of fat in it.

Is it the really thinly shaved one? Yeah. I love thinly shaved, like seared hard on a hot dog. And quickly grilled. Yum. You know, so it's heated up. Sure. So, you know, I mean, I love what you do.

It's fascinating with sauerkraut and the whole thing. That's great. Well, my favorite pastrami application does involve hot dogs at Pink's. It just happens to not be a hot dog in and of itself because it's the three-dog diet. It's called the three-dog night, right? You know about the three-dog night? What's the three-dog night? What is it?

Tell me about it. I believe chili, cheese, pastrami, hot dogs, and there might be onions scattered in there. It's a burrito? Oh, Nicole, you've never had it? It's three dogs. You've never had it? And it's dogs. Oh, I've never had it. And it's wrapped with a 12-inch tortilla. 12?

Well, you know, it's like a hot dog, a sandwich, and all that. So now we created the burrito, which wraps it. Great. So it's basically a wrap. Fantastic. And it's just perfect because it blends all the flavors together. The Three Dog Night actually started as a Laker three-peat dog. When they won the championship three years in a row, I called it a Laker three-peat dog. When they won the championship

three years in a row, I called it the Laker three-peat dog. And then they lost the fourth time and I had to rename it so I named it Matrix Reloaded because Matrix is so crazy. Mythical, Matrix, you know that. Very similarly aligned. Right, but then it was the Three Dog Night. Right.

You know where the name Three Dog Night comes from? It's a band. It's a band. But where they got it from is if you are in a super cold climate like Alaska and you have no heat in the house, you bring in three dogs to sleep with you. Oh, my gosh. And that's why it's called a Three Dog Night, to keep you warm. I love this podcast. I'm learning so much and having a great time.

People could learn the history of the world through the Pink's Hot Dog menu. I was going to say, yeah. And I think I mostly have. It's an anthropological study. Right. It's very cultural, you know, so. And we all know a hot dog is a sandwich. You agree.

But. Oh, you mean that you want to know what I really believe? Are you asking us? What do you believe? You know, the only way I can answer that is if you came into Pink's and you said to Yolanda behind the counter, Yolanda, I'm going to have a hot dog sandwich.

She would then look at Fernanda. She would look at Lou. She would look at Mary Lou. And she'd go, hmm? They wouldn't know what that is. And they were thinking, do I go out and get a couple of slices of bread, you know, or what? So it's what people are accustomed to saying. You know, I mean, I get the bread.

Okay. Agreed. But it's how you communicate culturally. Yeah. But if I were to order a hot dog burrito, they'd know what that means. Well, because it's on the menu. Heck yeah. But until then, I don't think they would have

created that whole concept. Right. You heard it here first, folks. A hot dog is a burrito, and that's a wrap. What's the best hot dog to buy? The Spork crew has conducted multiple taste tests, including one with Josh, to find the answer. Check out their ranking on Spork.com.

All right, Nicole and Richard, we've heard what you and I have to say. Now it's time to find out what other wacky ideas are rattling out there in the universe. It's time for a segment we call... Opinions are like casseroles! call Opinions I Like Casseroles. I smell like chili, which is how I want to be during every podcast from here on out. That was such a soul

nourishing dog. It was really good. Ready to get into the first opinion? Yeah. Obviously. Hey, Josh, Nicole, and Maggie. I'm a huge fan of your podcast. Maggie. I've been listening since the beginning. I want to tell you about a strange hot dog that I had one time. There's this gourmet hot dog place here in Ohio, here in Canton,

that will let you customize your hot dog full of all sorts of fun goodies. And I was hanging out with one of my friends one time, and she orders this hot dog with dill relish, crushed potato chips, kimchi, and peanut butter. I thought that was about the weirdest thing that I had ever heard, and frankly, I was very vehemently opposed to trying it. And she made me try it, and it was surprisingly good. All of those flavors actually melded together pretty well. Let me know what you guys think. Dill relish, kimchi, peanut butter, and crushed potato chips? Yeah. Richard, you ever see

anything like that? Never. I'm just putting my mouth through it right now, and I'm wondering how many bites I would take before I said enough. How many do you think? I'm going with three. Three? That's enough to give it a chance. Three bites and then I'm done. I would ex-nay the relish. And I think I would eat it. Just kimchi, peanut butter, and potato chips. Yeah. I would do it.

Would I have to be under some substances? Possibly. But it doesn't sound horrible to me. The relish, I would just get it out of there. Have you ever had peanut butter on a hot dog? No. Well, actually, I have, and it didn't work. You know, I mean, they do cream cheese on a hot dog.

I'm trying to figure out what makes that hot dog as good as what this listener talked about. Was it the peanut butter? Was it the crunch of the potato chips? What is it that worked? I couldn't tell you. Okay, pickles and peanut butter. Pickles and peanut butter. It's a pregnancy craving.

It's a pregnancy craving and it's also good. Listen, I have the same taste buds as a pregnant woman. You know? Okay, gotta get your hormones checked, boo. Rush of hormones coursing through us. But no, pickles and peanut butter makes a lot of sense.

It's creamy, fatty, crunchy acid. That makes sense. And peanut butter is not inherently sweet. It's mostly inherently salty. Some have added sugar. But to me, that makes sense. Kimchi, then you're getting into that little sulfuric funk, that little umami.

And then potato chips for some texture. There's a lot of South American hot dogs that do the crushed potato chip on it or the little potato sticks. That's right. Those are good. Like the Venezuelan completo. Love those. But to me, you would have to make a sauce out of the peanut butter.

To me, it's the texture of peanut butter that sticks to the roof of your mouth that's tripping me up. I'm trying to picture the peanut butter, the Thai flavor of peanut butter, the Korean flavor of garlicky, of the kimchi. I guess those... We gotta try that. I know, right? I mean, really, it's so unique.

I'm impressed. Someone could come up with that. I have one more soft pitch. Okay, I love hot dog chili, and I love taking flavors that I love from around the world and putting it into that, as you heard with the oxtail. Yeah. There is a West African stew called mafe. I have a lot of cousins from Senegal, and I grew up – I always talk about this dish because it's beautiful. But it's a very savory peanut butter-based stew.

peanut butter based stew. And so you add the peanut butter with beef, onions, tomatoes, scotch bonnet chili, some like beef broth, and you cook it down for a long time, and it's just savory and peanut buttery. If you were to make that and use that like a hot dog chili... I'm not opposed to it.

That sounds good. We gotta make it. Sounds really good. I love the ingenuity though. Yeah, I do too. Hello, this is Xavier from California. I had an opinion here. Hot dog buns are absolutely terrible. I don't know why anyone would put their hot dog in that. What you got to do is, first of all, hot dogs are whatever unless they're wrapped in bacon.

But you got to get a hot link, put them in a tortilla with a crazy amount of mustard, and that's how you eat a hot dog or a hot link. That's all I have to say. Hot dog buns are overrated. Those are fighting words right there. Well, he hasn't had a good hot dog bun, I think. The soft, cushiony sort of taste of a great bun.

That's just warm perfectly. I mean, could be eaten separately, you know, but listen, I'm all about putting it in a tortilla. I mean, I think that's great. It's the texture of that tortilla when you pull it apart, it's just wonderful. And it allows the dog and the, and the toppings to all blend and merge together. It's just wonderful, and it allows the dog and the toppings to all blend and merge together. It's a wonderful idea, but I think that a great hot dog bun is just delicious. Me too.

I think it's just a good bread. Right. I like it. It's a good bread. I mean, the hot dog only exists because of the bun, not to get into philosophy here. Are you sure? exists because of the bun. Not to get into like philosophy here. Are you sure? There's all the, you know, the myths about how the hot dog was created with the white gloves at the World's Fair and he didn't want people getting their hands dirty and he was out of gloves. So he had

an Austrian baker bake him some fresh buns. And likely none of that is true because you see a lot of articles from the 1800s that are talking about hot dogs on Coney Island being served inside rolls or buns that were specially made for them. So like that is – and that's kind of the very American ingenuity of it, right? Because Wiener means from Vienna. Vienna. And then Frankfurter is from Frankfurt. These are very European things coming to America. But we love eating standing up and on the go.

You know, so to me, the hot dog bun, like, that is the hot dog that is America. I'm all patriotic about this. God bless America. What are other, because there's other kinds of hot dog buns. Like, there's the split top roll that you'll get, like, a lobster roll in.

Some people serve it in there. Do you ever mess around with other styles of hot dog bun? I've tried. It just hasn't, the chili is what really has to work with it. And you can't have it so tough. I mean, you know, like a baguette. Yeah. You know, then you're just eating the crust and you're not eating the hot dog.

Yeah, the chew of a baguette wouldn't work. You know, I've tried brioche. I think brioche buns are great if you don't do the chili, you know, just because it's sweet. Yeah. But this idea of going, you know, away from the bun entirely, I think you kind of miss the point of the hot dog. It's just such a fun food. It's a finger food. It's just fun to eat. So there's an experience in eating a hot dog. It's just such a fun food. It's a finger food. It's just fun to eat.

So there's an experience in eating a hot dog on a bun. Not just the taste, but the experience of it. Whether you hold it in one hand or two hands or you walk with it.

I don't know if you know about this recipe in our cookbook, actually. I don't think we've talked about this. And sometimes I forget it's there, but it's really delicious.

I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. I don't right now. We about this. And sometimes I forget it's there, but it's really delicious. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. I don't right now. We've called it the hot dog sandwich because it's effectively a panini where that has hot dogs shingled across it with bacon, peppers, onions,

and I think provolone cheese to bind it all together like a panini. And then we put ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and jalapenos on it. Sounds good. So it's like an homage to the LA Street Dog. But that's a proper hot panini. And then we put ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and jalapenos on it. Sounds good. So it's like an homage to the L.A. Street Dog. But that's a proper hot dog sandwich. And it's good. It's on griddled sourdough bread.

It's not a hot dog. That's not a problem. But it's a delicious sandwich. So do you eat it with a knife and fork? Or can you eat it with your hands? I can eat anything with my hands. Okay. I can eat a bowl of soup with my hands if I really want to.

Okay. It's a little messy, but it is really good. Right. But, yeah, hot dog buns, you can't beat them. I like them. You can't beat them. It's a little messy, but it is really good. Hot dog buns, you can't beat them. I love them. I'm curious. Some people use the King's Hawaiian

slider rolls as hot dog buns. The small ones? Yeah, they'll keep three together and then slice through them. Oh, that's such a good idea. And you put a pineapple on the dog. We serve it like that in Hawaii. Oh, that's so awesome. That's a good idea.

Oh, my God. I've never had a hot dog in between Hawaiian rolls, but I want to, like right now. Right. And you either cut up the pineapple or, you know, half a slice. It's so good. It's so tasty. It's perfect sweetness. It's like candy.

I've got to get my hands on it. Sounds good. King's Hawaiian, great local company. Yeah, we love King's Hawaiian. Last question or opinion. Hey, it's Kelsey from Austin, Texas. Love the show. Love you guys.

It's breakfast time here. And instead of having like actual breakfast food, I made a sandwich with QP mayo, roast beef, cheese, sour cream and onion chips on a hot dog bun. It was delicious. Yum. Let's normalize lunch and dinner for breakfast and not just breakfast for lunch or dinner.

Thanks. Love you. Bye. So we talked about hot dogs being served in non-hot dog buns. Now we're talking about non-hot dog things being served in hot dog buns. I grew up using hot dog buns as bread. Everybody does that because, you know, there's not an equal amount of hot dogs in the little, you know, vac sealed container and in the bag of bread. They're unequal.

They don't make sense. So you have like two leftover hot dog buns. What am I going to do? I'm going to fill it up with Nutella and eat it for breakfast. I'm going to fill up my eggs with it. I'm just going to walk around and eat it that way. And you know what? There is no problem doing that.

It's the way you have to do it. You have to make do as a person on earth in this society. You have to make do. I know what? I'm always going to make do because I love hot dog bread and I'll put anything in it. Richard, I know at Pinks you're getting everything in wholesale. You're getting it in bulk. But as the de facto king of hot dogs,

I need you to lobby Congress to get hot dog buns and hot dogs to be sold in the same quantity. Because it's what? It's six hot dogs in a standard pack and then eight buns in a standard pack. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. Somebody's got to change it. You have the power.

We have to multiply eight by six. What is that? 42? Is that right? 48. Sorry, my math is really bad. Oscar Wilde. Who needs to buy 48?

Unless you got a business or a cookout. It's ridiculous. Sorry. I got really passionate about that. Bun people are not the easiest to deal with. Absolutely. I mean, I struggle to get a 7-inch bun because most of them are made 6. And my dog just hangs out too far off the end of the 6-inch bun. But these buns are, you know, made in certain quantity and they can't really, you know, scale back.

So, I don't know. I think you're going to have to come to Pink's and just buy like a dozen buns from me and just go home and there you go. Are your buns made specifically for Pink's? Oh, yeah. Oh, that's incredible. Yeah.

But you will just sell people the buns because I've run into restaurants that won't do that if they're... Josh, because you are such a gourmet, I would love to have my buns in your kitchen. I will gladly take your buns. Also, you have just let me work the line at Pink's before, so I had a great time. That's true. You're great.

People loved you. I was moving it fast. I was yelling at him, though. I was very mean. Ill-tempered employee. I hope I didn't lose you too much business. No surprises. Sorry. Richard, thank you so much for. No surprises. Sorry. Richard, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This was just so great. Thank you so much.

Being surrounded by such talent, such knowledge. Thanks. You guys are just a credit to the restaurant and the food industry. Thank you. You're both so good. It's such an honor to be with you. Aw, thank you so much. As somebody who is just name-dropping Martha Stewart,

Demo Lagasse, and Jada DeLaurentis, that means the world to us. That's right. You're right there. You guys are true celebrities of the food industry. Thank you so much. And thank you all for listening to A Hot Dog is a Sandwich. We've got new audio-only episodes every Wednesday

and a video version here on Sundays. And if you want to be featured on Opinions or at Casseroles, hit us up at 833-DOGPOD1. Our number again is 833-DOGPOD1. And everyone make sure to go check out Pink's Eat the Mythical Muncher Dog. Try every single hot dog on the menu. Do it.

Do it. Bet you won't.