This Week In Meat: Hot Dogs Edition
As National Hot Dog Month draws to a close, it seems uniquely appropriate that hot dogs made news nationwide this week. While it's no secret that Americans have a special affinity for this particular variety of sausage, these recent events display just how influential hot dogs are in the political, cultural, economic, and even judicial workings of our society (and beyond). Continue reading and you'll see what I mean.
• The Most Expensive Hot Dog, Ever: Minor league Cam-Am team The Brockton Rox, set the record for the world's most expensive hot dog this week. The $80 dog features porcini dust, caviar, crème fraîche, truffle oil, and black truffle shavings. [CBS]
• Liberty, Justice (and Free Hot Dogs) For All: The owner of City Dogs in Salt Lake City treated 26 protesters to free hot dogs on Monday after they were arrested for demonstrating outside of a federal courthouse. The owner took things one step further by offering free lunch to anyone who can show documentation of themselves committing an act of civil disobedience. [Salt Lake Tribune]
• Hot Dogs Could be as Harmful as Cigarettes: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine posted a billboard near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week that reads, "Warning Hot Dogs Can Wreck Your Health" next to a photo of hot dogs in a cigarette box. The group is proposing that hot dog packages contain a warning label similar to that of cigarettes. [WaPo]
• A Texas DA Impersonates a Hot Dog: Tarrant County's District Attorney Joe Shannon went to work in a hot dog suit on Thursday after losing fundraising contest to prosecutor Robert Foran. The staff at the DA's office pledged $1 per vote to determine who would have to wear the wiener suit. Proceeds were donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. [Star-Telegram]
• A Hot Dog a Day: Boston-area native, Rob Merlino committed to eating a hot dog a day, every day, for the entire month of July. He has toured the region in search of the best franks he can find. [Boston]
• Corporate Hot Dog Heist: The state of Indiana granted Nolan Koewler unemployment benefits this week citing that his employers at a Dillard's in Evansville did not have just cause to terminate his job on the grounds that he stole company property by eating two leftover hot dogs from a company picnic. [HR Morning]
• Congressional Weenies: Members of Congress and their staff enjoyed hot dogs for lunch on Wednesday as part of an annual event hosted by the American Meat Institute on Capitol Hill in honor of National Hot Dog Month. [Daily Caller]
The Daily Byte is a regular column dedicated to covering interesting food news and trends across the country. Click here for previous columns.