The humble hotdog has been a perennial favourite across generations, enjoyed everywhere from ball games to cookouts. As today is National Hot Dog day, we explored what makes a good dog and why we love them so much.

Nicole Aseron and her husband Anroe run the popular north Vancouver street cart O鈥機anadawg, selling hotdogs from sustainable local sources. The gluten-free, hormone-free, nitrate-free sausages have been a big hit in the city since they started cooking four years ago. It appears hotdogs these days are a far cry from the simple 鈥淵ou-get-what-you-get鈥� of the past.

鈥淥ur German bratwurst is popular, so is the Jalapeno cheddar, Bavarian smokie, European weiners and we also have our all-beef, The O鈥機anadawg, that is seven inches long,鈥� says Aseron.

The history of hotdogs is long and fiercely contested, but the sausages tend to follow the classic franks and wieners from Germany and Austria and, what we know hotdogs as, were developed by German immigrants in late 1800s America.

Aseron credits their popularity to being 鈥渆asy and convenient鈥� and made famous in popular culture. From the simple joys of a steaming hot frankfurter slapped inside a bun with a splash of mustard, relish and ketchup, to the gourmet dogs offered around the world, sausage and bread is still a favourite Canadian street food. Easy to add extras and condiments to suit taste, the humble dog has evolved and adapted to any culture it finds itself in. Australians now enjoy beetroot dogs, squid ink and noodles are heaped in Japan and even poutine creations have winged their way out of Quebec. With 950 million hotdogs sold at retail stores last year, Canadians love for the sausage and bread combo seems undiminished.

But would you dare try any of these combos, currently on sale around North America?

• Doritos, pulled pork and whisky sauce
• Duck bacon, beef, fried egg,
• Gravy, mashed potato and meatballs
• Smoked antelope, rabbit and cherry compote
• Bacon, caramel popcorn and cheese
• Bacon, egg, brown sauce and black pudding
• Naan bread bun, Cracker Jacks, peanut butter, crumbled bacon, and Gouda

nick.murray@peninsulanewsreview.com
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