July is National Hot Dog Month, and the celebration continues with it being National Hot Dog Day, today, July 23, 2010.   Here are some fun facts to know and share about our favorite tubular nutrition delivery vehicle!

• During the “hot dog season” (Memorial Day to Labor Day), Americans will consume 7 billion hot dogs, or 818 every single second during the period!

• On the 4th of July alone, we consume 150 million dogs, enough to stretch from DC to LA five times!

• Los Angelenos consume more hot dogs that residents of any other city in the US.  Following L.A., are New York, San Antonio, Baltimore/Washington, and Chicago.

• For the year ending January of 2010, more than 730 million packages were sold in grocery stores in the US, and this doesn’t include WalMart, as they do not report sales figures!

• Ballparks in the states sell about 22 million dogs per season.

• To find your nearest hot dog joint, and join in the gustatory celebration today, check out this hot dog finder!

Burgerdogboys’s favorite hot dog in Portland? A tie:  Zweigle’s White Hots, available at both Superdog locations, and the fine Chicago Red Hot dog served by the Fried Onion!(P.S., while both of these dogs have “hot” in their name, neither are!)

(Statistics and above Photos from the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council).

Photo below by Kawikamedia, Deluxe Coney Island, Duluth, MN

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You won’t see this one on the circuit, folks,  the winner downed 10.5 in ten minutes!   Good thing Chestnut, Kobiyashi, or the Black Widow weren’t there, they would have put the locals to shame!   It was all for a good cause tho, with proceeds ($10) going to support the St. Louis County Heritage and Arts Center Veterans Memorial Hall.

Dogs furnished by Deluxe Coney Island, (see  previous Coney pictorial) and root beer (we hear it was exceptional)  from Lake Superior Brewing.

Photos and reporting by Kawikamedia, the local BDP man on the scene.

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For 48 years, Frank Nudo dished out coney island hot dogs, advice, and his opinion on all things sports related, as the owner of Nick’s on SE Hawthorne in Portland. When he sold out and retired two years ago, he vowed never to return, but in the intervening time, so many people have asked for him, the new owner hosted “Frank Nudo Day”, so all of Frank’s old friends could do a meet and greet, catch up. Local Frank and Nick’s fans were lined up at 10:30, waiting for the opening, offering their testaments to the chili dog, including Bill McCormick, the owner of Jake’s Crawfish and McCormick & Schmick’s who said Friday that — “if Maine lobster weren’t available — he’d want his last meal to be a Coney Island hot dog.” (Video from the Oregonian).

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“Forced” to lunch at home today, working on a couple of Nathan’s Famous, all beef, skinless. I’d prefer the natural casing ones but they are very hard to find around here.   Usual decorations for me, plain old cheap yellow mustard, pickle spear, diced white onion, and celery salt (the latter an homage to Chicago dogs).   And I prefer the cheapest buns in the store, if they are over a buck,no thanks!  It’s been a long time since I have ground and stuffed my own @ home, maybe I’ll find some casings and that will be a weekend project.

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My brudder sent these today:

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