A Seattle-style hot dog, locally referred to as a Seattle Dog, is a hot dog topped with cream cheese and

sautéed onions Fried onions are slices of onions that are either pan fried (sautéed) or deep fried — and consumed as a popular snack food, Garnish (food), garnish, or vegetable accompaniment to various recipes. Sautéed onions Common fried onions are cooked ...

and served in a pretzel bun that is often sold from late night or game day

food cart A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind. Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit o ...

s in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

History

Although the origins are not clear, it has been adopted as a regional variation. It is believed that the concept began in the

Pioneer Square Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

neighborhood in the late 1980s or early 1990s. One possible inventor is Hadley Long, a food vendor from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who operated a bagel cart situated beside the

Central Saloon Central Saloon is a bar, restaurant and music venue in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in 1892, the bar is among the city's oldest. The bar is located in the Pioneer Square neighborhood, the oldest in the city. Lonely Plan ...

at night. In 1989, in response to continual requests for hot dogs, Long acquired custom-made bialy-style buns on sticks from the Bagel Deli on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

and incorporated hot dogs and cream cheese on them to sell to customers. Seattle Dogs increased in popularity at bars and music venues during the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

movement of the 1990s. They are now often sold at bars and their surrounding street vendors at night. They are also available at and near the city's sporting venues. A vendor told ''

The Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

'' that he believed large crowds visiting stands outside of T-Mobile Park during the Seattle Mariners 2001 116–46 season was "the big boom" for the recipe.

Preparation

The meat is typically

grilled Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat a ...

and the pretzel roll or

bun A bun is a type of bread roll, typically filled with savory fillings (for example hamburger). A bun may also refer to a sweet cake in certain parts of the world. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, buns are most commonly round, and are ...

is usually

toasted Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * Toas ...

. Polish sausage is common. Street vendors often cut the sausage down the middle to cook it quickly and all the way through. The use of cream cheese defines the Seattle-style hot dog. Sellers sometimes use pistol-grip sauce dispensers to quickly add the thick cream cheese. The owner of Dante's Inferno Dogs says that he was the first to introduce their use. Grilled

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

s are one of the most popular additions. Other toppings include

jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...

s and other peppers,

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferme ...

or grilled

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

, and scallions. Condiments such as mustard (American yellow or spicy brown),

barbecue sauce Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting (cooking), basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs (food), ribs and chicken as food, chicken. I ...

, and

Sriracha sauce Sriracha ( or ; th, ศรีราชา, ) is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. Use In Thailand, sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particular ...

are favorites, while ketchup is used less often.

References

{{Hot dog variations Hot dogs Culture of Seattle Pacific Northwest cuisine

History

Preparation

See also

References