New England-style hot dog buns, also often known as New England hot dog buns or top-loading hot dog buns, are the

hot dog bun A hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog or another type of sausage. The side-loading bun is common in most of the United States, while the top-loading New England-style hot dog bun is popular in that regio ...

s most commonly used in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

region of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and its cuisine. They may also be called split-top, top-sliced, frankfurter rolls, or frankfurt rolls.

History

This style of roll or bun was developed in the 1940s by

Howard Johnson's Howard Johnson's, or Howard Johnson by Wyndham, is an American hotel chain and former restaurant chain. Founded by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925 as a restaurant, it was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. throughout the 1960s and 1970s, ...

, who approached the Maine bakery J. J. Nissen in search of a bun for its fried clam strip sandwich. According to ''The Boston Globe'', the "restaurant chain wanted top sliced rolls that would stand upright and be easier to prepare, serve, and eat." Outside of New England, they are associated with

clam roll Fried clams are clams dipped in milk, floured, and deep frying, deep-fried. Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England, what barbecue is to the South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside restaurants). Clam rolls are fri ...

s and

lobster roll A lobster roll is a dish native to New England. It is made of lobster meat served on a grilled hot dog-style bun. The filling may also contain butter, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, with variants made in some parts of New England replacin ...

s, dishes iconic to New England cuisine. The New England-style bun predates the hot dog bun found almost everywhere else in the United States by at least several years. Before the invention of the New England bun, commercial bakers would slice rolls all the way through. Today, this style of bun is prevalent in New England, with small and large grocery stores stocking at least several competing brands, and the hot dog bun typical of the rest of the United States (also called a "side-loading" bun) offered right alongside.

Overview

In New England, hot dogs, clam rolls, lobster rolls, and the buns that accompany them are often associated with the summer months and coastal villages, where clam shacks and lobstering are common. Some recipes for these dishes explicitly require the use of a New England-style bun. The rolls are baked very close together, keeping the sides soft, much like sliced bread. This makes them amenable to buttering, toasting and grilling. Grocers in localities with significant tourism from New Englanders, such as some markets in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, will sell New England-style buns to satisfy visitors.

References

{{Cuisine of the United States New England cuisine Howard Johnson's Hot dogs Buns