Half-Smoke: Not a Hot Dog
Here's my beef (pun intended; it's late) with Melissa Frederick's coverage of Ben's Chili Bowl's expansion in the Examiner.
"Ben's Chili Bowl...[is] a pioneer of D.C.'s signature food, the half smoke, a type of hot dog."
The half-smoke is no more a "type of hot dog" than a steak is a type of hamburger. It's clearly a sausage. (In fact, I would go so far as to classify "hot dog" as a type of sausage - "sausage" is the more general term, referring to all types of meats that are minced and stuffed into an outer shell or casing.)
No doubt that this reporter from the Examiner just moved to DC from, say, Indianapolis, and has no idea what a half-smoke is. So she just copied what she found on Wikipedia. And we all know that Wikipedia isn't exactly a paragon of accuracy. (My friend and occasional Cafe 227 co-contributor Conor, a distinguished attorney, was once listed on the Notorious BIG's Wikipedia page as having collaborated with Biggie on a rap song...)
"Ben's Chili Bowl...[is] a pioneer of D.C.'s signature food, the half smoke, a type of hot dog."
The half-smoke is no more a "type of hot dog" than a steak is a type of hamburger. It's clearly a sausage. (In fact, I would go so far as to classify "hot dog" as a type of sausage - "sausage" is the more general term, referring to all types of meats that are minced and stuffed into an outer shell or casing.)
No doubt that this reporter from the Examiner just moved to DC from, say, Indianapolis, and has no idea what a half-smoke is. So she just copied what she found on Wikipedia. And we all know that Wikipedia isn't exactly a paragon of accuracy. (My friend and occasional Cafe 227 co-contributor Conor, a distinguished attorney, was once listed on the Notorious BIG's Wikipedia page as having collaborated with Biggie on a rap song...)
posted by Johnny Shades at
6/27/2007
6 Comments:
Shit, I always thought the half smoke was a mix between a hot dog and a sausage..
And I've lived around here since 1981!
By
Wicketywack, at 10:15 AM
Fixed Wikipedia for you.
By
Doza, at 11:36 AM
But sausages are not always cased! I worked for an Italian restaurant and we made our sausages every two weeks. They were not all cased!
Even the bratwurst, clearly a type of sausage, is not always cased. You can get brat patties, and brat burgers in Wisconsin (I'm from there) and I've never heard of anyone opening up a hot dog or half smoke to make a patty. Breakfast sausage often comes in patties. So your definition of sausage leaves something to be desired. Talk about Wikipedia's accuracy!
Many people here in DC consider the half smoke to be between a hot dog and a sausage, and I've found that that is the best way to describe it to someone who has never had one, and is about to try their first!
By
catman, at 9:58 AM
Heh. Actually, she's lived her for years, didn't define it in her article because she assumed people knew what it was, but her editor threw in the hot dog thing later on. But still, it's definitely an arguable comparison. Thanks for reading!
By
Missy, at 4:51 PM
trying to purchase half-smokes but inable to find shipping co. even hotdog carts keep this secret in the dc area. us that have relocated need our fix con anyone help
By
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By
Anonymous, at 8:21 PM
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