Growing up as an Irish-German NYC suburbanite...the go-to holiday food of my youth was: pork hot dogs (my German roots + we kids could run around with the dog/bun in hand), baked pork & beans, potato salad (gotsta have the Irish connection), and sweet corn on the cob.
After the age of 18 (legal age of drinking for early Boomers in New York State), copious amounts of beer was included.
My Manhattan-born parents sloshed sauerkraut on their dogs (took me until my late teens to acquire the taste). I applied mustard, catsup, relish and/or chopped onions.
I find it amusing that today that some New Yorkers think catsup as an abomination on a hot dog. Me thinks they're secretly Second Cityites or from somewhere else
My German-immigrant grandparents from the Upper Rhine River (either French who spoke German or Germans who spoke French), lived on Manhattan's Lower East Side, cheek and jowl next to the then Chinatown district, the ethnicity that invented the tomato-based "kôe-chiap" a sweet and sour concoction. Their homeland also like that combo in pickles and peppers.
In our household, catsup was available for hot dogs, hamburgers, scrambled eggs, french fries/home fries, Chinese egg rolls, and various sandwiches.
[BTW - unlike German/Scottish Trump, who eats top quality well-done steaks slopped with catsup -- our German/Irish family ate our occasional steaks rare/medium rare slathered with butter.]
One last point --- the "Sabrette Hot Dog Carts" found at hundreds of Manhattan street corners when I was a kid had bottles of catsup. So if the condiment is such an abomination, why is it ubiquitous at so many NYC locations??
Cristo,
After I attended college in a predominantly Italian urban neighborhood, my go-to hot-dog type sandwich became one with "sweet and hot sausages (perhaps sliced meatballs), roasted red and green peppers, with a dollop of red sauce, on a fresh or lightly toasted bun."
As the Hoosierland boy, John Mellencamp, would sing, "Ain't That America?"
Will have to say, it’s ketchup! 😂 Born and raised in a NYC suburb but on the Jersey side and great grandparents were Manhattanites, have German, Irish & Italian roots. Had many a hot dogs with ketchup. Depending on mood, just ketchup or just mustard and when I wanted to go all out, I put both on. My husband would cross the state line and drink in NY at 18, scandalous! When I turned 18, the age had been lowered to 18 for a few years. Oh, ketchup for eggs (or chili sauce), french fries, homefries and hash browns, burgers, dogs. We had quite a few dog places in our area of NJ.
Thanks for the pictures! We tend to enjoy them on tv as our days of crowd fighting and bugs/bug spray, are over for the fireworks. Our son was not a big fan and would rather have stayed at whatever bbq we were at. It will be his turn when he becomes a parent, suck it up and deal with it. LOL.
Wish I could get on board with the celebrations, but dogs everywhere were in panic mode and where I live a dog running from the noise was hit by a car and is now struggling for his life, and the owners haven’t been found
Thanks for the pix, Chris! I was thinking last night as I watched fireworks in my hometown along with thousands of other neighbors that July 4th is a holiday that all of us enjoy. It's nice that it brings us together for at least one day.
I was thinking about the fantastic (and amateur, too) fireworks displays that we enjoy so much on the 4th every year. I wondered how many people (particular the amateurs) simply enjoy the annual (or more often) excuse to cater to our baser human impulses and simply enjoy blowing stuff up, because that's our right as Americans. Versus, those who are moved by the fantastical huge displays to reflect on the birthday of our nation, to hold our nation dear, and to cherish (and reinforce) our unity in our freedoms. My gut tells me that most of us primarily enjoy the blowing up of stuff.
Pictures look great...grazie, Cristo
RE: Gastronomic connection to the holiday.
Growing up as an Irish-German NYC suburbanite...the go-to holiday food of my youth was: pork hot dogs (my German roots + we kids could run around with the dog/bun in hand), baked pork & beans, potato salad (gotsta have the Irish connection), and sweet corn on the cob.
After the age of 18 (legal age of drinking for early Boomers in New York State), copious amounts of beer was included.
My Manhattan-born parents sloshed sauerkraut on their dogs (took me until my late teens to acquire the taste). I applied mustard, catsup, relish and/or chopped onions.
I find it amusing that today that some New Yorkers think catsup as an abomination on a hot dog. Me thinks they're secretly Second Cityites or from somewhere else
My German-immigrant grandparents from the Upper Rhine River (either French who spoke German or Germans who spoke French), lived on Manhattan's Lower East Side, cheek and jowl next to the then Chinatown district, the ethnicity that invented the tomato-based "kôe-chiap" a sweet and sour concoction. Their homeland also like that combo in pickles and peppers.
In our household, catsup was available for hot dogs, hamburgers, scrambled eggs, french fries/home fries, Chinese egg rolls, and various sandwiches.
[BTW - unlike German/Scottish Trump, who eats top quality well-done steaks slopped with catsup -- our German/Irish family ate our occasional steaks rare/medium rare slathered with butter.]
One last point --- the "Sabrette Hot Dog Carts" found at hundreds of Manhattan street corners when I was a kid had bottles of catsup. So if the condiment is such an abomination, why is it ubiquitous at so many NYC locations??
Cristo,
After I attended college in a predominantly Italian urban neighborhood, my go-to hot-dog type sandwich became one with "sweet and hot sausages (perhaps sliced meatballs), roasted red and green peppers, with a dollop of red sauce, on a fresh or lightly toasted bun."
As the Hoosierland boy, John Mellencamp, would sing, "Ain't That America?"
Will have to say, it’s ketchup! 😂 Born and raised in a NYC suburb but on the Jersey side and great grandparents were Manhattanites, have German, Irish & Italian roots. Had many a hot dogs with ketchup. Depending on mood, just ketchup or just mustard and when I wanted to go all out, I put both on. My husband would cross the state line and drink in NY at 18, scandalous! When I turned 18, the age had been lowered to 18 for a few years. Oh, ketchup for eggs (or chili sauce), french fries, homefries and hash browns, burgers, dogs. We had quite a few dog places in our area of NJ.
Thanks, Elaine...yes, go back and forth on "k" and "c" --- my older brother and I loved the concept of "cat-soup" as kids.
Thanks for the pictures! We tend to enjoy them on tv as our days of crowd fighting and bugs/bug spray, are over for the fireworks. Our son was not a big fan and would rather have stayed at whatever bbq we were at. It will be his turn when he becomes a parent, suck it up and deal with it. LOL.
Wish I could get on board with the celebrations, but dogs everywhere were in panic mode and where I live a dog running from the noise was hit by a car and is now struggling for his life, and the owners haven’t been found
Agree, Nan. It's a hard day for dogs. And I remember when my boys were little, it was a NIGHTMARE trying to get them to bed.
Thank you!
Your pics are the closest to the real thing I’ve seen taken. They capture the essence of fireworks. Bravo 🎉
Nice photos! Thanks!
Thanks for the pix, Chris! I was thinking last night as I watched fireworks in my hometown along with thousands of other neighbors that July 4th is a holiday that all of us enjoy. It's nice that it brings us together for at least one day.
Thank you - as I live in an area without fireworks views, all I heard was the local pop pop pop.
Next year,
Of course!
I was thinking about the fantastic (and amateur, too) fireworks displays that we enjoy so much on the 4th every year. I wondered how many people (particular the amateurs) simply enjoy the annual (or more often) excuse to cater to our baser human impulses and simply enjoy blowing stuff up, because that's our right as Americans. Versus, those who are moved by the fantastical huge displays to reflect on the birthday of our nation, to hold our nation dear, and to cherish (and reinforce) our unity in our freedoms. My gut tells me that most of us primarily enjoy the blowing up of stuff.
Agree on the blowing stuff up front ;)