Among the classic dishes that come to mind when you hear the word, American or BBQ, hotdogs are one of the first. Hotdogs are the king of customization, you can eat them with or without a bun, ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, fried onions and some other odd options, such as, chili, bacon and cheese.
However, when hotdogs are mentioned, so is the classic question: “Is a hotdog a sandwich?” I want to settle the long-lasting debate so we, as a society, can finally move on. Hopefully, other students’ opinions and mine can lead us to an answer.
I polled people walking by in the Baugher Student Center (BSC) to ensure I could get a wide variety of responses and perspectives. Charvi Goswami, a first-year neuroscience major was the first vote for the ‘no’ team.
“No, because the bun is one piece and a sandwich is supposed to have two buns and something in the middle. Which a hotdog don’t got.” Goswami said. Goswami earns her team a point with her logical opener and witty closer.
An anonymous source agrees with Goswami: “A sandwich and hotdog are both horizontal, like fundamentally, sure, but like… no. We don’t call it a pork sandwich, we call it a hotdog. I’m very uncomfortable classifying it that way [as a sandwich].”
Even if you disagree, you have to admit that his conviction is admirable. Not everyone has such vehement opinions on food categories to the point of uncomfortability.
However, several people, such as Thomas Brigilia, Kevin Becantur, Eli Robinson, Grace Mwangi and Paula Palacios, have agreed on one simple fact; a sandwich is any meat with two slices of bread and condiments. In their eyes, hotdogs check this box and then some.
What I didn’t expect to find is that people are really split on this topic; it brings up a lot of strong feelings. Most people had a solid defense on hand for their viewpoint. I saw friends debating and, subsequently, judging each other for their takes. Roommates, Brooke Floyd and George Boone, had a particularly fiery debate.
“I think a lot of things could be considered a sandwich. A hotdog is a hotdog but if we’re expanding it to a sandwich, a pizza could be a sandwich. I’m not against it. It’s an open faced sandwich,” Boone said.
Floyd was appalled at the notion that not only hotdogs, but pizzas could be considered a sandwich. “I think it’s a bad idea. A pizza cannot be considered an open faced sandwich. It’s so much more than a sandwich. Don’t insult pizza like that,” she said.
Although there’s a lot of division on the topic, Hunter Kirkbride, an environmental science major, offers some common ground we could all settle on. “What about it being a hoagie? Think about it,” he said. And think about it, I did. Kirkbride’s argument, although minimal, holds its weight under scrutiny.
According to Oxford Languages, a hoagie is, “a sandwich made of a long roll filled with meat, cheese, and salad.” Many common condiments used on hotdogs, such as sauerkraut and onions, can be found in salads.
As the author of this article, it’s my responsibility to come up with a conclusion from the data I’ve collected and settle the debate, once and for all. This may be unprecedented but I think a hotdog IS a sandwich by association of being a hoagie. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that hoagies share many ingredients with hotdogs. I can agree to disagree with people who think hotdogs are not sandwiches because at the end of the day, we all come to our own conclusions.
