by Jamie Loftus
First published 2023
Hot dogs started as poor people's food. Now restaurants charge fifteen dollars for them. Comedian Jamie Loftus sets out to understand what this transformation reveals about America. During the summer of 2021, she travels cross country with her pets and her ex, eating hot dogs from coast to coast. She finds avocado and spice in the West, fiery chili in the East, and entire salads piled on meat in Chicago. Her journey becomes both a culinary investigation and a critique of American capitalism. Loftus explores how hot dogs embody American contradictions: they're high culture and low culture, sports food and kids' food, hangover cure and gourmet meal. She traces their creation, their cultural meaning, and their class implications. The trip unfolds during a strange moment between pandemic waves, when the government has resources to help but lacks interest. Through hot dogs, Loftus reveals a country built on violence, poverty, and ambition, where the products of centuries of struggle now roll around at every 7-Eleven.
Genres: american, 21st-century, food-and-drink, american-history, culinary, food-history
Vibes: fast-paced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, road-trip
Setting: America, Chicago, East, West
Period: 2021
301 pages · Hardcover · Forge Books