America’s best hot dog

Summary

Podcast Summary: "America’s Best Hot Dog"

Podcast: Today, Explained (Vox)
Episode: America’s best hot dog
Release Date: July 24, 2026
Hosts: Sean Rameswaram, Noel King
Key Guests: Chef José Andrés, Isaac Stein (Shysters Hot Dogs), Producer Kelly

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Main Theme

This episode explores the cultural significance, debate, and personal preferences surrounding America's favorite summer food—the hot dog. Through candid street interviews, celebrity chef insights, and conversations with a D.C. hot dog vendor, the hosts set out to answer a delicious question: What makes for America’s best hot dog, and where can you find it?

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes a Great Hot Dog? (00:00 - 01:00)

• Live at Shysters Cart in D.C.
  • Host Sean Rameswaram sets the scene outside the National Building Museum, highlighting the ubiquity and enduring appeal of hot dogs in America.
• Street Interviews:
  • The perfect dog depends on personal preference: bun quality, beef content, condiments like sauerkraut, ketchup, and mustard.
  • Emotional and communal experience emphasized:

    “A hot dog is about the experience with the people.” (00:47)

2. Chef José Andrés’ Hot Dog Journey (02:00 - 13:15)

• Early Memories and the “Perrito Caliente” (02:13)
  • José Andrés recounts his first hot dog in Spain (with ketchup), and evolution of taste from sweet (ketchup) to tangy (mustard) as he aged.
• First American Hot Dog—A Sailor’s Tale (03:00)
  • Vivid account of arriving in New York City in 1990 as a sailor, indulging in his first authentic NYC hot dogs:

    “And I remember I had like three or four. This is the days I was beautifully skinny… My favorite hot dog. But what I'm only trying to tell you, I fall in love with the hot dog, and I think the hot dog fell in love with me.” (04:25)

America, the Melting Pot—Why Hot Dogs Endure

• Origin & Adaptation (05:08)
  • The hot dog, inspired by German sausages, is celebrated as a symbol of America’s immigrant-driven culinary creativity.
• Quote:

  “America has been for me, always a very creative country… this freedom that everybody had to be bringing who they were, but also be free to try new things… is what the melting pot of America has become.” (05:19)

Health, Indulgence & Quantity

• Are Hot Dogs Healthy? (07:00-09:30)
  • Andrés, deflecting from food guilt, advocates for moderation:

    “The issue is about the quantity we eat. It's always about the quantity… Healthy food doesn't equal your healthy person.” (08:17, with co-host comment)

    • He stresses the importance of access to fresh, affordable food but argues occasional indulgence is not harmful when part of a balanced life.

    “A hot dog in the right measure at the right time, it's also part of a good diet. So let's not demonize things for the sake of demonizing them. Everything has its time and everything has its moment.” (09:20)

3. Regional Rivalries: America’s Hot Dog Styles (10:00 - 13:15)

• Wirecutter Taste Test Recap (10:01)
  • Chef Andrés recently judged eight regional hot dogs (NYC, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Kansas City, Arizona, and Seattle).
  • Debate over the “right” number of toppings; Andrés enjoys both elaborate and minimalist approaches:

    “If you have a bun that is really, really warm and really even crispy… if the hot dog is of amazing quality… you could argue that with nothing, that bite… is going to be fascinating. So this is pure minimalism on a hot dog. But you have to be hardcore to go that way…” (10:39)

Drumroll: The Winner

• José Andrés’ Favorite:

  “I bought it for the Seattle style hot dog and was like, cream cheese… onions… mustard… jalapenos… that kind of cream cheese… was the perfect ambassador, like a diplomat. So for me, that's the one that I love the most.” (12:09)

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4. The Hot Dog Vendor’s Perspective: Isaac Stein of Shysters (16:27 - 26:08)

D.C.’s Distinguished “D-List” Hot Dog Celebrity

• Isaac’s Origin Story (18:17)
  • A lifelong dream stemming from childhood, becoming reality during a government furlough.
• The Performance and Community (17:26)
  • Stein’s formal attire and personal delivery make selling feel like performance art.
  • He’s modest about local fame but noted for enthusiastic regulars.

“Nostalgia and Modern Twists”—What Makes a Shysters Dog

• Style and Inspiration (21:02)
  • Stein draws from childhood grill memories and aims to recreate 1960s New York vibes, but with a modernized bun.
  • The emotional aspect of hot dogs is highlighted:

    “Fair hot dogs are an emotional food… Everyone has their own connection to it… people will experience it in their own way, and that really makes me happy.” (21:22)

• Condiment Policy (21:52)
  • Relish, ketchup, mustard, pickled onions, Chicago-style jardiniera, spicy oil
  • Stein’s “correct” dog:

    “Mustard and sauerkraut and nothing else. That's it.” (22:11)

  • Ketchup Debate:

    “Ketchup… on a hot dog is something analogous to a speeding ticket… move on. Mayonnaise, on the other hand, is just such sensory hell… capital murder on a hot dog.” (22:21)

Seattle Dog Showdown

• José Andrés vs. Isaac Stein (Seattle Dog Verdict)

  • Andrés’ pick—Seattle dog with cream cheese, caramelized onions, jalapenos—is met with polite dissent by Stein:

    “On this specific issue, he is absolutely dead wrong… cream cheese does not belong on Hot Dog at all.” (23:26)

  • Andrés' Rebuttal—Embrace Culinary Evolution:

    “Humanity has, through thousands of years, moved forward because always somebody began doing something different… If every time humanity moves something forward, we will say blasphemy, we wouldn’t be here.” (24:08)

  • Stein Holds His Ground:

    “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… after we’ve discovered fire, there’s not really much more to do with it.” (24:58)

• Local Pride & Humility

  • Though some claim “best in D.C.” means “best in America,” Stein won’t take the title:

    “I appreciate the sequence of logic, but I cannot claim that title.” (25:29)

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5. Taste Test and Final Impressions (25:43 - 26:08)

• Real-Time Hot Dog Review
  • Producer Kelly and Sean sample Shysters dogs—Kelly’s with mustard and sauerkraut (“the correct way”), Sean’s with ketchup and mustard.
  • Admiration for the glossy, bakery-style bun:

    “The bun is so glossy and beautiful. It's not your traditional hot dog bun that comes out of a bag at the store.” (25:55)

  • Communal enjoyment, a major theme of the episode, is echoed in their banter (“Cheers!”).

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Notable Quotes

• On Childhood and Hot Dog Evolution
  José Andrés:

  “You could argue that the hot dog is the perfect way to say, how old are you? Because seems in the early days of your life, you prefer it with the sweeter ketchup. And as you grow older, you prefer it with a more deep, harsh mustard." (02:17)

• On American Food Identity
  José Andrés:

  "In America, this freedom that everybody had… to try new things and mix new things is what the melting pot of America has become." (05:19)

• On Food and Health
  Co-host (paraphrasing Andrés):

  "Healthy food doesn't equal your healthy person. The quantity you eat is the most important.” (08:17)

• On Evolving Traditional Foods
  José Andrés:

  “If every time humanity moves something forward, we will say blasphemy, we wouldn’t be here.” (24:49)

• On The Correct Hot Dog (Vendor’s View)
  Isaac Stein:

  “Mustard and sauerkraut and nothing else. That's it.” (22:11)

• On Ketchup on Hot Dogs
  Isaac Stein:

  "On a hot dog, [ketchup] is something analogous to a speeding ticket… pay your 50 bucks and just move on. Mayonnaise… is just such sensory hell. This is… capital murder on a hot dog." (22:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 01:00: Street interviews on the perfect hot dog
• 02:00 – 09:30: Chef José Andrés' personal hot dog history and Americanization
• 10:00 – 13:15: Regional hot dog styles and Andrés' favorite decision
• 16:27 – 26:08: Isaac Stein’s Shysters cart, D.C. hot dog culture, and the condiment debate
• 25:43 – 26:08: Live taste test and bun admiration

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Tone and Takeaways

The episode marries playful debate with genuine food history and affection. It’s full of storytelling and tongue-in-cheek ribbing, especially between traditionalists and culinary innovators. Hot dogs, for both chefs and vendors, are revealed to be not only a food but an emotional touchstone, a symbol of togetherness, nostalgia, and American creativity.

If you haven’t listened, this episode will leave you craving a hot dog—however you want it dressed.

Transcript

[Sean Ramsford]

Today, explained Sean Ramsford here in Washington, D.C. outside the National Building Museum, where I'm actually standing next to the most popular hot dog cart in the city. It's called Shysters. And we're here today because it's the summer. And hot dog is a classic summer food. Americans eat something like 20 billion hot dogs a year.

[Producer or Host Assistant]

But we wanted to figure out what

[Sean Ramsford]

the best hot dog is, so we're

[MongoDB Advertiser]

gonna ask some customers.

[Commentator or Guest]

Good bun is like number one. Also, don't cheap it out on, like the beef.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I don't eat meat, so I'd have

[Sean Ramsford]

to go with a delicious, delicious vegan dog.

[Producer or Host Assistant]

I generally go for the sauerkraut and mustard.

[Sean Ramsford]

I would want to see ketchup. Just ketchup? No, ketchup and mustard.

[Commentator or Guest]

So the ideal is ketchup, mustard, relish, sauerkraut. So to me, a hot dog is

[Sponsor Voice]

about the experience with the people.

[Sean Ramsford]

It's about the friends we made along the way.

[Commentator or Guest]

Exactly.

[Sean Ramsford]

We're gonna ask celebrity chef Jose Andreas, who recently tried to figure out what the best hot dog is for. His opinion on Today explained from Vox.

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[Co-host or Commentator]

oh my God, you look like.

[MongoDB Advertiser]

Could I explain?

[Commentator or Guest]

That makes me want a hot dog real bad.

[Sean Ramsford]

Jose Andres, internationally beloved chef, humanitarian, men's

[Producer or Host Assistant]

World cup champion fan, and author of

[Sean Ramsford]

the new book Spain My Way. Eat, drink and cook like a Spaniard. And Spain is where his hot dog journey begins.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Okay, I had a hot dog in Spain when I was younger. We call them Perritos Calientes. Perrito will be little dog and caliente hat. And in my early lives, I remember I love them with ketchup. And you could argue that the hot dog is the perfect way to say, how old are you? Because seems in the early days of your life, you prefer it with the sweeter ketchup. And as you grow older, you prefer it with a more deep, harsh mustard. But your question is, do you remember your first hot dog in America? And the answer is, yeah, 1990. And I arrived New York, sailing in a tall ship in the Spanish Navy. Four masked 300 crew members sailing across the Atlantic Ocean for six months. True adventure, sailing in the open ocean, port to port. And I arrived on a glorious day under the Verrasano Bridge, Lady Liberty, Ellis Island. And we dock on the west side, very close to 30th Street. Back in the day, we will get $60 per port that was paid. The Navy would pay every sailor $60. And I remember walking that 30th street, just coming off the boat and seeing my first hot dog cart maybe arriving 8th or 9th Avenue. And I'm there, and it's like 99 cents. I think I remember were the price at the time. And I'm like, shit, I can buy 60 hot dogs. They asked me, what do you want? And I say, I want everything. When you don't know the answer, just ask for everything. And they put everything on the hot dog. And was this. That sauerkraut, like an onion, like in a tomato thing, and the mustard, and they had this relish of cucumber. I put everything there. And I remember I had like three or four. This is the days. I was beautifully skinny, taller than the trees, blonde hair and blue eyes, which I don't know what purpose serves to explain you. My favorite hot dog. But what I'm only trying to tell you, I fall in love with the hot dog, and I think the hot dog fell in love with me.

[Sean Ramsford]

America stole the hot dog from Germany, Drew inspiration from Germany. What makes it, you think, such an enduring American standard?

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Well, I don't think America stole anything from anything. Hot dogs, without a doubt, are part of the creation of America as a country. In a moment that everybody, you know, working hard, working long hours, new country, new ways, very open. America has been for me, always a very creative country. You go to any American restaurant, American chefs, my God, I was always fascinated how they can mix any sauce or any ingredient from anywhere, make a dish. And the dish is amazing. Why? Because in America, this freedom that America gave to the native Americans were here. But anybody that came from a nation of immigrants, the freedom that everybody had to be bringing who they were, but also be free to try new things and mix new things is what the melting pot of America has become. One of the very unique places in the world for culinary.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Where nobody was afraid of, obviously, maintaining tradition, but also to say, you know,

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

if we mix A with B with C actually works. And guess what? Let me tell you, it does work. So hot dog, I think, just became the spirit of America. I think hot dog, obviously it's a great American thing that then you could argue is better hot dogs. Worse hot dogs, better buns, worse bands. Better ketchup, worse ketchup. But anyway, I think a hot dog in the heart of Fifth Avenue, walking down Manhattan, it's just amazing experience that everybody at least has to do once in their lifetime.

[Sean Ramsford]

You know, you're talking about pork sausages, obviously pork sausages, you could say, not the healthiest food in the world. There's a whole saying about how you don't want to see what goes into a pork sausage. I was eventually taken by that and I started eating these beyond meat sausages. Now I hardly even eat those because I'm worried about my health. Do you care about the unhealthiness of. Of a hot dog? Of a sausage?

[Co-host or Commentator]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What was the question?

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

I got confused. My brain just moved away. I was salivating with the thinking of the hot dog.

[Co-host or Commentator]

And we are having this conversation, and I don't have hot dogs around me. This is no way to do a podcast, man. What kind of podcast is this? Where are my hot dogs? Sean dog? Why they call you Shawn dog? I mean, get that out of here. You are not living to your name, man. You're not living to your name. Okay, so repeat the question. What was the question?

[Sean Ramsford]

What do you say to people who tell you, jose, I don't eat hot dogs. That's unhealthy. I want to eat a lean piece of meat or vegetables.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Okay, okay. Sometimes we forget that the healthy part sometimes doesn't have anything to do with the food itself.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Even I will argue that, yes, some things are more healthy than others, but

[Co-host or Commentator]

the issue is about the quantity we eat. It's always about the quantity. Listen, nobody eats healthier than me, and I am overweight. Healthy food doesn't equal your healthy person. The quantity you eat is the most important.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

I'm working on it. And your lifestyle. And do you do sports? Obviously, yes, yes. We need to eat better. We need to be healthier. We need to be eating more lentils. We need to be eating more chickpeas. I do eat a ton of them. More vegetables, A ton of it. More fish, A ton of it. More grains, a ton of them. And we need to make sure that people have access to those. Because you realize that to be poor sometimes is expensive. People that live in low income areas have less access to good, fresh food that actually it's affordable. So a hot dog in the right measure at the right time, it's also part of a good diet. So let's not demonize things for the sake of demonizing them. Everything has its time and everything has its moment. And I'm Jose Andres, and I endorse this message.

[Sean Ramsford]

Okay, so it sounds like you would encourage people to live healthy lives, but that doesn't need to exclude you from eating an occasional hot dog. And luckily for Americans, there are regional hot dogs throughout this country and lots of people putting a particular spin on this classic. And you recently ate many of them in a sort of competition for Wirecutter, in which you chose your favorite hot dog this country has to offer.

[Wirecutter Host or Commentator]

Today we're lining up eight regional hot dogs, bracket style, to see which one takes the title. This is Wirecutter taste test.

[Sean Ramsford]

I mean, you tried New York dogs, Chicago dogs, Detroit dogs, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Kansas City, Arizona. There were a lot of toppings involved.

[Wirecutter Host or Commentator]

Yellow mustard, Chicago style relish, diced onions, tomatoes, pickle spears, sport peppers and celery salt, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Thousand island dressing, and caraway seeds.

[Sean Ramsford]

Do you think there's such thing as too many toppings on a hot dog?

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

I don't think it's too many toppings,

[Co-host or Commentator]

obviously.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Sometimes I like the purity of it. If the hot dog is an exceptional one, that sometimes they are local from your local butcher, and they are delicious. If you are able to grill them in an open fire in a charcoal, don't tell me, but that exponentially already increases how good that hot dog is gonna be. And if you have a bun that is really, really warm and really even crispy, I like, put a little bit of olive oil on mine and then grill it over the open charcoal. And when the hot dog is of amazing quality, call it hot dog, call it raspberry, call it a bigger sausage, and you put it on the bun, and the bun is hot and the sausage is great. You could argue that with nothing. That bite of the bread with the sausage alone, with a little of the fat that renders on the bun to me is going to be fascinating. So this is pure minimalism on a hot dog. But you have to be hardcore to go that way. The bun has to be exceptional

[Co-host or Commentator]

and

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

the dog has to be exceptional.

[Sean Ramsford]

Okay, I'm gonna do a drum roll now. Which was your favorite hot dog that you tried with the Wirecutter, and thus America's best hot dog at the end

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

of all the hot dogs, I think if I Remember? Well I bought it for the Seattle style hot dog and was like cream cheese.

[Producer Kelly]

That's right.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

And was the onions and was the mustard and had jalapenos and, and I don't know man, I think was that grassy herb like aroma of the jalapenos with a touch of, of spiciness and I'm not a spicy lover per se but the right amount, I love it. It's like was lifting up my, my taste buds right? So this one, the right proportions. This one,

[Co-host or Commentator]

you know who was going

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

to say that that kind of cream cheese kind of was going to make it the winner even it didn't take away from anything. Was the perfect ambassador like a diplomat. So for me that's the one that I love the most.

[Sean Ramsford]

Do you disagree with Jose Andres and his Seattle dog?

[Producer or Host Assistant]

How dare you.

[Sean Ramsford]

Just joshing. So does the hot dog vendor you're going to hear from next on Today Explained.

[Producer or Host Assistant]

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[Producer or Host Assistant]

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[Sean Ramsford]

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[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Love that.

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[Sean Ramsford]

Andy, do you like hot dogs? Hi dad.

[Producer Kelly]

Ye.

[Sean Ramsford]

Today Explained is back. I'm here with producer Kelly. We're walking in northwest Washington D.C. looking for a hot dog carp.

[Producer Kelly]

Oh my gosh.

[Sean Ramsford]

I think I see the guy. He's easy to spot because he's a hot dog vendor wearing slacks, a white shirt and a tie. In D.C. summer, they call it the swamp, folks. So are you going to start moving?

[Producer or Host Assistant]

Sure.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

So I'm going to go down to about 4th and G Streets. So we're sort of, we're at about the midpoint from my commercial kitchen to where I'm going.

[Sean Ramsford]

I do not see a car. You are just pushing this, you know, silver hot dog cart, the kind you'd see on a street corner instead of towing it.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

This is in part a performance art piece. And so I am quite literally throwing my back into the performance.

[Sean Ramsford]

That's a beautiful thing. And you're wearing slacks, oxford's, white shirt,

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

red tie and anything less would be cheating. I'm Isaac Stein. I'm 32 years old. I live right here in Washington D.C. and as my day job, I am a tax lawyer for the IRS Office of Church Chief Counsel, writing retirement plan regulations.

[Sean Ramsford]

And your side hustle is I am

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

a part time hot dog salesman.

[Sean Ramsford]

And you go by shysters.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

Absolutely.

[Sean Ramsford]

So let's talk about how this all starts for you. I believe it's during a bit of a break in your 9 to 5. Maybe a forced break.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

So this is in Part a childhood dream of something that I had wanted to do since I was in seventh grade. And I operated the concession booth at a community event where the teachers from my middle school played against the imitation version of the Harlem Globetrotters. And I just had so much fun selling chips and soda, and I was way more interested in that than the actual game that I knew that I wanted to do something like this later in life.

[Sean Ramsford]

Okay.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

Then after I moved here, I made the decision in June of last year to just get this. I had just been thinking about it repeatedly, so I did. And it took me several months to get the cart and all the permits in order. And then I was up and running by late September of last year. And then I was furloughed on October 8th. So I was operating before the shutdown, but during the shutdown, I was operating full time. And now it's back to operating the way it was intended, which is as a weekend project.

[Sean Ramsford]

Are you what they call D.C. famous?

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I would consider myself a solid D lister at this point.

[Sean Ramsford]

Hey, people are saying hello to you from their BMW W's. Oh, it's a Mazda.

[Producer Kelly]

I'm sorry.

[Sean Ramsford]

It's a Mazda. Tell us about the nostalgia you're channeling. My. My. My early memories of hot dogs were growing up in Toronto, going to carts like yours. And the. The signature in Toronto is that it's like, oh, my. You have more friends.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Good to see you, buddy.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Yeah.

[Sean Ramsford]

Is this what it's like for you usually when you walk? I think you been recognized, like, a half dozen times in three blocks.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I. I just get hyped up when people are. Are stoked on my concept or about hot dogs.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Yeah.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

Hey, thank you.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

See what I mean?

[MongoDB Advertiser]

Oh, my gosh. Very kind.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

Thank you.

[Commentator or Guest]

Every D list celebrity, but everybody knows who you are.

[Sean Ramsford]

Okay. I think I'm gonna elevate you from D list to C list. Washington D.C. celebrity, if you don't mind.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

That's very kind.

[Sponsor Voice]

Okay.

[Sean Ramsford]

You were talking about nostalgia before we were interrupted by your fan club. And I want to ask you what that nostalgia is for. I mean, when I think about, like, my early hot dogs, it was in Toronto, from carts like yours, where I think Toronto's signature is just having, like, a million condiments. Everything from bacon bits to banana peppers to pickles to mayo to hot sauce to barbecue sauce to hot mustard. Whatever. Anything you want. Everything the light touches. Simba, you can put on your hot dog. What is it for you? What nostalgia are you. Are you pointing this cart at?

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

So the piece that's my own is my childhood memories of hot dogs on the grill for other folks. I'm trying to. With a bit of a modern twist with the bun. I'm trying to recreate 1960s New York

[Producer or Host Assistant]

with the food and.

[Sean Ramsford]

Are you from New York?

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I'm from fake New York, so I'm from suburban Connecticut. Fair hot dogs are an emotional food. I mean, that's part of why I picked it in the first place. Everyone has their own connection to it. So I can. I've made this cart based on what inspires me and my specific idea, but people will experience it in their own way, and that really makes me happy.

[Sean Ramsford]

What are your go to condiments? This isn't a very big cart. As carts go, I imagine there aren't that many.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I have relish, ketchup, mustard, pickled onions, jardiniera, which is Chicago style pickled vegetables, and kind of a spicy oil. So my what I call the correct hot dog. And normally I thank my customers for their compliance when they order it, which

[Sean Ramsford]

is mustard and sauerkraut and nothing else.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

And nothing else. That's it.

[Sean Ramsford]

If producer Kelly were a little bit closer to. To the mic, I know she'd say something like, what about ketchup?

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I think ketchup. So, I mean, the harshest I'll be is to say that in my view, ketchup, which on a hot dog is something analogous to a speeding ticket. I mean, pay your 50 bucks and just move on. Something like mayonnaise, on the other hand, is just such sensory hell. I mean, this is, in my view, capital murder on a hot dog.

[Sean Ramsford]

Well, we're coming off talking to Chef Jose Andres, another D.C. food celebrity. And he recently, with the wire cutter, tried to determine which is the best hot dog in the country. And I have terrible news for you. And maybe you know this as a hot dog aficionado, but he chose the Seattle dog Isaac. And the Seattle dog features some ingredients that you don't even carry in there. Cream cheese, I believe, slathered on caramelized onions, which I don't believe you mentioned, and jalapenos. And I gotta ask, as someone who thinks there's a right way to do a hot dog, what do you make of Chef Jose Andres choosing that as his favorite in the country?

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

So I really want to emphasize that Jose Andres, I respect this gentleman. He's a good man. He's a very kind man. He's also been locally very kind. He served food to federal workers during the shutdown. And I think he's just an all around excellent individual. However, I would say on this specific issue, he is absolutely dead wrong. I would say that the onions and the jalapenos, that could work, doesn't bother me. But this cream cheese does not belong on Hot Dog at all.

[Sean Ramsford]

Can I tell you his rebuttal to you? Because we thought you might say that. So we asked him what he would say to you if you said that.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

Sure, I'm interested.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

Humanity has, through thousands of years, moved forward because always somebody began doing something different. We went from eating raw meat to start cooking the meat. When we control fire, we began not only controlling the fire and cooking the meat, but we began curing the meat. I'm guessing that the people that were eating the mammoth, they were making mammoth steaks in the moment. Someone began curing it, smoking it on brining. Someone told them blasphemy. We used to eat the bisons raw

[Co-host or Commentator]

and now you're cooking them. Blasphemy.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

If every time humanity moves something forward, we will say blasphemy, we wouldn't be here.

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

Overall, I'd say all of these are fair points. My main response is there's the old maxim, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. On one hand, we need to evolve past eating raw mammoth meat. On the other hand, after we've discovered fire, there's not really much more to do with it.

[Commentator or Guest]

Jose Andreas said that if you have the best hot dog in the city and we're the nation's capital, then you have the best hot dog in America.

[Sean Ramsford]

Your thoughts?

[Isaac Stein (Hot Dog Vendor)]

I appreciate the sequence of logic, but I cannot claim that title.

[Sean Ramsford]

Okay, Kelly, at long last we have our hot dogs.

[Producer Kelly]

Yours has ketchup and mustard. Mine has mustard and sauerkraut the correct way.

[Sean Ramsford]

What are your thoughts?

[Producer Kelly]

You were. You were admiring the bun, I believe.

[Commentator or Guest]

The bun is so glossy and beautiful. It's not your traditional hot dog bun that comes out of a bag at the store.

[Jose Andres (Celebrity Chef)]

It's so pretty.

[Sean Ramsford]

You ready to try these things?

[Wirecutter Host or Commentator]

Yeah.

[Producer Kelly]

Here. Cheers.

[Wirecutter Host or Commentator]

Cheers.

[Sean Ramsford]

I'm not gonna get your ketchup, though.

[Sponsor Voice]

Oh.

[Sean Ramsford]

Kelly made the show today with help

[Producer Kelly]

from Abhishek Artsy, Gabriel Dunatov and Patrick Boyd. The rest of the team, Danielle Hewitt, Ariana Spuru, Dustin De Soto, David Tadashore, Hadi Mwagdi Miles Bryan, Peter Balinon Rosen, Noel King Mgmt Aman Al Saadi Jolie Myers, Miranda Kennedy Music Breakmaster Cylinder. I'm Sean Robinson from Turksplan. It's distributed by WNC Shows a part of the Vox Media podcast network. For more award winning podcasts like this one. Check out podcast.voxmedia.com youm can listen ad free by going to Vox.com members. Thank you so much.

[Commentator or Guest]

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[Sponsor Voice]

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