Chili Dogs
Two coasts , both alike in dignity in fair America is where we lay our scene, from ancient grudges break new mutiny.
LA, where the sun shines every day, we go back to before it was the land of dreams but one of Angels.
A decade after the Great Depression people are still learning how to tenderly spend money on food.
Art Elkind , a New Yorker had moved to LA but lost his job during turbulent times when were wasn’t a demand for his chemical engineering brain- so he did what any New Yorker would do -
He opened a hot dog stand.
And all was good.
Art with his skills invented a steamer that kept the buns soft and the dogs warm.
Customers loved this literal hot -hot dog as most places at the time pre cooked the frankfurter at home and by noon- the often two day old bread rolls and semi tepid sausage wasn’t appealing.
Fresh off his invention- legend has it that a chili push cart tried to take over Art’s corner, and steal his customers by offering them warm chili while in line!!
Being the sort of affable guy he is - Art knew everyone was suffering under capitalism and the two came to an agreement that they would work together.
Art lived until 1990, serving up New Yorker wryness, chili dogs and a loud laugh.
He would see the Rodney King riots break out in front of his store, the store itself would only suffer two broken windows- since everyone loved Art and his chili dog were part of generations of children.
The sun still shines on Arts Famous Chili dogs just like it did in 1939. The sun does not experience the passage of time like we lowly humans do.
To it, barely any time has passed, LA is still a place where anyone with a bit of change can sit outside and eat two different types of animal meat, wrapped in carbs.
Let’s leave the land of suns out buns out - and both time travel and change locations.
It is 1910, and America is growing at a rapid pace.
There is a buzz about a game called World Series?
Immigration is at an all time high, and the creation of a working class is beginning to solidify.
Industrial jobs, factory jobs and other hard labor that require little to no English are being created and expanded in a small town called Detroit.
Foreign newspapers boasted about employment opportunities and non crowded spaces.
However- most of the immigrants were men foraging ahead to make their fortune and then sending for their sweethearts.
This meant a large group of laborers did not have anyone to cook for them, and they could not cook for themselves, due to factors like lack of cooking space in boarding houses, lack of skill and not simply having the energy.
This meant that a market opened up for cheap filling food that you could take with you between jobs.
European frankfurters became a staple for workers.
But they craved something more.
New York winters are harsh, work is long, the touch of a woman is but a lost idea and memories of homeland are becoming less and less vivid.
Two Greek brothers were working at a hot dog stand and yearned for home.
They could not find the ingredients they wanted, but they made do. A hybrid bolognese sauce type thing.
It was a roux, a gravy type thing.
It was not close to anything Greek, or anything American but a second generation child.
They topped their hot dogs with it. And the crowd went wild.
This is not a thick chili with beans like Art, but a slurry with beef hearts called Coney Island Sauce.
But this hearty meal would fuel immigrants for hours while they built cars, stacked boxes, made copper wire and other work.
Without this extra nutrition boost most of the workforce would have simply died of starvation before creating their own second generation.
Chili dogs fuel communities no matter their origin or recipe.
It is uniquely American to create our own thing from at least three different cultural origins.
The oft repeated idea “America is a melting pot” should re tooled since America is a chili pot. With multiple origin stories, regional differences, but still something that is messy and beautiful.
