August 2021
- NEWS FROM -
DOGGIE DINER
Hello Everyone!
Hello again. It is hard to believe that three months have passed since I sent out the last Doggie Diner newsletter.
First, I want to welcome all the new members who have joined us during the past few months. In case you missed past newsletters, they are available to view on the Doggie Diner website.
Everyone enjoyed the article submitted by Bruce Feldman in our last newsletter. I am pleased that Bruce once again submitted an article to share with everyone.
Get out your cooking utensils! Get ready for a tasty Tijuana Hot Dog recipe. Don't worry, they do not take much time to make. And of course, they are delicious!
Enjoy a few more Zippy the Pinheads comic strips. Published with permission from Bill Griffith himself. He is Doggie Diner's #1 fan!
One of my favorite Doggie Diner activities is reading emails from fans. Every story and memory are special and unique. I would like to share a few recently received -
I have fond memories of going to Doggie Diner on Sloat with my dad for a hot dog, great times! Thanks for keeping these memories alive on your site - Kerri
I was wondering if you plan any Doggie Diner in Fremont? Enjoyed your food when you were in Oakland and Hayward - Bob
Not open yet - Such sad news. I was looking forward to driving up to Napa just to get a Big Dog and enjoying the best fast food ever. Oh well, I still have those memories. Thank you for responding. Best of luck! - Frank
I stopped by your store at the Giants Stadium. But to my great disappointment - no pastrami sandwich! I have never found a pastrami sandwich better - not even close. Are you going to bring it back??? I am 79 years old and I don't have that much time left! Here's hoping for the best! Thank you - Takeshi
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-1960s-
Doggie Diner Parade Car
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A few years ago, my friend told me about this unrestored 1960s parade car for sale on eBay. Since no bids were received, the owner said that he would accept a low offer. Honestly, I did not have any need for this vehicle. I just thought it could be a fun project someday. However, after taking it home, I found its charm intrigued me. For the next few months, I tinkered and examined what it needed and how I could make improvements. One example is - adding electric fans inside the motor compartment to keep the temperature down during slow parade driving. I assumed the project was going to be fast and easy. However, I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and ended up disassembling the whole car and rebuilding the entire electrical system from the starter to the headlights. I was surprised the original electrical system did not have any fuses or proper size wiring. Now reassembled with several improvements and painted fire engine red, she looks great and runs as designed.
I look forward to using this for special events and parades to promote the Doggie Diner brand. When it drives by, it tends to make people smile!
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FUN HOT DOG STATISTICS
From The National Hot Dog and Sausage Association
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In 2020, Americans spent more than $7.68 billion on hot dogs in the US supermarkets.
Los Angeles residents consume more hot dogs than any other city (about 30 million pounds) beating out New York and Philadelphia.
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport consumes SIX times more hot dogs / 725,000 more than Los Angeles International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.
On Independence Day, Americans will enjoy 150 million hot dogs, enough to stretch from D.C. to L.A. more than five times!!!
During peak hot dog season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans typically consume 7 billion hot dogs. That's 818 hot dogs consumed every second during that period.
For the year 2020, 944.3 million pounds of hot dogs were sold at retail stores. That number represents more than $2.8 billion in retail sales.
According to the Hot Dog Council's 2020 survey of hot dog and sausage consumption at major league ballparks in the United States, ballparks sold 19.4 million hot dogs this season. The baseball fan's love of the hot dog is why all top ten hot dog consuming cities host MBL teams.
The top hot dog consuming cities in 2020 - Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Phoenix.
The top sausage consuming cities in 2020 - Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft. Worth, New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco.
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OUR FEATURED STORY
By Bruce Feldman
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Bruce Feldman - former General Manager of Doggie Diner Company. Worked for the founder Al Ross
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Carol Feldman - Bruce's lovely wife assisted him on many of his
company projects and duties
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Working for the Doggie Diner company was never predictable. You never knew what fun and special events were going to happen.
I would like to share some of the trivia that occurred during the 18 years I worked for the company - We had 11 stores in San Franciso. For many years I was in charge of all of them. During this time we had a publicity agent named Dick Skuze. His job was to generate publicity for Doggie Diner (DD). A big event every year was the Grandmother's Tennis Tournament. This always received a wide attendance of grandmothers vying for cash prizes and being mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle's Herb Caen Column. This was read throughout the Bay Area and discussed the winner's age. We had many grandmothers in their 60s and 70s who played every year.
Another big annual event was our Hot Dog Eating Contest at the Van Ness and Golden Gate locations. The highlight was the celebrities who came to judge the contest. Most were stars of the Bay Area sports teams, including Willie McCovey of the Giants, Jim Otto, and George Balanda from the Raiders along with many other sports celebrities. Usually, the winner ate between 17 and 22 hots - including the bun. Nothing near to the qualities eaten at the famous Nathans hot dog contest in New York which is still being televised every year.
One year, during the opening night of the San Francisco Opera, a prominent San Francisco opera fan, had an Opening-Night Gala party at the Vine and Golden Gate location, only 2 blocks from the Opera House. Normally these parties were only at high-society restaurants in San Francisco including Ernies.
Another bit of trivia - Did you know that BRUCE LEE (before he was super famous) would come to the Doggie Diner office to teach the staff and managers self-defense every week? Yes, it's true.
The famous Clint Eastwood movie where he said "Make My Day" was filmed at a Doggie Diner. To check out the clip, a link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLsEKZVNQFU
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Sorry the continued story on page 20 is missing.
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Here is a youtube.com video link -
(perhaps a bit too cheesy)
Hot Dog Vending Machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=116nLNgM1vI
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Do you have a favorite
hot dog recipe?
Please share it with us!
No worry if you do not have photos. Just include as much information as possible, so everyone can
understand everything,
I am looking forward to seeing if your favorite hot dog recipe, will become my new favorite hot dog!
Doggie Diner recommends:
MILLER BRAND HOT DOGS
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Get your taste buds all
lined up and ready!
The TIJUANA Hot Dog recipe
is in town and your hot dogs will never be the same again.
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Yield - 8 Servings Prep - 20 Minutes Inactive - 10 Minutes - Cook - 10 Minutes TOTAL - 40 Minutes
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INGREDIENTS
For the Pico de Gallo
3/4 cup diced Roma tomatoes (about 2 medium)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt, plus more to taste
1/3 cup finely diced white onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely diced seeded jalapeno about 1 small)
2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic (about 1 medium clove)
For the Hot Dogs
2 large jalapenos
8 all-beef hot dogs
8 strips of bacon
8 hot dog buns
3/4 cup finely diced fresh pineapple
1 large ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced
1/3 cup crema or sour cream
PROCEDURE
1) To make the Pico de Gallo: Place tomatoes in a fine-mesh strainer set in a bowl. Season with salt, and toss to combine. Let tomatoes sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Discard liquid, transfer tomatoes to a bowl, and add in onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and garlic - toss to combine. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
2) To make the hot dogs - Light a bar-b-que grill full of charcoal. When the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, arrange coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place jalapenos on the hot side of the grill and cook until lightly charred on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, let cool slightly, then slice jalapenos into thin strips lengthwise.
3) Wrap a slice of bacon around each hot dog, spiraling the bacon down the length of frank. Place hot dogs on the cool side of the grill, cover, and cook until bacon has fully cooked and lightly browned 10 to 15 minutes.
4) Place hot dog buns on the hot side of the grill, cut side down, and cook until lightly toasted, about 30 seconds, Transfer to a serving platter, place a hot dog in each bun, and top with jalapeno strips, Pico de Gallo, pineapple, avocado slices, and crema. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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ZIPPY THE PINHEAD
zippythepinhead.com
(visit for Zippy news, updates, and Zippy memorabilia)
Reprinted with permission. Thank you, Bill!
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What could be better than a warm hot dog to enjoy?
Maybe a warm hot dog to sleep in!!!
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Thank you for your interest and support
of the Doggie Diner project.
Stay tuned, we will keep you posted as news happens!
COMMENTS * SUGGESTIONS * IDEAS * MEMORIES
kip@doggiediner.info
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