Birthplace of the Texas Wiener

Author	Message

hilldweller

Total Posts: 168
Joined: 7/20/2003
Location: Staten Island, NYC, NY

Birthplace of the Texas Wiener Wed, 05/12/04 12:38 PM (permalink)

I just stumbled across this, from the April, 2004 New Jersey Monthly issue,[url='http://www.njmonthly.com/issues/Apr04/bestnj3.html']The Best of the Garden State[/url]:

quote:
Best Reason to Carry Tums

Although Paterson was once best known for its silk industry, it has long boasted of its standing as home to the Texas wiener, that culinary confluence of hot dog, chili, onions, and mustard. Legend has it that in 1920, John Petrellis, a Greek immigrant who had bought a hot-dog stand from an uncle, served an unnamed patron who had bought some chili from a nearby eatery. Voilà, the loaded dog was born. Petrellis even renamed the stand “the Original Hot Texas Wiener.” Although others lay claim to the invention, including a stand in Plainfield called Texas Lunch, everyone has a favorite source, from one of Falls View’s several locations in Paterson to Clifton’s Hot Grill and Johnny & Hanges in Fair Lawn. Yet all agree that the best Texas wieners are grown not in the Lone Star State but in the Garden State, “You have to eat one to know one,” says Falls View co-owner Bob McEntee.

But why was it called a "Texas Weiner?"

#1

renfrew Total Posts: 696 Joined: 4/29/2003 Location: Providence, RI	RE: Birthplace of the Texas Wiener Wed, 05/12/04 1:16 PM (permalink) I grew up in jersey and was always told becasue of the association of Texas with chili.
	#2

seafarer john Total Posts: 3481 Joined: 3/24/2003 Location: New Paltz, NY Roadfood Insider	RE: Birthplace of the Texas Wiener Wed, 05/12/04 1:20 PM (permalink) Renfrew is probably right, but i like to believe that , like Texas, the whole story is probably an exaggeration, at best, and a damn lie, at worst...
	#3

mayor al Total Posts: 14582 Joined: 8/20/2002 Location: Louisville area, Southern Indiana Roadfood Insider	RE: Birthplace of the Texas Wiener Wed, 05/12/04 3:43 PM (permalink) Bushie---Clear this up for them will you ,Please??? Once and for all....Where were you born? For those of you who haven't met the Great Bushmeister, His H S yearbook was dedicated to the "Great Texas Weiner" and framed his Senior photograph. That should answer any and all questions.
	#4

renfrew

Total Posts: 696
Joined: 4/29/2003
Location: Providence, RI

RE: Birthplace of the Texas Wiener Wed, 05/12/04 4:00 PM (permalink)

Out of an article:

The specific reasons for his choice of "Texas," unfortunately, are more likely to remain unexplained. I suppose that, seeking to give a unique and, for Paterson, exotic name to his new and somewhat spicy food — itself characterized by a sauce whose name ("chili") carries Western, Latino, and cowboy associations — he might have chosen the "Texas" designation to give his creation what today we'd call an "image."

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wiphtml/essay6/essay6a.html

#5

Bushie Total Posts: 2900 Joined: 4/21/2001 Location: Round Rock, TX	RE: Birthplace of the Texas Wiener Wed, 05/12/04 4:26 PM (permalink) LOL Good one, Mr. Mayor. BTW, how did you get a copy of my yearbook? Also, nice shot, SJ. )
	#6