November 8 is the birthday of Charles Feltman (1841-1910), Coney Island entrepreneur, restaurateur, inventor of the hot dog. To be much more accurate (as few seldom are) he is the inventor of the hot dog roll. His was the idea of placing the sausages of his native Frankfurt on long buns so you could eat them while walking around. The concept is so fundamental to us now we can’t imagine a world in which they didn’t exist.
Feltman made a fortune on his invention. Then one of his employees, Nathan Handwerker made a fortune of his own by selling a cheaper hot dog and calling it Nathan’s. Hard to tell which is the more American story!
The Feltman’s brand was revived a few months ago. Their web site is here.
And be sure to visit the Coney Island Museum and visit all the Feltman’s artifacts on display there!
Earlier this year, I was strolling around Green-wood Cemetery and came upon this, and that is the genesis of this post:
(Travalanche) 