This was wonderful. It's mostly about hotdogs, yes, but hotdogs don't exist in a vacuum. This is also a book about American history, the pandemic, late stage capitalism, the meat packing industry, and love. Like a Nick Tahou's garbage plate, this book has everything. Unlike a Nick Tahou's garbage plate, this book won't give me diarrhea for a week. Also, I bopped between the paper and audio versions. Loftus narrates and she's amazing and hilarious. The paper book came with a page of hotdog stickers that I just gave to a friend as part of a wedding shower gift.

A couple of notes: First, I appreciated the content warnings toward the start of the book regarding how hotdogs are made. If you want to read this book, but are afraid of that part, no shame. I read it and it's gross. I *do* recommend reading it though because I think it's important to understand the horror of working in meatpacking, especially during the pandemic. And it's important to understand the decisions that lead to so many Tyson and Smithfield employees getting sick and dying of Covid. It's criminal and fucked up beyond what you can imagine. BUT if you really can't handle the animal stuff, again, no shame. Loftus tells you exactly when she's going to get into it and how far to skip ahead. And, she gets it out of the way early. 

Second, the most "holy shit" moment for me was the story of Auntie Anne's. They do have a pretzel dog that I've never tried. I'm not going to spoil the Auntie Anne's story here, but it's wild.

Third, my favorite part of the book was the section on Nathan's Famous 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. It's very funny and I recommend listening to this part. It's also super informative and I want to be best friends with Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas, leader of the Four Horsemen of the Esophagus. If Loftus ever wrote a book entirely about competitive eating, I would buy it so goddamn fast.