We're celebrating America's 250th birthday with this 4th of July hot dog and hamburger episode!

This is "The Discussion" where Nick and Bridget talk about all of the fun facts Nick wrote out for this week's dispatch in a more casual and fun way.

We get into the immigrant roots of the hot dog and the hamburger: why we call it a "hot dog" (and what's any legend without a made-up story), the five towns still fighting over who invented the burger, plus a hot dog taste test featuring the Lake Geneva Country Meats wiener, and a brand-new Japanese Wagyu dog as well.

If you want the whole story, either listen to "The Read" in this feed where Nick narrates the entire story, or read the Dispatch on our blog.

What we get into:

• The hot dog's two European hometowns, Frankfurt and Vienna, and how German immigrants carried it to America
• The real reason it's called a "hot dog"
• What actually goes into a hot dog, explained by a butcher, plus a taste test of four very different wieners
• The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest "since 1916" story, and if it's real or not
• Hot dog numbers that don't sound real, like 150 million eaten on the Fourth alone
• The six-way bar fight over who invented the hamburger, with a Wisconsin favorite
• Whether a hot dog is a sandwich (that's your homework this week)

Drink pairing: An ice-cold Budweiser, which is exactly what we are drinking on the episode. It is the classic cookout and ballpark lager, and fittingly, Anheuser-Busch was founded by German immigrants, just like the foods we are celebrating. (Beer's own American story is a Dispatch for another day.)

LINKS

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You can find our hub with the written dispatches, book suggestions, and more at: amoreperfectplate.com

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Thanks for listening - cheers!

Nick & Bridget