Handheld Hot Dogs
Handheld hot dogs found their “home” in Chicago during the World’s Fair. Austrian-Hungarian brothers-in-law Emil Reichel and Samuel Ladany saw an opportunity to sell their beef sausages in the fair’s Austrian Village, or “Old Vienna” area of the Midway Plaisance.
Their 10 cent sausages were topped with signature mustard and onions, and were easy to eat while walking around the Midway. Reichel and Ladany stayed in Chicago after the Fair and opened up the Vienna Sausage Company. Today the Vienna Beef hot dog forms the basis of the traditional Chicago-style hot dog sold in carts and stands around the City and at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
