Hot dogs certainly are considered an all-American food, but they’re equally popular in Scandinavia. And they’re served more creatively.
While in Sweden we never had a chance to try a West Coast Special. This version features mashed potatoes, mustard and shrimp on a mound of mayo. Our timing was always off. We’ll do better on our next visit.
In Copenhagen, we made it a point to have hot dogs, known as polsers. We noticed most of the hot dog carts, found throughout the city, featured two options: the Ristet or the Fransk The former is known as a red frank. It’s topped with sweet pickles (think bread and butters), crispy fried onions and a choice of sauces; I went with remoulade. Ketchup, mustard and mayo are other possibilities.
The Fransk is a long dog that’s inserted into a hallowed out bun and extends a few inches over both ends. I never did figure out how condiments are added.
The fried onions and the pickles provided texture to the Ristet; the remoulade, something I associate more with crab cakes than hot dogs, added a sense of sophistication. The meat itself was juicy and it was too good to worry about possible additives.
At home, I usually only eat hot dogs at baseball games. It seems an appropriate thing to eat at such an all-American sporting event. It was fun in Copenhagen to hop off our bikes and stop for a hot dog. That, apparently, is a typically Danish thing to do.
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