By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — Sausages have existed in many forms for centuries, long before the kosher hot dog made an appearance in America. In 1870, a German immigrant named Charles Feltman (there is dispute as to whether or not he was Jewish) began selling pork and beef sausages from a pushcart on Coney Island. To make it easier for customers to eat the sausages, he inserted them into soft buns, which is considered the first hot dog (though they were called Coney Island Red Hots or dachshund sandwiches). Two years later, Isaac Gellis opened a kosher butcher shop on New York’s Lower East Side where he sold a kosher all-beef version of the sausage, which was used by customers in split pea soup and franks and beans, among other recipes. But the growth of the hot dog in a bun took off a few decades later when Jewish immigrant Nathan Handwerker opened a stand at Coney Island to compete with Feltman (for whom he had previously worked). Unlike Feltman’s sausages which contained pork, Handwerker used only beef. Though his hot dogs were not certified kosher, he did market them as “kosher style,” a designation that attracted many Jews who didn’t require certification, but wouldn’t eat pork. Handwerker was quite a promoter, and even hired people to dress up as doctors while eating his hot dogs, to help overcome public fears about the quality of the product. And Handwerker is best known for his annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, which this year will include previous champion Joey Chestnut going for his 15th win. What year was the first Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, and who were the judges?
A. Fyvush Finkel and Judy Holliday in 1946.
B. Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker in 1916.
C. Sammy Davis, Jr. and Shari Lewis in 1953.
D. Fanny Brice and Groucho Marx in 1929.
E. Felix Frankfurter and Anthony Weiner in 1962.