Remembering #hotdoggate
Thursday, Aug 2, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From October 29, 2014…
The Twitterverse exploded Tuesday night after video footage captured Illinois gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner violating the most basic Chicago food law.
Rauner, the Republican candidate campaigning in Northwest suburban Vernon Hills amidst a ferocious race against incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn, stopped at the village’s Portillo’s on Tuesday.
Eventually, Rauner makes his way to the counter. Check out 39 seconds into this Daily Herald video to watch Rauner order three hot dogs: One with everything, one plain with nothing on it and the third with mustard and ketchup.
Ordering a hot dog with ketchup in Chicago is always a gutsy move. It’s an especially courageous move by a candidate involved in a close race with less than a week before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Social media reacted strongly, with several Tweets claiming Rauner’s order had cost him the election.
* It was the first true Twitter meltdown over anything involving an Illinois gubernatorial campaign…
Turns out the offending dog was meant for one of his staffers, but by the time Team Rauner clarified the incident, it was too late: News of the Winnetka venture capitalist’s mistake had swiftly spread across social media; on Twitter, #Raunerdog and #hotdoggate hash tags had sprung up.
Click here and scroll down to refresh your memory.
* Gov. Rauner helped celebrate the 125th anniversary of Vienna Beef in Chicago yesterday and recalled the incident…
Rauner ordered what he called a Chicago-style dog for himself and for his staffers a plain hot dog and — gasp — one with ketchup.
“You would have thought the earth stood still. There were reporters standing there. They said, ‘What just happened? What just happened? The governor just ordered a hot dog with ketchup,’ ” Rauner recalled.
“This is a headline. It was a state headline — state headline that the governor’s staffer ordered,” he said. “And you know what? I had to come out and say, ‘In America, we believe in freedom, freedom of choice. In Chicago we eat it with mustard and relish and pickles. But America’s built on freedom and if Lindsay wants ketchup, God bless her. All right?’”
The staffer, Lindsay Walters, is now a deputy press secretary for President Donald Trump.
* Actually, it was Walters herself who took the fall…
- Ok - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:42 am:
Yes, and I had forgotten their ‘brilliant’ response relying on mockery of the hot political topic of abortion.
Assistant Press Secretary to Trump, you say? It was probably that tweet right there.
- Perrid - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:46 am:
I can’t stand mustard, on anything. People up in Chicago are just weird.
- The Captain - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:46 am:
This confirms all my preconceived notions about Trump staffers.
- What's in a name? - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:46 am:
It’s clear that she has some trouble making life choices. Hot Dogs are the least of her problems.
- Real - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:50 am:
It’s an especially courageous move by a candidate involved in a close race with less than a week before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 4
- 9 or 15 points is close?
- Keyrock - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:56 am:
This was the moment I realized Rauner was not just another moderate North Shore Republican, but was a special kind of bad guy.
- Ned Nederlander - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:57 am:
Hot (dog) take: I am a Chicagoan and Chicago style hot dog lover…I don’t care what other people put on their nitrate filled encased meats. The anti-mustard thing is so lame. Eat the things you like.
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:57 am:
Ugh. Hot dog police are the wurst.
- Macbeth - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:59 am:
A deputy press secretary for President Donald Trump?
Good god. I’d take ketchup on my Chicago hot dog before I’d go spin alternative facts for a wiener like Trump.
- City Zen - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:59 am:
Gene and Jude’s Hot Dog Principle clearly states:
No Seats
No Ketchup
No Pretense
No Nonsense
- Shelby Thomas Weems - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 9:59 am:
==The anti-mustard thing is so lame. ==
Uhhh, it’s an anti-ketchup thing.
- Macbeth - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:02 am:
BTW — what every article about this weirdness is missing is that the key ingredient isn’t the absence of ketchup it’s the presence of celery salt.
Without celery salt, it’s not a Chicago dog.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:04 am:
“What happened to a woman’s right to choose?”
Rauner has no problem with it and put taxpayer dollars on that hot dog. Ask Ives and her supporters.
0Ugh. Hot dog police are the wurst.”
Total “brats.”
- Louis G Atsaves - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:04 am:
Just came back from a week in Atlantic City. Had a fabled Nathan’s Dog served NYC style.
Give me a Vienna Chicago Style Dog over that anytime.
And don’t get me started on what they consider a great pizza.
- Bogey Golfer - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:06 am:
Vienna Beef has a poster that reads “This hot dog is rated NK-17; no ketchup if you over the age of 17.” Sent the poster to the ketchup-loving daughter of friends in California.
- MickJ - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:07 am:
GovJunk the victim forgot the part about this being used by him as an anti-choice cheap shot.
- Twirling Towards Freedom - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:08 am:
A woman has a right to put ketchup on a hotdog. That doesn’t mean a right thinking person should order it for her. You want ketchup on it and are older than 12? You stand in line and order it yourself.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:10 am:
–Ugh. Hot dog police are the wurst.–
Sports-talk-radio meatballism. Al Capone, bang bang.
- Iggy - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:11 am:
=Gene and Jude’s Hot Dog Principle clearly states=
the myth perpetuated by sad people with nationalistic pride for their suburb that Gene and Jude’s hot dog is somehow better than the literal thousands of other dogs that taste the same or better is just sad. Honestly a hot dog is so idiot proof anyone can make one given the right ingredients.
but yeah ordering a plain hot dog with ketchup is just sadistic. We should have known then the guy wasnt fit to lead. I wonder what JB takes on his 5 hotdogs? theres no way that dude is just eating one in a sitting.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:17 am:
Wiener Circle, Superdawg, Gene’s and Jude’s…
I can’t imagine ketchup on any of those.
- Because I said so.... - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:18 am:
Got to admit, I’m a fan of Chicago sauce. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Avm9UOybI
- Arsenal - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:21 am:
==- 9 or 15 points is close?==
The article was referencing the 2014 election. Polling was all over the place at the time.
- Homer J. Quinn - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:22 am:
if a Chicago dog commonly has tomatoes, and sweet relish, and pickled sport peppers… then why is ketchup verboten when it’s just concentrated tomato/sugar/vinegar?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:31 am:
===why is ketchup verboten===
From the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council:
===Don’t…
Use ketchup on your hot dog after the age of 18.===
https://www.hot-dog.org/culture/hot-dog-etiquette
Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69HDek6a3k
- NoGifts - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:33 am:
He didn’t blame it on Madigan though. That’s progress.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:33 am:
===ketchup verboten when it’s just concentrated tomato/sugar/vinegar===
From the Straight Dope…
===Ketchup smothers the flavor of the hot dog because ketchup makers add sugar to their products. That takes the edge off the highly acidic tomatoes, but it takes the edge off everything else, too.===
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/679/why-is-there-no-ketchup-on-a-properly-made-hot-dog/
- ahimsa42 - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:36 am:
“Aren’t humans amazing? They kill wildlife – birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed. Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative – and fatal – health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer. So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”~ David Coates
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:37 am:
===why is ketchup verboten===
Ketchup is considered too sweet and doesn’t add to the savory, paprika spice of a hot dog. It covers up the hot dog taste, which is why kids prefer ketchup on their dogs.
Also, it isn’t sweet relish. It’s relish that is made from some unknown substance, and appears as a neon green color that doesn’t exist in nature. Sport peppers should be intact, not cut like some to avoid squirting the liquid when you bite into it.
And nobody I know actually eats the tomatoes. Those are simply garnish imo. Celery salt and a poppy seed bun are also required elements of a Chicago dog.
- Mike Cirrincione - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:42 am:
I know a guy who was at a hot dog place the other day, and ordered it without ketchup. It came with it on there anyway.
Mike Madigan is involved in this somehow.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:44 am:
==Wiener Circle, Superdawg, Gene’s and Jude’s…
I can’t imagine ketchup on any of those==
OW: Gene’s and Jude’s doesn’t even have ketchup on the premises, and they serve fries.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:47 am:
===Gene’s and Jude’s doesn’t even have ketchup on the premises, and they serve fries.===
True…
Again, the premise of my thought is not being able to imagine ketchup on a Gene’s and Jude’s hot dog.
I’m guessing, that’s also a factor why I can’t image it.
The McDonald’s next four sells ketchup packs, $0.25 cents a pack.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:48 am:
I don’t buy it. I am 50 years old next month and the youngest of 12. My whole family on both sides are life long Chicago residence and have always had Ketchup on our hotdogs along with yellow mustard and a pickle.
By the way, we are all both Cubs and Sox fans.
This has always been garbage and I can’t believe in 2018 people are still promoting what you can’t eat on a hotdog.
I am more of a Chicagoan then most of these people who say what a “Chicagoan” can eat on a hotdog. Don’t tell me what it means to be a Chicagoan. I know more then most of these transplants to the City.
- Thoughts Matter - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 10:48 am:
Note to self: do not order a hot dog in the Chicago area. That list of ingredients is just not suitable for my downstate taste buds. And yes, ketchup is a must for me. Tomatoes themselves on a hot dog is just wrong.
Question- why is it ok for Chicago to turn its nose up at a NYC hot dog, but then not laugh off a downstaters ketchup needs?
- Homer J. Quinn - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:11 am:
“it covers up the hot dog taste.”
i forgot the Chicago dog was known for its pure, hot-dog-only minimalism.
- Levois - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:15 am:
You know people get upset about catsup on a hot dog what about those strong grilled onions on a Maxwell Street Polish. That should be enough to cause drama on twitter especially if a candidate got bad breath as a result!
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:22 am:
==He didn’t blame it on Madigan though. That’s progress.==
Not progress - this was before he got elected. I’d bet a case of cold beer that if this happened today, it would somehow be Madigan’s fault. If Bruce can find a way to blame Madigan for Nick Sauer - a guy who was put into the GA almost single-handedly by Rauner - he can find a way to blame Madigan for the hot dog ketchup. I wonder how that would play out…….
Bruce: “Mike Madigan, he the real problem here. He’s created a culture of, of allowin’ the, um, of puttin’ crazy condiments on hot dogs. I don’t support it. I’m fighting against ketchup, and that’s why we’re, ah, we are gonna beat the ketchup-lovin’ machine controlled by Madigan and his corrupt cronies” Spirals downward from there. LP and Sue post here at Capfax to tell us all how this is actually a correct and good viewpoint, and “a guy” would provide details of a donation made to Madigan in 1986 by some hot dog magnate. Maze Jackson would argue with WVON guests about Madigan secretly pushing ketchup covered hot dogs in the black community. Trib editorials and Kass columns would expound the virtues of Rauner’s attempts to fight the ketchup machine, and how shady ketchup money will make Lisa governor in 2026. The IPI ranks BIG KETCHUP supporting Madigan as the #2 issue causing high property taxes in Illinois, just behind teachers unions. Ken Griffin threatens to take his tax dollars to Florida if ketchup is allowed to continue to influence public policy through the Speaker. Rauner is re-elected in 2022 after four years of leading the war against Madigan and his hot dog ketchup enabler, Gov Pritzker……..
- Mike Cirrincione - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:28 am:
Mike Madigan and the ketchup he controls.
- City Zen - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:33 am:
==It covers up the hot dog taste, which is why kids prefer ketchup on their dogs.==
That explains why my daughter takes the hot dog out of the bun and dips it in ketchup. It doesn’t explain why she then takes pieces of the bun and rolls them into tiny balls to eat separately.
BTW, the best thing about Gene and Jude’s is its close proximity to the best beef sandwich in the state: Johnnie’s Beef. Brunch and lunch separated by 3 miles.
==Superdawg==
Only ever had their Whoopski Dog. Figured if I’m making the trip, I’m getting the special dog.
- Freezeup - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:37 am:
Chili.
Safest move you can make if you are at Portillo’s, hate mustard and someone is watching.
It’s the Carhartt of the hotdog world.
- revvedup - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:41 am:
Real Americans put what ever they want on their hot dogs, even within the State of Chicago. It’s a hot dog, not some trendy, North Side, fancy-pants, avant-garde, overpriced menu item. Anyplace that sells hot dogs and fries without ketchup should be avoided like the plague, ridiculed, and denied its Michelin Star. That this even made Twitter shows Illinois gets the governing it deserves.
- PublicServant - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:42 am:
Commercial opens to JB, munching on a true Chicago Style hot dog:
JB: Unlike the hot dog running against me, I know how to eat a true Chicago hot dog. Corrupting it with catsup is right up backporch-Bruce’s alley. End the corruption. Vote for JB for governor. Oh, and I’ll see you at a special event tonight where mayoral hopeful Willie Wilson and I will be handing out 200,000 Chicago hot dogs to fellow Illinoisans that Bruce Rauner’s policies have hurt in this state.
- NoGifts - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:45 am:
-Lester- hahahahahah
- Mike - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 11:56 am:
When I was in about 5th Grade, (1956?) did the school field trip to the Museum of Science & Industry. Ordered a “hot dog with everything” in the Cafeteria-like lunch room. In addition to all the normal trimmings, they put on ketchup. Didn’t eat it; haven’t been back.
- BlueDogDem - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 12:02 pm:
The only thing better than a Chicago style hotdog is St.Louis pizza.
- anon - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 12:07 pm:
the abhorrence of ketchup on hot dogs and dibs are 2 chicago things i don’t get at all
- Rabid - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 12:22 pm:
when in Rome do as the Romans do, drag it through the garden
- Illinoisian - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 12:30 pm:
I thought the Lindsay Walters in the White House was a different LW. Didn’t she go to work at the RNC?
- PublicServant - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 12:54 pm:
===the abhorrence of ketchup on hot dogs and dibs are 2 chicago things i don’t get at all===
After I’ve spent 3 hours digging out a spot on the street in front of my house, and you park your car there, you’ll understand pretty quickly what dibs is. Oh, and I don’t care what’s on your hot dog.
- A guy - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 1:58 pm:
49 Comments on an issue that shouldn’t be debatable. Blame Ketchup.
- don the legend - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 3:07 pm:
Future poll questions:
Ketchup or catsup?
Do you put catsup/ketchup on your hotdog?
- I Miss Bentohs - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 3:32 pm:
three hotdogs for three people?
if you are eating dogs, how do you eat one?
and I eat cucumber slices instead of any pickles or pickle relish. try it with tomato slices and sport peppers.
- ketchup police - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 3:54 pm:
is any kind of mustard acceptable?
also if allowed a follow-up, do you have to drink Old Style with the dog or is Stag allowed?
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 4:33 pm:
===is any kind of mustard acceptable?===
Any kind, as long as it’s yellow.
- revvedup - Thursday, Aug 2, 18 @ 5:17 pm:
“Even though large tracts of Illinois and many old and famous restaurants have fallen, or may fall, into the grip of French’s, and all the odious apparatus of Mustard, we shall not sport pepper nor celery salt…we shall ketchup in the fields and in the streets, we shall ketchup in the bars and in the cafes…we shall ketchup until in God’s good time, Hunt’s steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the hot dog. -Winston Churchill