25 Hot Dog Quotes for 25 Years

From the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council

As the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council celebrates its 25th anniversary, we’re teaming with the Beef Checkoff to highlight 25 of our favorite quotes about hot dogs.


  1. "A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz." Humphrey Bogart
  2. "I just wanna lie on the beach and eat hot dogs. That’s all I ever wanted." Kevin Malone in The Office
  3. "Nobody, I mean nobody, puts ketchup on a hot dog." Clint Eastwood, as Dirty Harry in Sudden Impact
  4. "We have beaten you to the moon, but you have beaten us in sausage making." Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
  5. "The use of an iconic food in an act of violence against an iconic golfer like Tiger Woods is reprehensible -- and a violation of hot dog etiquette. Some might call the thrower a 'wiener,' but we'd say that's too high a compliment. Hot dogs are meant to be enjoyed -- not weaponized." Janet Riley, NHDSC Queen of Wien, 2011 ESPN Quote of the Year
  6. "Hot dogs and Red Vines and potato chips and French fries are my favorite foods." Betty White
  7. "Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs." Dwight D. Eisenhower
  8. "Noblest of all dogs is the hot-dog; it feeds the hand that bites it." Dr. Laurence Johnston Peter
  9. "…A hot dog with an interesting person is an amazing meal." Chris Rock
  10. "It is not acceptable past the age of eight." President Barack Obama, when asked if ketchup is acceptable on a hot dog
  11. "I’m more American than apple pie. I’m like apple pie, with a hot dog in it." Stephen Colbert
  12. "For the past 45 years I haven’t eaten anything but kosher salami, kosher bologna, corned beef, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, pizza, and, like I said, French fries. My concession to the vegetable family." Art Donovan, Professional Football Hall of Fame
  13. "I love a Hebrew National hot dog with an ice cold Corona – no lime. If the phone rings, I won’t answer until I’m done." Maya Angelou
  14. "If you were to [walk] into any vendor of fine hot dogs, and ask for a hot dog sandwich, they would probably report you to the FBI." Anthony Bourdain
  15. "Now I have been known to say, "I need a new set of screwdrivers. I need a new wrench. I need some hammers," and of course I don’t need any of those things; what I need is a deep fried hot dog and I just don’t know how to say it." Alex Guarnaschelli, Food Network Star
  16. "You look like the Fourth of July! Makes me want a hot dog real bad!" Jennifer Coolidge, as Paulette in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blue
  17. "My favorite meat is hot dog, by the way. That is my favorite meat…" Mitt Romney
  18. "I can’t tell you how many hot dogs I’ve eaten in my life. We had these inventive ways of making them. It looked like Wolfgang Puck, but it was two hot dogs." Shia LeBeouf
  19. "My real love was Chicago street food, specifically Chicago-style hot dogs, like Portillo’s serves." Jimmy John Liautaud, Owner of Jimmy John’s
  20. "If I’m out of town and I’m in a situation where I have to be creative, it has to be hot dogs because that’s my comfort food." Ester Dean, singer-songwriter
  21. "When your kids LOVE sushi and hotdogs, you get creative." Kim Kardashian via Instagram
  22. "I always look for a hot dog wherever I go." Martha Stewart
  23. "It is my life long dream to have a private presidential hot dog lunch." Stephen Colbert
  24. "Oh, I love a good hot dog. It doesn't get old. Just like running doesn't get old to people who like to run. I just love to eat." Joey Chestnut
  25. "Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy’. Perhaps at one time its importance could be limited by forcing it into a larger sandwich category (no disrespect to Reubens and others), but that time has passed." Janet Riley, NHDSC Queen of Wien

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