Thanks for the franks: Hampton celebrates National Hot Dog Day

Perhaps no other food invokes such a love/hate relationship like a hot dog: We love eating them, but we often hate the way they make us feel afterward.

Despite all the back-and-forth contemplation we usually indulge and for one day out of the year that’s OK.

July 19 was National Hot Dog Day, less than three weeks after the world watched a 39-year-old man from Westfield, Ind., choke down 62 of them in 10 minutes at the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island.

Fortunately for the Hampton Community Outdoor Pool, champion eater Joey Chestnut was nowhere in sight that Wednesday, although, he could have eaten all 62 of his hot dogs for just $15.50. For the occasion, hot dogs were only 25 cents from 1 to 3 p.m. at the pool’s snack shack.

Kevin Flannery, retired director of community services, started the event in Hampton about four years ago.

“We wanted a family-friendly event where people could come and get a pretty good bargain. You’ve got to admit, 25 cents is a good deal,” he said.

The township calls it “Old-Fashioned Hot Dog Day,” and people definitely like the old-time prices. One family was counting down until 1 o’clock.

“We were just sitting here counting down. There’s only five minutes until the 25-cent hot dogs start,” said Laura Bartoletti of Hampton. “We were planning to come before we knew, but who doesn’t want 25-cent hot dogs? That’s a great deal.”

Her daughters — Greta, 7, and Miranda, 9 — like their hot dogs plain, but Laura will eat one with just about anything on it.

“I’ve even had a hot dog with Kimchi on it,” she said. “This is funny, too. Greta eats her hot dogs like a piece of corn on the cob because she doesn’t like the ends.”

After eating frankfurters with her daughters at a picnic table in the pool area, Laura even took two of them to go for her mother, Marlene.

Olivia Jarzynka, 20, of Shaler was working at the snack shack for National Hot Dog Day.

“We’ve been making hot dogs since 10 a.m.,” she said.

And there were no worries about her lessening the inventory:

“I don’t eat them. You can put that in your article.”

With the need for extra hot dogs comes the need for extra help, and the township took care of that.

“We even brought two extra helpers in today specifically to handle the hot dogs,” said Teresa Grimm of Hampton, who was also working at the snack shack.

She eats her hot dogs with ketchup but now that she is 18, she may want to consider changing her taste preferences. According to Eric Mittenthal, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, “Only children should eat ketchup on their hot dogs.”

“Maybe I’ll have to try mustard now,” said Grimm.

The beginning of National Hot Dog Day is a bit unclear. The first official Hot Dog Day was celebrated in Alfred, N.Y. 1972. National Hot Dog Day, as we know it, is usually held the third Wednesday of July.

Only in America, folks.