The truth about the US' most iconic food
美食争议：最老牌的美国热狗是哪一家？

If there’s any food that represents Americana, it’s the humble hot dog. Today, these bunned frankfurters are sold at every baseball game, grilled at nearly every backyard barbecue and available at roadside convenience stores from the Carolinas to California. In fact, this most archetypal of American foods originated as the US started to stitch itself back together in the 1860s following the American Civil War and forge its new identity. But while you can now find these seasoned sausage sandwiches across the American heartland, the hot dog’s iconic home is on the boardwalk at New York’s Coney Island.

如果有什么食物能够代表美国，那就是平凡价廉的热狗。美国从南到北，从东到西，每一场棒球比赛都能买到这种用面包夹着法兰克福香肠的热狗，几乎每户人家后院的烧烤都会烤热狗肠，路边的便利店也都能买到。事实上，这种最为典型的美国食物起源于19世纪60年代美国内战结束美国人重新团结并形成新的国家认同之时。虽然现在我们可以在美国内陆的各个角落发现这种调味香肠三明治，但热狗具有标志性的老家却在纽约康尼岛（Coney Island）的那条木板步道上。

As the city was sweating its way through a heat wave, I recently descended into the furnace that was the New York City subway and fled Manhattan for the soothing breezes of the Coney Island seashore. The beachside Brooklyn amusement park is a mixture of kitsch and family-friendly fun: its wooden boardwalk and golden sand is crowded with rides, games and food joints that have catered to hardworking New Yorkers for more than a century. On the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, I saw a swell of beachgoers line up under tall, white signs bearing the name ‘Nathan’s Famous’ that proudly advertises: ‘This is the original: World famous frankfurters since 1916’.

前不久，在热浪席卷这座城市时，我走进像火炉一样的纽约市地铁，逃离曼哈顿，来到康尼岛的海滩享受徐徐海风。布鲁克林海滨游乐园是一个俗气但却适合家庭出游的好地方：木板栈道两旁和金色的沙滩上挤满了游乐设施以及游戏和美食摊位，一个多世纪以来，一直为辛勤工作的纽约人提供节假日休息娱乐的服务。在瑟夫大道（Surf Avenue）和史迪威大道（Stillwell Avenue）相交的拐角处，我看到一群游客正在写着“内森热狗店”（Nathan's Famous）的白色招牌下排队。招牌自豪地宣称“正宗老字号：本店自1916年开始售卖举世闻名的法兰克福香肠。”

Yet, a mere two blocks away, I spotted another sign attached to a small shop directly beside the historic Cyclone rollercoaster that read: ‘Feltman’s of Coney Island: The original hot dog – 1867’.

然而，就在两个街区之外，我在一家紧邻历史悠久的“飓风”（Cyclone）过山车的小店外面又看到了另一块招牌，上面写着：“康尼岛费尔特曼热狗店：正宗老字号热狗——始于1867年”。

Up to that point, I’d thought that Coney Island hot dogs began and ended with Nathan’s, whose name has been synonymous with the seaside theme park for as long as anyone can remember. But while Nathan’s boasts that it’s ‘the original’, it turns out that they weren’t even the first company on the boardwalk to bun a hot dog. According to Brooklyn native and Coney Island historian Michael Quinn, a German immigrant named Charles L Feltman was serving hot dogs along the bustling strip decades before Nathan’s was conceived.

在那之前，我一直以为康尼岛热狗自始至终都指的是内森热狗店的热狗，因为自我们记事以来，内森热狗这个名字就一直是这家海滨主题公园的代名词。然而，尽管内森热狗自诩“正宗老字号”，事实却证明他们甚至不是海滨木板步道上第一家制作热狗的公司。据布鲁克林本地人、康尼岛历史学家奎因（Michael Quinn）所说，早在内森热狗店诞生的几十年前，一个名叫费尔特曼（Charles L Feltman）的德国移民就在这条繁华的大道上开始卖热狗了。

Feltman came to the US in 1856. Like many German immigrants at the time, he brought with him a fondness for the frankfurter sausages that were common in his homeland. A trained baker, Feltman opened a Brooklyn bakery in 1865 and earned a decent living delivering pies to Coney Island businesses from a push cart, while selling clams on the side.

费尔特曼在1856年来到美国。和当时的很多德国移民一样，他带来了对法兰克福香肠的喜爱。这种香肠在他的祖国很常见。作为一名受过训练的面包师，费尔特曼于1865年在布鲁克林开了一家面包店，靠推着手推车给康尼岛上的商家送馅儿饼和在街边卖蛤蜊过上了体面的生活。

As the newly opened Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad brought many more people to the seaside from Manhattan in the late 1860s, customers told Feltman that they wanted to eat hot food, not cold clams, according to Richard F Snow, the former editor of American Heritage Magazine. So in 1867, Feltman called on the wheelwright who’d originally made his cart and asked him to modify it. The craftsman built a custom charcoal brazier for cooking sausages and a metal box for warming bread.

据曾任《美国传统》（American Heritage）杂志编辑的斯诺（Richard F Snow）称，19世纪60年代末，随着新建的康尼岛至布鲁克林铁路把越来越多的游客从曼哈顿运送到康尼岛的海边，游客告诉费尔特曼，他们想吃热的东西，而不是冷冰冰的蛤蜊。于是在1867年，费尔特曼找到起初给他制造手推车的那名车匠将他的手推车做了改装。对方为他做了一个定制炭盆和一个金属盒子，前者烹制香肠，后者加热面包。

That summer, as much of the nation was recovering from the Civil War, Feltman pushed his custom cart up and down the Coney Island sand, selling nearly 4,000 ‘Coney Island red hots’ in his signature long bun for a nickel each. It was that bun, a modification from the way frankfurters were served back in Germany without bread, that made the sausage easy to eat at the beach. The term ‘hot dog’ wouldn’t be coined for some years yet, but Feltman’s American beachside take on the German beer-garden speciality proved to be a sizzling success.

那年夏天，美国很多地方开始走出内战逐渐复苏，费尔特曼推着自己那辆定制手推车，沿着科尼岛的沙滩来回兜售，卖出了近4000根“康尼岛红色热肠”。他的热肠夹在费尔特曼标志性的长条形面包中，每个售价5美分。法兰克福香肠在德国不是夹在面包中吃，费尔特曼改为面包夹香肠，让在海滩上吃香肠变得简单易行。“热狗”这个词的出现是多年后的事情了，但事实证明，费尔特曼在美国海滨对这种常见于德国露天啤酒花园的特色食物进行的改良取得了巨大的成功。

In 1871, Feltman leased a small seaside plot on West 10th Street and opened a restaurant called Feltman’s Ocean Pavilion. With success came expansion, and by the turn of the century, Feltman’s humble pie cart had grown into a full-on empire spanning an entire block – complete with nine restaurants, a roller coaster, carousel, ballroom, outdoor movie theatre, hotel, beer garden, bathhouse, pavilion and Alpine village that once hosted US president William Howard Taft.

1871年，费尔特曼在西10街租了一小块临海的土地，开了一家名为费尔特曼海洋馆（Feltman's Ocean Pavilion）的海滨餐厅。生意的成功带来了生意规模的扩大。到世纪之交，他那辆简陋的馅饼推车已经演变成为一个全面开花的商业帝国，占据了整个街区：总共包括九家餐厅、一座过山车、一台旋转木马、一家舞厅、一家露天电影院、一家旅馆、一个露天啤酒店、一家澡堂、一个露天售卖亭和一个曾接待过美国总统塔夫脱（William Howard Taft）的高山度假村。

According to Sharon Seitz and Stuart Miller in their book, The Other Islands of New York City, Feltman even persuaded Andrew Culver, president of the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad, to extend his new railroad’s timetable so customers could stay at Feltman’s for dinner. At its peak, Feltman’s managed to churn out up to 40,000 red hots a day, as well as seafood dinners in the more salubrious surroundings of his Ocean Pavilion complex. Feltman died in 1910 a wealthy man. His company, by then managed by his sons Charles and Alfred, employed more than 1,000 people, and by the 1920s, Feltman’s was considered the largest restaurant in the world.

据塞茨（Sharon Seitz）和米勒（Stuart Miller）在他们合著的《纽约市岛屿纵观》（The Other Islands of New York City）一书所述，费尔特曼甚至说服展望公园（Prospect Park） 和康尼岛铁路（Coney Island Railroad）的总裁卡尔弗（Andrew Culver）延长新铁路的运行时间，好给游客时间能在费尔特曼餐厅吃晚餐。巅峰时期，费尔特曼餐馆每天要烹制4万根红色热肠才能满足游客的需要，此外还有环境宜人的海洋馆所提供的海鲜大餐。1910年去世时，费尔特曼已身家不菲。彼时，费尔特曼的公司由儿子查尔斯（Charles）和阿尔弗雷德（Alfred）管理，员工超过1000人。到20世纪20年代，费尔特曼海洋餐厅被认为是全世界最大的餐厅。

In the midst of this early 20th-Century red hot boom, the Feltman family hired a Polish immigrant named Nathan Handwerker whose job was to slice the rolls. According to Lloyd Handwerker (Nathan’s grandson) in his book Famous Nathan, after two friends encouraged Handwerker to open up his own red hot business, he sometimes slept on the kitchen floor at Feltman’s to save money. Then in 1916, armed with a $300 loan and his wife’s family’s recipe, Handwerker opened his own shop mere blocks away from his old employer. Handwerker realised that to compete he needed to appeal to the masses, so he sold his hot dogs at a nickel each, undercutting Feltman’s, who by then, charged a dime for theirs.

在20世纪初期红色热肠正繁荣兴旺之时，费尔特曼家族雇佣了一个名叫内森·汉德韦克（Nathan Handwerker）的波兰移民，他的工作是把面包从中间切开。据劳埃德·汉德韦克（内森的孙子）在《大名鼎鼎的内森》（Famous Nathan）书中写道，两个朋友鼓励汉德韦克开始自己的红色热肠生意后，汉德韦克为了攒钱有时就睡在费尔特曼餐厅厨房的地上。1916年，怀揣借来的300美元和妻子家的菜谱，汉德韦克在离老东家仅几个街区的地方开了一家自己的店。汉德韦克意识到，要想参与竞争，他必须能够吸引大众。于是，他把自己的热狗定价5美分，低于费尔特曼热狗的售价。那时，费尔特曼热狗的售价为10美分。

After a rocky ride during the Great Depression and World War Two, the Feltman family eventually sold their business in the 1940s. The new owners nursed along a business whose tagline had once had been the ‘caterer to millions’ before closing its doors for good in 1954. For the first time in over half a century, Nathan’s was the only hot dog to be reckoned with on Coney Island’s boardwalk, and the many fans of Feltman’s larger, juicier franks were left hungry for more.

经历了大萧条和第二次世界大战期间的艰难坎坷后，费尔特曼家族最终在20世纪40年代卖掉了自己的企业。新老板小心经营，但这家曾以“为数百万人提供餐饮服务”为口号的企业最终在1954年永久性地关门大吉。半个多世纪后，内森热狗首次成为康尼岛木板栈道上唯一不容忽视的热狗美食，而许多人仍怀念费尔特曼餐馆较大较多汁的法兰克福香肠，他们渴望有更多种热狗可以选择。

“My grandfather was a faithful Feltman’s customer during the Depression era,” Quinn said.

奎因说：“在大萧条时期，我爷爷是费尔特曼热狗店的忠实顾客。”

“How did the two compare?” I asked Quinn.

“两家相比怎么样？”我问奎因。

“My grandfather said he always preferred the overall quality of Feltman’s to Nathan’s,” he replied. Even though Quinn wasn’t alive to ever taste the original Feltman’s hot dogs before it closed, his grandfather’s stories of eating Coney Island red hots stayed with him – so much so that as an adult, “I set out to recreate my grandfather’s experience,” he told me.

他答道：“我爷爷说，和内森热狗相比，他一直更喜欢费尔特曼热狗的整体质量，”尽管奎因本人没能在费尔特曼餐馆关门前品尝正宗的的费尔特曼热狗，但他告诉我，他一直记得爷爷吃科尼岛红色热肠的故事，以至于成年后“我开始重新体会我爷爷的经历”。

Quinn and his two brothers grew up in southern Brooklyn, and Coney Island was their playground. As a child, Quinn dreamed of opening a business with his siblings, but when his brother Jimmy passed away in the World Trade Center on 9/11, he and his brother Joe decided to honour Jimmy by resurrecting the Feltman’s brand. Fortunately, Quinn’s grandfather was good friends with a former employee who made Feltman’s hot dogs and he gave him the original Frankfurter spice blend Feltman used in his red hots. Quinn’s grandfather later passed this recipe along to Quinn. Several years and a “few bucks” later, Quinn purchased the Feltman’s name in 2015 and opened a tiny takeout window from the inside of a theatre in the East Village. He was finally able to reopen Feltman’s in the exact same location as Feltman’s original Coney Island restaurant in May 2017.

奎因和他的两个兄弟在布鲁克林南部长大，康尼岛是他们的乐园。还是个孩子时，奎因就梦想和自己的两个兄弟一起合伙做生意，但当其中一个兄弟吉米（Jimmy）在9·11事件中命丧世贸中心后，他和另一个兄弟乔（Joe）决定通过恢复费尔特曼热狗的品牌来纪念吉米。幸好奎因的爷爷和一个曾在费尔特曼餐馆负责制作热狗的员工是好朋友，此人将费尔特曼的正宗法兰克福香肠混合调味料配方给了奎因的爷爷。后来，奎因的爷爷把食谱传给了奎因。过了几年，攒了“一点钱”后，奎因在2015年买下了费尔特曼热狗的品牌，并在东村的一家剧院里开了一个小小的外卖窗口。2017年5月，他终于能够让费尔特曼热狗店在康尼岛的原店旧址重新开业。

As the historical wooden Cyclone creaked and rattled in the background, a small group of customers gathered outside Feltman’s. Quinn asked me if I wanted to try one of his red hots. Made from premium beef with just the right measure of spices and no additives, it was as tasty as he had promised. He added a heap of sauerkraut to give just a hint of sharpness, and a squirt of mustard, made with his own recipe. At first, I hesitated to add mustard. But when Quinn looked disappointed that I wasn’t going to try his signature blend, I changed my mind.

在历史悠久的木质“飓风”过山车嘎吱作响的背景声中，一小群顾客聚集在费尔特曼热狗店外。奎因问我想不想尝尝他的红色热肠。上乘的牛肉、恰到好处的香料、不含任何添加剂，真的如他保证的那样好吃。奎因多加了一堆泡菜，为的是有一点刺激的味道，还抹了一点用自己的配方做的芥末。起初，我犹豫着加不加芥末。但当奎因因为我不打算尝试他的招牌混搭而显得颇为失望时，我改变了主意。

It was good – so good in fact, that in the past few years, Feltman’s has been named one of the US’ 10 best hot dogs by The Daily Meal, with Gothamist declaring, “There is only one item on the Feltman's menu, and it's a hot dog... but it's likely to be the best hot dog you'll ever eat in your life.” Today, Feltman’s hot dogs are available in roughly 1,500 supermarkets from New York to California, and just last week, it set the Guinness World Record for creating the world’s largest hot dog: a 75lb, 5ft-long bunned behemoth.

好吃，实际上非常好吃，以至过去几年里，费尔特曼热狗被《每日一餐》（The Daily Meal）评为美国十佳热狗之一，美国网络媒体 Gothamist 也宣称：“费尔特曼热狗店的菜单上只有一款食物，那就是热狗……但这可能是你一生中吃过的最好吃的热狗。”如今，从纽约到加利福尼亚，费尔特曼热狗在大约1500家超市有售。就在上周，费尔特曼热狗还因为制作了一个75磅重、5英尺长的巨型面包而创造了全世界最大的热狗吉尼斯世界纪录。

And what of Nathan’s? Handwerker’s business acumen and his wife’s grandmother’s recipe laid the foundation for an international empire whose products are now sold in more than 55,000 supermarkets, club stores and restaurants across more than 10 countries.

内森热狗店呢？汉德韦克的商业头脑和他妻子祖母的配方为他的跨国商业帝国奠定了基础。现在，这个帝国在10多个国家拥有5.5万家门店。

Today, Nathan’s Famous Inc.’s international Hot Dog Eating Contest, which has taken place each 4 July since 1972 at its original Coney Island location, is televised across the country. While the Nathan’s name and its annual gross income of more than $40 million now dominate Feltman’s franks, that doesn’t necessarily mean they're the best. Allegedly, the Guinness World Records competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi (who knows a thing or two about seasoned sausage after winning the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest six straight times) prefers the taste of Feltman’s.

如今，内森热狗公司（Nathan's Famous Inc.）举办的国际吃热狗大赛（Hot Dog Eating Contest）在全国进行电视转播。自1972年以来，该比赛每年7月4日在科尼岛内森热狗店老店举行。尽管现在和费尔特曼热狗相比，内森热狗的牌子及其每年超过4000万美元的总收入让内森占了上风，但这并不一定意味着内森是最好吃的。据说，挑战吉尼斯世界纪录的小林尊（Takeru Kobayashi）更喜欢费尔特曼热狗的味道。小林尊连续六次赢得内森热狗举办的吃热狗大赛，他对调味香肠的味道如何多少知道一些。

But don’t just take Kobayashi’s word for it. Find Feltman’s in the supermarket aisle, order Nathan’s across the globe and decide for yourself which is your favourite.