Send Me To Hot Dog University!

There was a bit of talk on Twitter recently about the Vienna Beef iPhone app, which I downloaded and had a chance to check out. While the functionality of the actual application appears to be dubious at best, it does have a link section. And that link section includes a reference to the Hot Dog University in Chicago.

Jackpot.

Known as "The Harvard of Encased Meats", Hot Dog U has a weekend long course entitled "The Art of the Cart" which was designed for people who are considering purchasing a hot dog cart. Now, regular readers of this site know I'm a sucker for a good hot dog. Is the leap from hot dog aficionado to hot dog vendor that hard to imagine for me?

Ok. Maybe the hod dog vending life is not for me, with my life as it exists today. However, I think the experience would be priceless and help to improve my writing on the topic of hot dogs. Who would doubt a hot dog review from a guy with an actual degree in hot dogs?

I was all kinds of fired up when the video above was highlighted on CBS's Sunday Morning several years ago. Alas, I could not get my wife to agree that attending a $700.00 class at the University was an efficient use of our resources. Unable to get a convincing argument past her, I moved on but never really forgot about my idea to attend Hot Dog University.

Well, all this talk of Vienna beef has me thinking it might make sense to give it another try, the good old college try. However, this time with some help. I will gladly cover the cost of travel and lodging, but I'd like to make a heart felt appeal to my readers for help with the class. Will you help? Please click the image below to donate.