St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-22
The Rise and Fall of the Red Hot''
Sandwich in the City of Min e
neapolis.
It Has Been Succeeded by the Ham
And" as Sidewalk q
Lunch.
Curbstone Epfcures in Minneapolis
--Portable Restaurants and
Lunch Counters.


high, which was supplied with small fur
mace in the shape of a gasoline lamp at the
bottom. He Immediately set up the cry OF
"Ret hot; red hot" At first no attention
was paid to him, but the persistency with
which he continued to calculate this rather
unusual expression FINALLY induced some
one to ask him what allied him. Then it
was discovered that he desired to sell for
the modest sum Of 5 cents sandwich COM
posed of two links of weiner-wurs sausage
and two slices of rye bread. A little horse
radish added by way of relish
made the whole q rather pal
atable ''snack." The sausages were heated
to temperature that probably suggested
the name 'red hot. "' The fame of the new
bonnie bouehe spread rapidly and soon all
classes of people were eating ''red hots."
At first it was only the FOUNDERS" and
people who were on the streets late at night
who ran the risk of contracting hydrophobia
by mastcating the enervating wiener-wurst.
but the craze spread rapidly and dudes,
politicians and even capitalists became
slaves to the fascinating but soul-destroying
red hot"
THE RED HOT" MAN
prospered and soon had more business than
he could attend to-. He probably sent for
his brother, for the next week his counter
part as to white apron and can appeared on
the next corner. Then they sprang up rap
idly after that, and each corner OF Wash
ingtOn avenue near the business center
of the city, had its ''red hot' man with
his can and bottle of horseradish.
Minneapolis is tickle city and raises its
pets to the clouds, seemingly, that she may
dash them to the earth again. Just as the
''red-hot" men were beginning to feel that
they had struck an ineXhaustible vein of
good fortune the trade began to fall off.
Whether the finding Of a dog collar by
medical student In a sausage that he was
eating or the report that the sausages were
made of damaged meat bought from st.
Paul butchers created public aversion to
the red hots," is not known, but at any
rate the sale of the commodity rapidly
dwindled, and only the original red hot'
man is left. He still sticks stubbornly to
his post, but has been forced to cater to the
trade of newsboy and boothlack. trade,
which he once proudly disdained.. - :
THE DECLINE OF THE .'RED-HoT'
was followed by the rise of the '.ham
and," which made its first appearance on
the streets on the evening of the 18th OF
March last. The inventor was colored
gentleman. whose complexion may be
likened unto the hue of stack of black
cats. He had been following the business
of lawn-mowing for a number Of seasons,
and had amassed a competency sufficient to
keep him through the winter. and enable
him to appear upon the streets in the guise
of a second hand dude. He wore crash
opera hat. once handsome Prince Albert
coat tightly buttoned around his body,
checkered pants, and a pair of yellow
buckskin gloves. Upon the evening named
he came wheeling along the street the little
cart upon which he was won't to carry
his lawn mower. Instead of the
mower, however, he had fastened upon
the vehicle large tin can, and portable
stove. Ham and' was the plaintive cry
that echoed about the deSel ted streets long
after midnight. An analysis of the ''ham
and' proved that it was q ham and egg
or rather ham Omelette and
biscuit The ham was first cooked, then
the eggs were added, and the operation of
turning was performed by throwing the
omelette high in the air a la flap jack. Ten
cents was the modest price demanded for
this portable supper of ham and eggs. The
epicures caught on to the new
ham and' rose with the rapdity of the
''red-hot'' craze. The eOlored inventors
estimation of the value of his lunch became
somewhat enlarged aud he had begun to de-
mand Is cents. when n
A COMPETITOR APPEARED
in another gentleman of color whose COM
pleXion did not partake so much of the
sable color of night, but rather of the yell
lax r;eho of ,Haa l,ia IL 81,
had little cart and stove. and soon built
up thriving trade. Then another APP
peared in the person of meek but per
sistent German, who wheeled out sort of
a portable table and began to sell ''red
hots," ''ham and" and hot corn in addition.
He tried to work his way into patronage
by bearing the ''hatn and" market and
running the price down to cents In
vain the inventor tried to hold the patrons
whom he had forced e6nea to pay Is cents.
''Gemmen," he would say, ''patronize the
man who invented this heah scheme; yo'
don't want nothin' for s. cents. PatroniZe
the original ham and man an he will give
yo' good ham and good eggs for 10 cents"
IT WAS NO USE
and his appeals only got people into the IN
pleasant habit OF patronizing the other
vendors simply for the enjoyment of hear
ing him kick. Something must be done to
stem the tide of popular favor. Finally
the inventors creative genius came to his
rescue. For a couple Of weeks he attended
strictly to business, and made mysterious
illusions to the fact that things would
come out all right before long, The mean
ing of his confident bearing and remarks be-
came apparent when he came down the other
evening attred in white cap.and apron
that was whittier than usual. Before him he
handled gorgeous equipage which was
well described by the name enblazoned in
letters OF gold on its sides 1>1
-. $1,000. ...........,..
THE EXPOSITION PORTABLE LUNCH
COUNTER.
, ..........,.,...,
1t consisted Of an oblong box on wheels.
the interior of which served for cupboard
and the top for stove. 1t was provided
with gaily striped awning, an electric
bell, and was altogether thing of beauty.
The sight of this dazzling outfit upon the
competitors had a discouraging effect. al
though they affected disdaln as the .sexpe-
sition'' rolled regally up the street
and anchored in the sewer
in front of prominent drug store, where
it was soon the center of an admiring
throng of street gamins. One of the COM
petitors was not to be crushed by any dis
play OF opulence on the part of his rival.
He quietly submitted to taunts and re-
proacfes for over week. and admitted his
defeat with becoming Difference that
created some sympathy for his forlorn posi-
ton. At length the hour of triumph for
him approached and be in turn came down
the avenue with lunch stand on wheels.
1t was not SO snowy. but it was more con-