A Hot Dog Program [VHS]
Let's be frank: Sausage connoisseurs will watchA Hot Dog  Programwith relish. Boiled, broiled, steamed, fried, or grilled, get your hot dogs  here! A meal, a snack, a guilty pleasure, hot dogs are "as close as we'll get to a national dish," the narrator observes. And unlike their burger counterparts, hot dog stands have not become standardized or franchised. "They are still small, regional, and unique."A Hot Dog Programtours the United States in search of  establishments that inspire motorists to take hot dog detours, from the Super Duper Wiener truck located off Exit 24 on I-95 in Fairfield, Connecticut, to the Coney Island in Denver--33 tons of concrete shaped like an enormous  hot dog. Viewers also get a taste of the local flavor served up by the  Varsity ("What'llyahave? What'llyahave?") in Atlanta, Georgia, Superdawg in Chicago, Nathan's Famous in New York, and Pink's in Los Angeles, where legend has it that Orson Welles ate 18 hot dogs in one sitting, and where Ruth Buzzi makes a brief oncamera appearance.A Hot Dog Programis a celebration of hot dogs and the people  who love them ("It's the ultimate food," exults one diner), and who have made their hot dog joint their hangout from adolescence into adulthood, although those not stern of stomach may want to fast-forward through the sequence that shows how hot dogs are made.For more time-capsule Americana, check outGreat Old Amusement ParksandAn Ice Cream Show.--Donald Liebenson