Year of The Dog
This Wednesday, January 29th is the Lunar New Year. This celebration, marked by the first new moon of a new calendar year, commemorates the arrival of spring. Believe it or not, we are already halfway through the winter. In Chinese culture, every Lunar New Year is represented by an animal from the Chinese zodiac. It’s a cycle of 12 animals. This year is technically the year of the snake, but for me – it's been the year of the dog (this works because “dog” is one of the 12 animals AND ties in another way which I’ll get to later).
In my last post, I ended with an announcement about my annual party which this year was themed “’Tinis and Weenies.” I think it was a huge success. Cocktail weenies garnished dirty martinis, my Christmas-gifted hot dog roller made its maiden journey in my kitchen, my guests and friends bestowed upon me all MANNERS of hot dog-related gift items. Candles, mugs, bags, hats – Kerri even crocheted me a hot dog pillow! Ellie made me paper hot dog decorations which I have still left up nearly a month later. In lieu of actually ever decorating this house, they will remain.
I am awe of the support I have received and continue to receive. My friend Gillian lives out West now and has been following my journey via IG. She wrote to me the day after my party, “I cannot begin to understand how many people have rallied around you and your vision for hot dogs.” Neither have I. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but this was supposed to be a summer-seasonal project that has now spanned over 6 months. Thus, the Year of the Dog.
2024 even closed out with a “12 Dogs of Christmas” at Lucky’s Last Chance (sadly did not get wise to that lineup until it was over, but I do kinda wanna try a PB & Bacon dog now) AND another tubed-meat tribute party at Royal Tavern. They were having a “Brats and Bubbles” NYE exclusive menu, and I had an idea of “ending where I began,” though full-well knowing I still had a LIST in my notes of dogs yet to try in 2025. After that, my friend TT was having a NYE party that had a skillet of sweaty little wiener babies tempting everyone from the kitchen table. I had to resolve to keep doggin’ in the new year.
I can’t help but feel like I am still on the zeitgeist of something. Undeniably, hot dogs are having a moment. For instance – Dietz and Watson (86-year-old Philly-based delicatessen and distributors) have been the contracted frank-slingers of the Lincoln Financial Field since it went up in 2003 (pretty sure, having a hard time fact-checking that but we’re not fact-checking in 2025). However, this is the first playoff run the Birds have had (and proud to say we’ve had quite a few in recent years) where I’ve seen Dietz and Watson giving out free “Bird Dogs.”
You’ve all heard of these by now. And – am I wrong? Have the Bird Dogs been around before and now I just have hot dog confirmation bias? The first Instagram post I saw D&W make about the Bird Dog said, “they’re back, Philly” - but I had never seen or heard about them before. As a pretty big Birds fan, I would like to think that I would have known about the Bird Dogs if they were a thing before now. SO, I’m choosing to believe that – all the hot dog things are just happening right now, for the first time ever - around me 😉
The Dietz and Watson Bird Dog is as follows:
1). Bun; baked with food dye to be as green as a sward and provided by Amoroso’s (121-year-old local, commercial bakery).
2). “Juicy Jumbo Beef Dietz Dog”
3). Long hots
4), Fried onions
5). Provolone Cheese
Dietz and Watson food trucks have been posting up around the city to hand these FREE dogs out to Eagles fans. Since the beginning of January, friends have sent me so many photos of these puppies at tailgates, outside of their offices, or partnered at different Philly restaurants they happened to be eating at. From what I can tell D&W has already teamed up with Middle Child, Mawn (who has their own killer lunch dog), and Pub and Kitchen to put their respective spins on the dog.
This is not a review because unfortunately, I have been unable to snag a Bird Dog myself. That’s not to say that I haven’t tried to recreate the dog at home (green bun excluded). Fried long hots and provolone is just so Philly and sounded so goddamn good – I went to Di Bruno Bros the day of the Wild Card game specifically to get supplies and DIY. BUT, like I was saying, I wanted to mention the Bird Dog and all of the other events that keep cropping up just to help me illustrate to you all that I can’t help feeling like I made a decision to write about hot dogs, and the universe was galvanized into action. In return, I actually feel...edified. Year of the Dog.
Now, I had to look up the last time there was an actual Year of the Dog. Not one named by some wiener-wild quasi-adult woman and Philly native (me), but as dictated by the cycle of the Chinese Zodiac.
PEOPLE. The last Year of the Dog was 2018.
2018!
That is the year the Eagles secured their first Super Bowl victory.
I’m just gonna leave that there and keep this piece short and sexy. I’ll be back again soon. Let’s just say, a lot more hot dogs were consumed during this past week of staycation.
Go PTO! Go Dogs! And most importantly – GO BIRDS!