A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from April 10, 2007
Wiener (or Weiner; Wienie; Weenie; Wiener Wurst; Wienerwurst; Vienna Sausage)

Vienna, Austria became popular for its sausages, which were called “Vienna sausages” or “wieners” (after “wien,” the German for “Vienna”). Some forms include “wiener wurst” (little sausages), “wienies,” and “weenies.” The misspelling “weiner” is also common in America.
 
See also “frankfurter,” “hot dog” and “Texas hot weiner.”
       

Wikipedia: Vienna sausage
Vienna sausage is a variety of canned sausage. The term means essentially the same thing as Wiener, as the word “Wiener” means “Viennese” in German.

Canned Vienna sausages are generally made using a simplified adaptation of the process used to mass-produce other sausages. Meats, such as chicken, beef, and pork, are finely ground and mixed with salt and spices, especially mustard, and formed into a batter, which is poured into a long casing and smoked. The sausages are cooked, chopped into equal size segments, and placed into tins or jars, usually without the casings, and, with broth or brine added, processed the same as other canned goods.
 
Wikipedia: Hot dog
Hot dogs are also called frankfurters, or franks for short (named after the city of Frankfurt, Germany, the original frankfurters are made of pork only), or wieners or weenies (named after the city of Vienna, Austria, whose German name is “Wien”, the original wieners are made of a mixture of pork and beef). In Australia, the term frankfurt is used rather than frankfurter. A tiny version, called a cocktail frank or cocktail weenie, is sometimes served at parties and eaten on the end of a toothpick. In the German speaking countries, except Austria, hot dog sausages are generally called Wiener or Wiener Würstchen. (Würstchen means “little sausage”) In Swiss German, it is called Wienerli; but, in Austria, the terms Frankfurter or Frankfurter Würstchen are used.
   
(Oxford English Dictionary)
wiener, a. and n.
[a. Ger., of Vienna.] 
A. adj.
1. wiener schnitzel: see SCHNITZEL.
2. wienerwurst [G. wurst sausage]: = Vienna sausage s.v. VIENNA 1a. U.S.
1889 Gallup (New Mexico) Gleaner 27 Mar. 3/3 We.. are willing to bet our unpaid debts, against a weiner-wurst [sic] that the modest local of the Democrat blushed more than the bride when he saw her in the diaphanous costume he describes.
1899 F. NORRIS McTeague v. 75 The lunch baskets were emptied… There were wienerwurst and frankfurter sausages.
B. n.  a. = wiener wurst above. Cf. WEINER. N. Amer.
1904 H. R. MARTIN Tillie iii. 34 I’m havin’ fried smashed potatoes and wieners.
b. Comb. wiener roast N. Amer., a barbecue at which wieners are cooked and served.
1920 Outing July-Aug. 245/1 All over France they introduced the women war workers to American hikes, wiener roasts, camping in the open, and games of all sorts.
(...) 
weeny, n.
U.S. slang.
Var. WIENIE. Cf. WINNY.
1906 Dialect Notes III. 163 Weenie..Wiener Wurst, sausage. ‘Hot Weenies.’
1935 Amer. Speech X. 159 ‘Weinies’, ‘Wienies’, and ‘Weenies’ are also for sale.
(...)
wienie, n.
N. Amer. slang.
= WIENER n. a. Cf. WEENY n.2, WINNY.
1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 26 Apr. 7/3 Weinies, pretzels and coffee were served and German relishes.
(...)
winny, n.
U.S. slang.
Var. WIENIE. Also Comb., as winny-wurst. Cf. WEENY n.2
1867 J. CHRISTISON Crime & Criminals 37 For a week longer he served at his usual business, which was that of peddling ‘winnies’, mostly among the saloons.
1914 B. TARKINGTON Penrod xix. 199 Winnies! Here’s your hot winnies! Hot winny-wurst! 
(...)
Vienna sausage, a small frankfurter made of pork, beef, or veal (cf. wienerwurst s.v. WIENER a. 2).
1958 Catal. County Stores, Taunton June 4 *Vienna Sausagesa tin 4/-.
     
15 July 1869, The Nation
Unless he carries about Vienna sausages in his portmanteau, he may freely pass even the gates of Leghorn.
 
Making of America
12 April 1873, Appletons’ Journal, pg. 494:
In Munich and Salzburg, for example, they serve you with “Vienna sausage;” your penetration concludes, therefore, that Vienna is the land of sausages par excellence, and you are consequently greatly surprised to find that, although sausages may be easily had in Vienna, they are, nevertheless, not half so abundant as in the places named; and, furthermore, when you get them, they are not “Vienna,” but “Frankfort” sausages.
 
12 October 1874, Public Ledger (Milwaukee, WI), pg. 3, col. 2:
Hot Wiener Wurst and cool Milwaukee lager at Henry’s to-night.
   
25 February 1878, Wheeling (WV) Daily Register, pg. 1:
The illness of a family, caused by eating wiener wurst, was attributed to trichina, but that belief did not obtain general credence until quite recently, when the head of the family mentioned.
     
5 October 1878, Portland (OR) Morning Oregonian, pg. 4, col. 3:
Hot Vienna Sausage
 
13 September 1879, Fort Wayne (IN) Daily Gazette, pg. 4, col. 4:
Bill Henscal is doing big “wiener wurst” business.
       
20 November 1880, Oakland (CA) Daily Evening Tribune, “Notes and Excerpts,” pg. 1, col. 1:
“Wiener wust,” is a common street cry in Cincinnati, being used by venders of Vienna sausage. These men have little stands at the street corner, provided with a vessel for keeping the sausage hot by means of steam, a box for German rye bread, and a jar for horseradish. For five cents they sell a steaming link of sausage, resting on a slice of bread, and horseradish sprinkled over it. The sausage is made of three parts beef to one of pork.
 
12 April 1881, Janesville (WI) Daily Gazette, pg. 2, col. 2:
“Wiener wurst” is a common street cry in Cincinnati, being used by venders of Vienna sausage. These men have little stands at the street corners, provided wit ha vessel for keeping the sausage hot by means of steam, a box for German rye bread and a jar for horseradish. For five cents they sell a steaming link of sausage, resting on a slice of bread, with horseradish sprinkled over it. The sausage is made of three parts beef to one of pork.
 
9 December 1884, Kansas City (MO) Evening Star, pg. 4:
A Philadelphia Girl Captures the “Wienerwurst” Man.
[Philadelphia Times.}
   
Newspapers.com
24 January 1885, Humboldt (KS) Union, pg. 3, col. 6 ad:
A Wiener Worst Sandwich, with horseradish, at Chas. Groth’s.
 
Newspapers.com
23 June 1885, Saint Paul (MN) Daily Globe, pg. 7, col. 5 classified ad:
WANTED—Everybody to try hot wiener wurst sandwiches (red hots), sold at nights corner of Jackson and East Seventh streets, 5c each.
 
22 August 1892, The Daily Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT), “Paragraphs From Provo,” pg. 3, col. 2:
Of the lawyers Jones, E. D., runs a collection agency, while Jones, “All Hot,” sells tomatoes and wienerwurst sandwiches, ...
 
Chronicling America
19 May 1893, The Herald (Los Angeles, CA), “The Justice Courts,” pg. 6, col. 6:
J. T. Schoonover went to Frank Jennings’ sandwich stand last night and demanded a wienerwurst sandwich.
 
Chronicling America
7 February 1894, Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner (Prescott, AZ), pg. 4, col. 4:
Weinerwurst sandwiches are served daily after 9 p. m. to customers at the Sazerac.

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityFood/Drink • Tuesday, April 10, 2007 • Permalink


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