Hot Dogs

If there's a great view of the fireworks from your restaurant, why not make a party out of it? And if you've got an absolutely amazing view and can get away with charging a premium, I say go for it. It's the American way. These restaurants really do have a view worth the trouble. The Rusty Scupper (402 Key Highway, 410-727-3678, selectrestaurants.com/rusty) hosts its annual Fourth of July celebration from 5 to 10 p.m. in its Topside Lounge and upper deck areas. The party features an all-you-can-eat crab feast, drink specials and giveaways, and a great view of the Inner Harbor fireworks.

Mark your calendars for the Maryland SPCA's first Wine and Wag Happy Hour of the summer on June 15 Not familiar with the event? There will be wine and beer and snacks, and tours of the adoption center. Bring your dog for off-leash fun-run play, paw-painting and bobbing for hot dogs. The Wine and Wag is sponsored by Cabot Cheese and The Wine Source. The cost: Tickets are $10 in advance (children too) and $15 at the event. Some rules: Kids must be accompanied by an adult.

First Lady Michelle Obama is on a mission to get our kids to eat healthy, but every now and then she is known to indulge on a cheeseburger or other food that is not so good for the body. A few years ago she made a lunch run with staff to a Five Guys inWashington, D.C. Well, a physicians group said this is a no-no and wants Michelle Obama and the rest of the first family not to be photographed eating unhealthy foods. The Physicans Committee for Responsible Medicine said that President Obama has posed in a number of staged photos eating unhealthy foods, including hot dogs at a basketball game with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

As "Barbecue Bible" author Steven Raichlen points out in "Raichlen's Tailgating! 31 Righteous Recipes for On-the-Go Grilling," his latest ebook, "Long before NASCAR and the Super Bowl, there was tailgating. This distinctly American institution dates back to 1869, and probably earlier, when Rutgers and Princeton played their first intercollegiate football game. Students gathered before the contest to drink and socialize, so legend goes, serving their picnics on the lowered tailgates of horse-drawn wagons.

M&T Bank Stadium is conveniently flanked by two sports temples: Mother's in Federal Hill and Pickles Pub in Camden Yards . If Mother's is revered as the de facto Ravens bar, Pickles is beloved by fans of the Orioles. But that doesn't mean it overlooks the Ravens. On home games, Pickles is mobbed with fans coming out of the stadium. And on away games, the specials are generous. In addition occupying prime real estate right across from Camden Yards, Pickles is also known for its hot dogs and the man who sells them — a pirate look-alike.

A California man made headlines Sunday when he chucked a hot dog at Tiger Woods as he lined up a putt at the Frys.com Open. If you didn't think the guy was insane for doing so, you will when you hear his explanation. “I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie 'Drive,'" Brandon Kelly, 31, told Julie Johnson of The Santa Rosa Press Democrat . “As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, 'I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger.'” Oh, well that clears that up. Here's one more crazy quote from the hot-dog hurler, who claims to be a Tiger Woods fan: “I honestly wish Tiger the best,” Kelly said.

The Natty Boh Sausage ($4.59) got picked during this visit to the Dog Bar partly because I'll always choose brats over hot dogs when offered the choice, and partly because, to the extent you are familiar with Dietz & Watson hot dogs, you already know what to expect from the foundation of the Dog Bar's menu: the lowly wiener. The brat's bathed in Boh before the kitchen commits it to the final, browning heat. It's placed in a bun, and here again, your general awareness of the ubiquitous Wonder Bread-ish white flour dog bun supplies you with all the description you need.

Lee Silk does landscaping and drives a green Ford pickup with equipment thrown in the back and likes his hot dogs with mustard, nothing too elaborate. Lately, though, he's been stopping for lunch several times a week at Falls Road and West Lake Avenue, where there's this hot dog stand with ambition, a stand pressing the boundaries of the form. As Silk says, referring to the proprietor behind the grill, "He tries to talk me into the fancy stuff. " With some success, it seems, as Haute Dogs' owner, Daniel Raffel, recalled Silk's recent purchase of a dog made with Italian sausage prepared in a wine reduction.

I only do hard-hitting journalism here at Baltimore Sports Blitz, and I have a smashing special report from Ravens cheerleader tryouts on Sunday. Remember the cheerleader who wore a hot dog costume at M&T Bank Stadium last fall while her teammates celebrated Halloween by dressing as sexy cowgirls and nurses and things like that? Well, the readers of my old blog certainly do. Brian Krista, the images editor at b, snapped a photo of a Ravens cheerleader dressed as a sausage in October.

Chef Michel Tersiguel of Tersiguel's in Ellicott City is the son of French-born restaurateurs, a guy who didn't get his first taste of peanut butter and jelly until high school. So when he cooks at home, you might expect it to be an elaborate affair. Guess again. "Michel will eat anything -- hot dogs, fine: macaroni and cheese out of a box, fine," said Tersiguel's wife, Angela, who is expecting the couple's second child in December. Turns out that when Tersiguel summered as a child in France, he couldn't wait to get home to a cheesesteak sub. "When I was a kid, I used to eat filet mignon two times a week and to this day, I'm not that crazy about it," he said.