Far as I know the hot dog was invented in Frankfort Germany. What's a American hot dog? Oscar?
Hot dogs & frankfurters
The history of the American hot dog, as we know it today, traces its roots to Austrian/German immigrants who settled in our country in the 19th century. These people introduced their traditional weinerwurst, along with several other "Old World" sausages. Hot dogs (aka frankfurters) descended from these. Manufacturing methods/ingredients/packaging technology have changed due to food science advancements. Condiments/accompaniments, as always, are a matter of local taste and time. These range from traditional (sauerkraut) to the "works" (mustard, ketchup, pickle relish). Chicago-style is different from New York style.
ABOUT WEINERWURST
Weinerwurst (Vienna sausage)is said to have orginated in Austria. Hence, the name. This product is related to frankfurters (hot dogs). It is a member of the German Bruhwurst family:
"Bruhwurst: This term means a parboiled sausage, made from finely chopped raw meat, not intended for keeping, usually scalded by the manufacturer, sometimes smoked, to be heated before serving, always sliceable, often red in color."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 701)
About hot dogs/National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
Recommneded reading: "Hot dogs," Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America/Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 687-689)
FRANK TWITCHELL, HOT DOG KING
"What happened was that Chicago was a city of parks and, although I didn't know it then, Chicago's 5,000 acres of parks were to play a major role in my life. In those days, before World War I, the city's park commissioners weren't politicians but prominent and usually civic-minded businessmen...The used to go to the Heidelberg to eat, before or after their meetings, and they got to know and like my father. They'd even ask his opinion; after all, he was running one of the best restaurants in town. And so, one thing led to another, and the commissioners wound up asking my father if he would take over the parks concessions...The commissioners apparently were out to hustle better food and service in the South Park system, and Frank Twitchell more or less fell into place...The first thing he did was to arrange to buy hot dogs made to his specifications from Oscar Mayer, the meat packer. How's that for class: hot dogs made to his specifications. My father built a better hot dog and people started beating a path to the parks, where his hot dog stands began to sprout in strategic places along the South Park Lake Front."
---My Luke and I, Eleanor Gerhig and Joseph Durso [Thomas Y. Crowell:New York] 1976 (p. 56-6)