Wienerschnitzel: The Taco Bell of Hot Dogs

Michael Ornelas (0:00)

Is Wienerschnitzel THE destination to get the biggest variety of hot dogs? Being quite literally the Taco Bell of Hot Dogs, Wienerschnitzel has built a legacy on having nothing to do with the culture its name suggests. At least they make good on the Wieners half of their name. But despite the silly moniker, Wienerschnitzel takes their glizzies so seriously, they even brought in Alfred Hitchcock's graphic designer to make their logo. And their business model extends beyond just hot dogs. After acquiring one of the early giants of soft serve ice cream, Wienerschnitzel developed a reputation as a reliable stop for sweet treats. And with how naughty their marketing team can get, I'm shocked we haven't seen an objectified banana split mascot yet.

This week on the show, I'll dip my wiener of knowledge into your cornmeal batter of curiosity so that you too may know everything I've learned about Wienerschnitzel. Then we'll direct our attention to the people of Yelp to see what they're saying about the very Wienerschnitzel we dined at. This is the Fine Dining Podcast.

David Luong (1:41)

I can't believe that they got the Hitchcock guy to make that logo, because it's a very innocuous, unsuspensible logo. It's like, honestly...

Michael Ornelas (1:52)

Can you imagine if they tapped him to make like, can you make a logo for us that horrifies people?

David Luong (1:57)

Yeah, like here's an existential hot dog. It's like, I'm self-aware and you're eating me.

Michael Ornelas (2:01)

A psychological thriller of a logo.

David Luong (2:03)

Yeah, I also thought it was interesting, the thing you said about like, not leaving it to the namesake. I didn't even think about the fact that Wienerschnitzel Der Wienerschnitzel is like straight up like German or Austrian.

Michael Ornelas (2:14)

Yep.

David Luong (2:14)

Not even, there's nothing about that that would suggest that, hey, we love...

Michael Ornelas (2:18)

In fact, they're selling America merch.

David Luong (2:20)

Yeah.

Michael Ornelas (2:21)

Hello, and welcome to the Fine Dining Podcast, the quest to compare all restaurants to Chili's. I am your host, Michael Ornelas, and this is the podcast where we dive deep into the history of your favorite restaurants and then thoroughly review them one week later by comparing them to Chili's.

This week, we're covering a chain that made my mom say yum when I mentioned I was going to do an episode on it, Wienerschnitzel. And joining me is a friend, improviser, performer at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles, and even though he doesn't know it, he is the person who made me want a denim jacket. It's David Luong.

David Luong (2:56)

Wow, thank you so much. I didn't know that you had that planned, and I wore this completely...

Michael Ornelas (3:01)

I know. I saw you walk in like that. I was like, yes, this is going to land. And actually, you know what? Please hold.

David Luong (3:10)

For the people who are just listening to the pod, Michael got up and he's putting on a denim jacket, and now he's back and he's wearing said denim jacket.

Michael Ornelas (3:21)

What a reveal.

David Luong (3:23)

You can cut that out if it's like a weird spoiler. This is actually taking all the suspense out of it. But that's great. I just want to say this to anybody watching, it's never too late to jump on the denim jacket bandwagon. I was a late in life denim jacket guy. It's kind of become my signature look now, but would you believe I didn't get my first denim jacket until I was 28 years old.

Michael Ornelas (3:44)

Really? I assumed it was like your first patch of denim fell off of a jean and you put it under your pillow and the denim jacket fairy showed up the next morning and there was a denim jacket under it.

David Luong (3:55)

Yeah, and you know what? You could do that. And if you're smart, don't be like me. Don't do something like denim. Put in leather, silk, put in gold jewelry and you'll be...

Michael Ornelas (4:07)

Whatever you put under your pillow multiplies.

David Luong (4:09)

Yeah.

Michael Ornelas (4:09)

Don't choose denim.

David Luong (4:11)

Yeah. And if you put in teeth under your pillow, you get more teeth. Yeah, the tooth fairy does not give you silver coins. They will give you more teeth.

Michael Ornelas (4:20)

Yeah. That's why they grow back in?

David Luong (4:22)

That's why they grow back in.

Michael Ornelas (4:23)

You very enthusiastically wanted to do Wienerschnitzel and I sent you a few options of restaurants that we could do. What is your personal connection or history with Wienerschnitzel?