My tastes vary. You can catch me (1) eating a footlong corndog at the Houston Rodeo, or (2) traveling internationally for a tasting menu. I hate the in between.

As a hot dog connoisseur, this greatly amused. I'm glad I listened to this on audio, so I didn't end up bookmarking each and every restaurant. As a trick, add your want-to-goes to Google Maps. If you're ever stuck in a neighborhood wondering where to go, you now have a list!

As yet another LA transplant, I had a feeling Pink's was overrated. So if for nothing else, thank you, Jamie, for this information. I would never brave that line, anyway. No food is worth waiting in line for. Signed, a millennial.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

Funny, charming, and informative! As a hot dog lover who puts ketchup on them, Loftus made me feel safe and welcome in the Dog-o-sphere. Recommend if you like travel narratives, culinary nonfiction, sincere and relatable memoirs, thoughtful and consistent critiques of capitalism, and funny smart women

loved the narration just as much as the book

3.5 / 5 ⭐️'ˢ

“Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs” by Jamie Loftus

📕 Edition: ARC Audiobook & ebook via @netgalley

Loftus takes an unexpected and hilarious dive into the world of hot dogs. What seems like a mundane topic at first glance becomes an exploration of culture, culinary history, and the peculiarities of America's favorite fast food.

Loftus effortlessly combines humor with keen observations as she embarks on a cross-country road trip, devouring hot dogs in all their regional variations. Her witty commentary, accompanied by delightful illustrations, makes for an entertaining and enlightening read.

Beyond the laughs, Loftus delves into the socio-economic roots of the hot dog, shedding light on its evolution from a working-class staple to a gourmet indulgence. She deftly weaves in the complex tapestry of American food culture, all while providing a snapshot of the pandemic era.

More than a book about hot dogs; it's a satirical commentary on the quirks and contradictions of American society. Whether you're a hot dog enthusiast or a casual reader, Loftus's infectious humor and storytelling make this book a fun read.

This is a book that seems almost made for audio. It covers hot dogs in a way that makes it hard to categorize. Loftus explores history, science, geography, and culture. It's almost more of a reflection on the American relationship with hot dogs than anything else. Loftus's voice is strong and listening to this feels like you're listening to a friend tell you a story. Some may find the lack of focus frustrating but for most, it's a part of the charm.

Started July off right, by savoring an audiobook about America’s past time: hotdogs. Author Jamie Loftus crafts a book that is part hotdog travelogue and part societal reckoning. Traveling cross country to eat the best dogs in the USA, we’re treated to descriptions of the most popular meat casings in each state but also to the real pain that’s behind them: underpaid workers in dangerous conditions and livestock in inhumane environments.

This book is so much more than a series of stories about hotdogs. It’s a critique of modern society, how it fails the most vulnerable and how we should be aware of what goes into the food we eat.

It was fun to listen to this one with Loftus as the narrator, as she experienced each hot dog and tied it back to larger worldwide implications.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, Forge Books and NetGalley for the ALC!

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC. Truly never thought I would be reviewing books about hot dogs but this one is just so inanely funny.

This was just delightful. I got a lot of funny responses when I told my husband and friends I was reading a book about hotdogs... But what can I say? I love those disgusting little tubes of meat. I was honestly hoping this book would finally end my love of the damn things after learning what they're made of, where they come from, and their sordid history, but sadly all it did was make me go "huh, you don't say" a lot and crave a freaking hotdog. This was laugh out loud funny and I loved all of the Bravo references. I also loved how wide the topics of coverage were in relation to hotdogs such as their relationship to politics, business, and ethics. This was well researched and extremely well written. I never thought I'd be recommending a book about hotdogs but here we are. I even learned something new in the Rochester chapter when the author pronounced Nick Tahous in a way I'd never heard and was quickly corrected by a fellow Rochestonian. I was also disappointed by the way she felt about Buffalo but at least she acknowledged we have great food. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you haven't picked up this book yet, what are you doing with your life?

So funny, so strange, so thoughtful, and oh so American. I never knew a book about hot dogs could make me feel so much. Gonzo journalism at its finest!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an arc of Raw Dog in exchange for an honest review.

⚡️I received an advance listening copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Raw Dog is exactly everything I want in a book— a micro-history of America’s favorite tube of meat that’s tied together with humor, wit, and dare I say, romance. Part travelog, part food review, part social critique, and all genuinely delightful read— this book reads in Jamie’s very authentic podcast-humor voice (I’m not kidding, the audiobook is SO FUN to listen to) and explores the wild world of the American hot dog in bite size scenes that make to book perfect to pick up and read on the go.

Loftus offsets the gnarly history of hot dog manufacturing with anecdotes from her cross-country roadtrip to eat regional favorites, where she encounters many striking parallels to the sordid past of the meatpacking industry (famously of The Jungle and pre-USDA fame) brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Her absolutely hilarious descriptions of all varieties of hot dog-themed novelty items, deep dive into the romances between pro hot dog eaters, and exploration of the world of aggressively gendered foods (specifically gendered pickles with a fanfiction-styled narrative about their relationships) is as delightfully funny as it is informative about how key a single food is to culture.

This book is an absolute delight— you’re in for a meaty treat if you listen to it (Jamie narrates the book) or read it (amazing illustrations of all hot dogs and hot dog adjacent accouterments abound). From the soggy buns to the palpable sexual tension of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC!

Split as a good hotdog on a griddle between a travelogue and a story about the american love of hotdogs, this was an interesting listen. I've listened to this author's podcasts and was familiar with her storytelling style, so the way this book is laid out didn't surprise me too terribly, but I didn't expect this book to be such a personal story.
This is a casual conversation about the hot dog, the road trip she endured with her boyfriend at the time (who is respectfully only called Boyfriend and not named), all the hot dog joints & specialties that she (and boyfriend, and two animals in the backseat) tasted but seemingly rarely enjoyed along the way. Oh, and it was during the pandemic. Imagine if Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives was hosted by a woman comedian who is unafraid to tell us all about the diarrhea she had after the previous day's hotdogs. You'd be pretty close to the experience of this book.

This book was a great mix of a road trip with history and how it’s made, hot dog related events, and some personal aspects thrown in. I love that it was read by the author, you can tell where she played up her accent purposefully and emphasized lines in the way it was intended. Technically since it’s not out and I had an early release copy I’m not allowed to quote it I don’t think, but let me tell you, I paused the audio book to tell Siri to make a note of multiple lines. (I’ve never done this before, but I was driving so had to be creative.). It made me want to eat a hot dog, go on a road trip, and find a specific food to make my thing. Eating a hot dog seems to be the most obtainable thing on that list, so I’ll do that. I’d give it 4.5 if they would’ve allowed singing of the full Oscar Mayer song for the audiobook 🤣
I received an advance copy of the audiobook from NetGalley, thank you! 💗

Jamie Loftus is one of my favorite writers and podcasters; I will read or listen to anything they tackle. I haven't wanted to eat a hot dog since childhood, when we hungry kids would sneak uncooked dogs out of the Oscar Mayer package in the refrigerator for a quick snack. And, to be honest, this book hasn't changed my vague dislike of the food. But reading Loftus's account of their cross-country culinary adventure was like hanging out with that friend who is always a lot of fun, even if you're just going to take the car for an oil change.

I have to admit, I skipped the grossest descriptions (of digestive difficulties and sausage making), and reading this in print instead of an audio format would have made that easier. Still, it's a fun summer read!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and Macmillan Audio for a free audiobook for review.

Such a funny and surprisingly interesting deep dive into hot dogs and one woman’s tour of the US through hot dogs.

This book is so much fun! I love Loftus' sense of humor and the way she describes the many hotdogs she tries throughout her journey. I appreciated that she also touched on serious topics like racism and police violence but managed to keep the overall mood of the book lighthearted.

Perfect for fans of Loftus' podcast work, especially the audiobook version. Her pitch perfect balance of self deprecating humor, foul language, brutal honesty and charm makes it a delight, even when she's talking about the business of making hot dogs. She also seamlessly integrates the predatory cultural appropriation and exploitation of low income workers with her unbridled enjoyment of a nostalgic classic. I would give it a million stars if I could.

Audiobook ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

Can't say I've ever read a book about hot dogs! I really enjoyed this fun and informative read, but wish the author included fewer political opinions.

While I wasn't familiar with Jamie Loftus' podcasts, I was intrigued by the concept of this one! There is a lot of unfiltered information about hot dogs in this one, delivered with a humorous tone. It's definitely a fun and quick listen and it worked great on audio! Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one!

This is one of the funniest books I have every read. I especially appreciated the serious side quests into real issues as well as the utterly bizarre back stories.


Review copy provided by publisher.

Hahaha. This was definitely an interesting book, written with humor, lightness, and a surprising amount of interesting and factual information. The author has an easy style that feels more like you're having a conversation with her than reading a book, and she presents the information with just enough personality and self-deprecating humor that it's an incredibly quick and easy read.

This particular audiobook had a few errors; I'm not sure if those will be fixed before the real release or not, but I hope so. There was one instance where the editing was spliced together wrong and a few sentences were repeated. There were also a couple of spots where the sentence ended abruptly - mid-sentence - without the writer finishing her thought. Those were irritating and kind of pulled me out of the flow of the book, but again, they were simple errors that will hopefully be fixed before the release date.

As for the overall content - it was good. Nothing too horribly graphic for my fellow animal lovers, and nothing too scarring. The writer is clearly left-leaning, politically speaking, which doesn't bother me as my tendencies tend towards the same, but it could be problematic for those on the other side of the political spectrum.

My only real complaint - other than the editing errors - was that it ended sort of ----- I don't know. Unfinished? Like, I feel like it should have wrapped up some things better. While the information in the book was hella interesting, without a cohesive and clearly defined ending, it didn't really seem to go anywhere. It was just a bunch of useless - though incredibly entertaining - information that had no real point.

Still, it was a fun little way to spend a few hours, and I learned something in the process, so I'd say it was a book worth reading.

Never in my life did i think that I, as a vegan, would INHALE a book about hot dogs with so voraciously.

Comedian and podcaster Jamie Loftus loves hot dogs..like..loves them. As a way to investigate the true vice grip that hot dogs have on American culture, Loftus and her (at the time) boyfriend kick off a cross-country road trip to research what the hot dog means to people today. Whether its a $15 boutique hot or a sweaty gas station stomachache, Loftus has yet to meet a hot dog she won't try.

I knew this book would be a riot and keep me laughing and cringing, but I as also very impressed with the breadth of the coverage, including how economics, racism, and colonialism has shaped the hot dog industry.

This book was truly a wild ride and I can't wait to see what absolutely unhinged food Loftus hyperfixates on next.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review!