3 ms·

> Why are the fancy ones all top cut instead of side cut? It's just weird that way. How very dare you. They're the superior cut and it's appalling side cut eve

by Spivak 1y ago

> Why are the fancy ones all top cut instead of side cut? It's just weird that way. How very dare you. They're the superior cut and it's appalling side cut even exists. To answer your question though it's because that cut originates from New England and is used for "higher end" foods like lobster rolls. So they're perceived as fancier. But they're just objectively better. Side cut buns are uneven which makes sense for a sandwich where you a thicker top bun but is utterly ridiculous for a top facing slice. Can you imagine a taco where one half of the tortilla was like three times as thick? Like look at this https://imgur.com/tF9uBp7 https://imgur.com/tF9uBp7 — absurd. That little flappy thing just falls apart. Also the flat part of the roll is at the bottom so when you top cut your hot dog can stand upright on the plate and not fall over. Typically the sides of top cut rolls are also flat which makes grilling/toasting the roll much easier. You get a delicious crispy buttery on the outside fluffy on the inside roll.

Auracle 1y ago
I’m having a bit of a mental crisis because I’ve always hated dealing with the side cut in hotdog buns and have cut many an uncut bun myself that way and I never even considered a top cut.
aidenn0 1y ago
My closest grocery store (an Albertsons in SoCal) completely lacks any top-cut hotdog buns. They have 9 different varieties of side-cut buns (Including 2 varieties of potato rolls; I counted). I'm from Rhode Island, so this situation is rather unacceptable to me.
- Dan_- 1y ago
  See ya at Dave’s next year
hgomersall 1y ago
Why are they even cut at all!? Do people not have knives any more?
- aidenn0 1y ago
  You could say the same thing for sandwich bread, but it's rather obvious to me why both that and hot-dog buns are pre-sliced, so I'm not sure if you're being serious.
- vel0city 1y ago
  When I'm just grilling links outside, it's easier to not bother with all the extra prep space to bother slicing all those buns. Just grab a bun from the bag, drop in a dog, hand it off to someone to dress it however they want at the line of condiments. There's practically zero chance I'm buying non-precut hotdog buns when there's a cut variety already on the shelf.
- mystified5016 1y ago
  Cutting bread is tedious. Have you heard of these new fantastic labor-saving devices?!
  - jerrysievert 1y ago
    they're the best thing since sliced bread!
  - kjkjadksj 1y ago
    Before I moved, my old grocery store actually had a public facing bread slicing machine. You could take those artesianal rosemary and herb loafs and what not that they made and actually slice them fresh. It was actually a Kroger believe it or not. I’ve never seen that machine before or since.
- focusedone 1y ago
  This one guy wants to throw away the greatest culinary achievement in 100 years, the greatness of which all other accomplishments are judged by.
dkarl 1y ago
I'm with you 90%. However, side-cut buns have one advantage top-cut buns don't: if you're very careful and a little bit lucky, you can open them all the way and toast them face down on a griddle with butter. Clearly we need a special cooking tool that is like a toaster heating element that can be buttered and inserted into a top-cut bun to get the best of both worlds.
focusedone 1y ago
I did wonder if that one provocative statement would even be noticed :-) You make a good argument. I see the functional point of a top cut. Helps prevent condiment excursions. Less likely to break in half. BUT, it's just so much bread. And the hotdog does want to pop out. I'm unaware of any baseball park or hotdog stand where top-cut buns are sold. This is clearly an established best practice. Hotdog consumers have made an aesthetic choice here.
- decimalenough 1y ago
  As a non-American, I was unaware that side-cut hotdog buns even existed. Then again, in Australia, the standard container for a "sausage sizzle" (grilled sausage) is a slice of plain white bread.
  - dylan604 1y ago
    so do you place the sausage along the hypotenuse or parallel with one of the sides? this feels more important than top vs side slices.
- aidenn0 1y ago
  > I'm unaware of any baseball park or hotdog stand where top-cut buns are sold. Baseball Park: Fenway[1] Hotdog Stand: Not uncommon in Rhode Island (and probably other parts of New England). I've seen Saugys[2] sold from food trucks in side-cut buns but it's the exception rather than the rule. 1: https://newengland.com/yankee/history/fenway-franks/ https://newengland.com/yankee/history/fenway-franks/ 2: https://saugys.com/ https://saugys.com/
CGMthrowaway 1y ago
>that cut originates from New England and is used for "higher end" foods like lobster rolls. Yeah. Because it would suck if your hand-picked lobster fell out of your bun onto the ground (It also allows you to pour melted butter over the top, something you can't do on a sidecut bun). If you like hot dogs I would hope you feel the same way about your hot dog.
- GauntletWizard 1y ago
  I have never had a hot dog fall out of a side cut bun. Every time I've used a top cut bun I've felt like it was going to fall out, and it has on at least one occasion that I can remember - and it's not like I remember the details of eating foodstuffs. The side cut gives you easy gripping surfaces. The undisturbed tops and bottoms of hot dog buns are easy to grip. The sides are inherently less structurally sound because they're "inside" portions and spongy, and when you grip them you're likely to grip the bun very well but apply pressure to the hot dog itself from direct points at your fingers rather than the bun distributing the pressure evenly through the structure. Gripping a top-cut hot dog bun is like squeezing a baseball half in a mitt - The ball just pops right out the front, and so does the dog. It launches straight upwards and then falls where it may.
- DangitBobby 1y ago
  I don't have a fundamental issue with top cut buns, it's just the ones I've had aren't cut deep enough to fit Italian sausage and all the fixings. But if you want better bread that's the price you pay.
  - soco 1y ago
    I'm not American so maybe my question will sound silly but folks, what is wrong with picking a knife and cutting your bread yourselves exactly the way and depth you like?
    - spiffytech 1y ago
      If nothing else, hot dogs are popular in finger food settings where utensils (especially knives) may not be available.
m463 1y ago
you should compromise... pigs in the blanket.
AStonesThrow 1y ago
After searching Bing Images and asking Copilot and refining my search to exclude men’s hairstyles, I am still mystified about the difference between cuts, and I can only conclude that either I’ve never been served a top-cut, or I am completely indifferent and I eat too fast to notice. Oh, I think I get it: the “top” refers to the rising side of the bread and not the narrow end. Because the end is the “top” when I’m putting it in my mouth. Signed, A guy who doesn’t bake bread

by Spivak 1y ago

Auracle 1y ago

I’m having a bit of a mental crisis because I’ve always hated dealing with the side cut in hotdog buns and have cut many an uncut bun myself that way and I never even considered a top cut.

aidenn0 1y ago

My closest grocery store (an Albertsons in SoCal) completely lacks any top-cut hotdog buns. They have 9 different varieties of side-cut buns (Including 2 varieties of potato rolls; I counted). I'm from Rhode Island, so this situation is rather unacceptable to me.

Dan_- 1y ago
See ya at Dave’s next year

hgomersall 1y ago

Why are they even cut at all!? Do people not have knives any more?

aidenn0 1y ago
You could say the same thing for sandwich bread, but it's rather obvious to me why both that and hot-dog buns are pre-sliced, so I'm not sure if you're being serious.
vel0city 1y ago
When I'm just grilling links outside, it's easier to not bother with all the extra prep space to bother slicing all those buns. Just grab a bun from the bag, drop in a dog, hand it off to someone to dress it however they want at the line of condiments. There's practically zero chance I'm buying non-precut hotdog buns when there's a cut variety already on the shelf.
mystified5016 1y ago
Cutting bread is tedious. Have you heard of these new fantastic labor-saving devices?!
- jerrysievert 1y ago
  they're the best thing since sliced bread!
- kjkjadksj 1y ago
  Before I moved, my old grocery store actually had a public facing bread slicing machine. You could take those artesianal rosemary and herb loafs and what not that they made and actually slice them fresh. It was actually a Kroger believe it or not. I’ve never seen that machine before or since.
focusedone 1y ago
This one guy wants to throw away the greatest culinary achievement in 100 years, the greatness of which all other accomplishments are judged by.

dkarl 1y ago

I'm with you 90%. However, side-cut buns have one advantage top-cut buns don't: if you're very careful and a little bit lucky, you can open them all the way and toast them face down on a griddle with butter. Clearly we need a special cooking tool that is like a toaster heating element that can be buttered and inserted into a top-cut bun to get the best of both worlds.

focusedone 1y ago

I did wonder if that one provocative statement would even be noticed :-) You make a good argument. I see the functional point of a top cut. Helps prevent condiment excursions. Less likely to break in half. BUT, it's just so much bread. And the hotdog does want to pop out. I'm unaware of any baseball park or hotdog stand where top-cut buns are sold. This is clearly an established best practice. Hotdog consumers have made an aesthetic choice here.

decimalenough 1y ago
As a non-American, I was unaware that side-cut hotdog buns even existed. Then again, in Australia, the standard container for a "sausage sizzle" (grilled sausage) is a slice of plain white bread.
- dylan604 1y ago
  so do you place the sausage along the hypotenuse or parallel with one of the sides? this feels more important than top vs side slices.
aidenn0 1y ago
> I'm unaware of any baseball park or hotdog stand where top-cut buns are sold. Baseball Park: Fenway[1] Hotdog Stand: Not uncommon in Rhode Island (and probably other parts of New England). I've seen Saugys[2] sold from food trucks in side-cut buns but it's the exception rather than the rule. 1: https://newengland.com/yankee/history/fenway-franks/ https://newengland.com/yankee/history/fenway-franks/ 2: https://saugys.com/ https://saugys.com/

CGMthrowaway 1y ago

>that cut originates from New England and is used for "higher end" foods like lobster rolls. Yeah. Because it would suck if your hand-picked lobster fell out of your bun onto the ground (It also allows you to pour melted butter over the top, something you can't do on a sidecut bun). If you like hot dogs I would hope you feel the same way about your hot dog.

GauntletWizard 1y ago
I have never had a hot dog fall out of a side cut bun. Every time I've used a top cut bun I've felt like it was going to fall out, and it has on at least one occasion that I can remember - and it's not like I remember the details of eating foodstuffs. The side cut gives you easy gripping surfaces. The undisturbed tops and bottoms of hot dog buns are easy to grip. The sides are inherently less structurally sound because they're "inside" portions and spongy, and when you grip them you're likely to grip the bun very well but apply pressure to the hot dog itself from direct points at your fingers rather than the bun distributing the pressure evenly through the structure. Gripping a top-cut hot dog bun is like squeezing a baseball half in a mitt - The ball just pops right out the front, and so does the dog. It launches straight upwards and then falls where it may.
DangitBobby 1y ago
I don't have a fundamental issue with top cut buns, it's just the ones I've had aren't cut deep enough to fit Italian sausage and all the fixings. But if you want better bread that's the price you pay.
- soco 1y ago
  I'm not American so maybe my question will sound silly but folks, what is wrong with picking a knife and cutting your bread yourselves exactly the way and depth you like?
  - spiffytech 1y ago
    If nothing else, hot dogs are popular in finger food settings where utensils (especially knives) may not be available.

m463 1y ago

you should compromise... pigs in the blanket.

AStonesThrow 1y ago

After searching Bing Images and asking Copilot and refining my search to exclude men’s hairstyles, I am still mystified about the difference between cuts, and I can only conclude that either I’ve never been served a top-cut, or I am completely indifferent and I eat too fast to notice. Oh, I think I get it: the “top” refers to the rising side of the bread and not the narrow end. Because the end is the “top” when I’m putting it in my mouth. Signed, A guy who doesn’t bake bread