This weekend, on a trip to Montréal (where I eschewed Poutine), I was called upon to graphically explain to Midwesterners what a "Michigan" was.

As the Taylor Ham is a central New Jersey delicacy, so the Michigan is an Upstate New York specialty. First of all, behold Exhibit A - the Bun. The difference between the "New England Style" Michigan bun and the Chicago Style hot dog bun is like night and day, if I say so myself.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Michigan is not a "chili dog." A true Michigan is a Glazier redskin hot dog laid in a New England Style bun (see Exhibit A above), topped with a healthy dose Michigan sauce (Exhibit B, a tangy tomato-based slow-cooked ground beef sauce, whose only similarity to chili is the presence of cumin), and finely minced fresh onion ("with") sprinkled on top of the Michigan, or beneath the Glazier ("buried").

Also, a Michigan is incomplete without a filigree of French's yellow mustard on top. It is customary to go to Gus' Red Hots, Clare and Carl's, or McSweeney's in Plattsburgh, NY and order Two Wit' an' a Dew; but I usually skip the Dew.

The Michigan in action? Squidly has a most excellent photo of a Michigan on Flickr.

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