PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The debate continues: Is it the size of the hot dog or how you serve it?
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile stopped in Rockaway Beach on May 12 to pose with the 30-foot fiberglass dog mounted atop the Original Pronto Pup restaurant. Although the replica dogs look comparable in pictures, Motortrend reports that the famed Wienermobile is 22 feet long, falling well short of Pronto Pup’s iconic tourist attraction.
“We had a fun visitor today,” Pronto Pup wrote on social media. “But don’t let the perspective fool you… ours is bigger. We checked.”
Considered one of several businesses to have popularized the corn dog around the time of WWII, the Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach is a place of pilgrimage for wiener enthusiasts. While the Wienermobile is currently taking a planned tour through Oregon, Tesia Hummer, a family member of Pronto Pup owners Diane Langer and Doug Hummer, told KOIN 6 News that the Wienermobile showed up unexpectedly.
“It wasn’t an expected visit,” Hummer said. “It was a pleasant surprise.”
The Hummers bought the restaurant from the previous owners in the fall of 2021. However, the Hummers say that the still use the same batter recipe developed by the original owners in the 1930s.
“The Original Pronto Pup uses the same batter recipe that was invented right here in Rockaway Beach by George and Versa Boyington in the late 1930s,” Hummer said. “Pronto Pup batter is made with pancake batter, whereas non-descript corn dogs use variations of cornbread batter. While both include cornmeal, the difference is in the sweetness: corn dogs have it; Pronto Pups don’t.”
While the company shares details about its prized batter, Hummer said that the brand of hot dog used at the center of its crisp, fluffy pups is a trade secret.