Hot dog! A meal with a link to Ford and Chrysler

Photos by the author.

A big part of our world is not just the cars that we love, but the places that they can take us. Among those destinations are innumerable little eateries along America’s roads that allow a respite from the endless ennui of chain restaurants and fast-food joints. If you’re headed to Hershey or Carlisle across eastern Pennsylvania, one such spot is a local sandwich place called Yocco’s, which has several locations in the Allentown area and is famed for its hot dogs. It’s also got a very strong connection to automotive history.

Here’s how: Yocco’s, the name, is verbal shorthand for Iacocca, the family that founded the hot dog places some 90 years ago. Yes, that Iacocca family. Before he became the auto industry’s most high-profile executive, Lee Iacocca grew up in Allentown, where his family operated the restaurants. The correct pronunciation of the family surname is ya-COKE-a. For brevity, it was shortened to Yocco’s when branding the restaurant. Lee Iacocca has said that the common pronunciation of his own name, eye-a-COKE-a, was something he adopted because so few of his peers at the Ford Motor Company could get the actual name’s sounding right.

Founded in 1922, Yocco’s is now headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and operates six locations in and around Allentown. I hit my personal fave recently while headed back to Vermont from central Pennsylvania. The location is on state Route 100 in Fogelsville, just south of the Interstate 78 exit. Getting on and off the superhighway is a snap. While the location boasts a full menu, its centerpiece is the hot dog. Or as it’s simply called, the Yocco.

It’s a beef dog grilled until it snaps crisply, infused on the grille with Yocco’s own chili sauce, plus chopped onions, a couple of slices of real American cheese and a schmeer, as we used to say in Brooklyn, of spicy mustard. The central appeal of a Yocco is that despite its explosive flavor, it’s perfectly neat to eat, with no chili sauce slopping all over the place. You can get fries, but the Polish half of me prefers gently fried pierogies from Mrs. T. A big cup of birch beer sets everything off. We can vouch for the fact that a takeout Yocco takes a microwave reheating quite happily. Also, one of the menu items is a Doggie Pack that Yocco’s has shipped throughout the world, as a framed map on its wall in Fogelsville proudly proclaims. Stop in and tell them Hemmings sent you.

When we’ve talked to him, Lido speaks fondly about growing up Yocco. We also ought to point out our own relationship with the esteemed Mr. Iacocca. We have annually presented the Lee Iacocca Award for distinguished contributions to the collector-car hobby at the Hemmings Concours d’Elegance in Saratoga Springs, New York, with last year’s honoree being the racer, broadcaster and author Sam Posey. Hemmings’s eighth annual concours will take place September 26-28 at the Saratoga Automobile Museum.

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