Aretha Franklin's Go-To Hot Dog Order Always Came With 2 Toppings

Aretha Franklin was born in Tennessee, and the legendary singer's culinary tastes often reflected her roots. Franklin loved classics, like southern peach cobbler, and she adored a divisive soul food dish, chitterlings. However, it seems her go-to hot dog order had a distinctly New York City flavor. In an interview with NPR's Fresh Air, the singer Jill Scott revealed that when she first met Franklin, the legendary musician hit her with a highly specific request: two hot dogs topped with cooked onions and mustard.

Scott explained that after she told Franklin how much she loved her work, the "Respect" singer responded without mincing words, "Go to the corner and get me two hot dogs with cooked onions and mustard." There's a lot to unpack about this star-studded interaction, but arguably the most important aspect is Franklin's topping preferences. Franklin moved to the Big Apple at age 18 to start her singing career, and it seems that in addition to a record deal, she acquired a go-to hot dog order. Franks topped with a simply elegant combination of mustard and cooked onion are a classic New York City food.

While sudden and urgent hot dog cravings are totally understandable, in the same NPR interview, Jill Scott explained that she thinks Aretha Franklin's peculiar request wasn't really about her desire for frankfurters, and it taught her an important lesson. When Fresh Air host Tonya Mosley asked Scott what she learned from the experience, the singer responded, "You got to earn your stripes." 

In other words, it's possible that for Franklin, respect meant being willing to bring her a hot dog at the drop of a hat (sorry, we had to). No matter what Franklin's motivations were for sending Scott on the culinary errand, what is clear is that her NYC-inspired hot dog order was totally on point. The zesty, pungent yellow mustard balances with the slightly sweet cooked onions for a hot dog fit for the Queen of Soul.

Franklin's relatively tame topping preferences probably won't ruffle too many feathers, but there is something far more controversial about this story. According to Scott, the legendary singer didn't even eat the hot dogs in question. We can forgive this offense because Franklin is an American treasure, but ordering this meal and not eating it is arguably an even bigger deal than putting ketchup on a hot dog.