Toledo, Ohio: Tony Packo's Cafe - Hot Dog Bun Museum

Tony Packo's Cafe is not only rich in Hungarian history, but the walls are covered in hot dog buns signed by famous people! Not just two, or three. Fifteen hundred of these things, each encased, with its own plaque saying who signed it. Presidents, musicians, actors, etc. A bun for every one. And the food is pretty good too. The restaurant also bottles and sells its pickles and peppers in local grocery stores.

Tony Packo's Cafe is located in the Hungarian/Polish neighborhood on the east side of Toledo, Ohio.

During the depression in 1932, Tony Packo used a $100 loan to open his shop, which originally sold only sandwiches and ice cream.

Tony's signature "sausage-and-sauce sandwich" on rye was first made when he decided to add a spicy chili sauce to his sandwiches for more flavor. Eventually, his creation became known as the "Hungarian hot dog", even though no such thing had come from the Old Country. The dish quickly became popular, and in 1935 the Packo family was able to purchase the current wedge-shaped building on the corner of Front and Consaul streets, which includes the former Consaul Tavern.

The "hot dog" is really a Hungarian sausage, probably a variety of kielbasa, about twice the diameter of a conventional hot dog, and slicing the sausage in half yields about the same amount of meat. This is also done with the Portuguese linguica sausage that is eaten in the coastal areas of Massachusetts. Like Packo's, it's slit lengthwise, fried, and put in a hot dog bun.