A review by muffmacguff
Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus

adventurous emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.75

(Read an advance copy on NetGalley)
I’m a big Jamie Loftus fan. I love her comedy and her podcast miniseries. This book is the perfect project for her. 
A lot of the time it reminded me of Assassination Vacation, another book where the author can’t drive and takes a road trip using a niche subject (hot dogs/presidential assassinations) to explore American history. This was funny and insightful and spent a lot of time with very strange arcana, which is Loftus’s bread and butter. I loved how often hot dog stands burned down *at some point*, and the multiple branded hot dog products designed to tell a horny story about condiments. 
The part of this book that worked less well for me was the personal. There are details about Loftus’s life throughout that give the book added texture but a lot of them end up getting glossed over; the book ultimately gives short shrift to
her relationship with her boyfriend, her family, her landlord, and Covid-19. The last handful of chapters also provide very workable endings, but then the book doesn’t end. I would have been happy to forgo strict chronology to end with her family in Boston, or back home dealing with her apartment in LA getting sold out from under her, or the breakup that’s endlessly foreshadowed.
Not enough of an arc overall I think.
But truly full of interesting information told in a very funny way! 
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