Hot Dog
The two names give it away: a frankfurter is Frankfurt, a wiener is Vienna. The American hot dog is that emigrant sausage in a soft split bun, and a natural casing makes the lineage audible as a snap.
USA
Zep
The zep is Norristown's long-roll sandwich, defined by its refusals: one meat, salami, never lettuce, thumb-thick raw onion, oregano, and oil. Named for a zeppelin around 1938.
Z-Man
At Joe's Kansas City the onion rings go inside the brisket sandwich: smoked brisket, smoked provolone, and fried rings sealed under the kaiser, named for a radio host who called himself the Z-Man.
Wrap Sandwich
Any sandwich filling rolled in a flour tortilla or lavash; 1990s health-food trend that became permanent American sandwich format.
Whiz Wit
Cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and onions; purist's choice.
White Hot
Uncured, unsmoked pork and veal hot dog; Rochester regional specialty.
White Castle Slider
Five holes in the patty, a griddle carpeted with onions, the bun cooking on top of the beef: the 1921 Wichita original that launched the first fast-food chain and sold America on ground beef.
Whataburger Patty Melt
Two patties, Monterey Jack, grilled onions and a creamy pepper sauce on buttered Texas toast: the diner patty melt rebuilt to run through a drive-thru, Whataburger's own.
Whataburger Original
Five-inch bun with large beef patty, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions; Texas-born chain (1950), beloved across the South. Cu...
Whataburger Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich
Three whole breaded strips, not one fillet, laid across a toasted bun or Texas toast with honey BBQ and Monterey Jack. Whataburger has pulled and restored it by name, with a documented 2010 comeback.
Western/Denver Sandwich
The Western, or Denver, is an omelet built to behave like a filling: ham, onion, and green pepper bound in a set egg slab on dry white toast. Its name is older than every restaurateur who claimed it.
Western Bacon Cheeseburger
Carl's Jr. built its name on this one: a charbroiled patty, Cherrywood bacon, battered onion rings folded inside the bun, and barbecue sauce where the ketchup would be.
West Virginia Pepperoni Roll
Pepperoni baked inside a yeast bread roll, grease melting into the dough; invented 1927 by Giuseppe Argiro for coal miners needing portab...
Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Wendy's Spicy Chicken: cayenne and paprika fried into a breaded breast, lettuce and tomato and mayonnaise on a toasted bun, no spicy sauce; introduced 1996, permanent in 1998.
Wendy's Baconator
Two beef patties, six strips of applewood bacon, cheese melted between the layers, and nothing green. Wendy's 2007 Baconator, built by doubling instead of balancing.
Wedge (Westchester)
In a stretch of suburban New York the Italian sub is a wedge, and nowhere else is. The word draws a small dialect border a few towns wide, and ordering one is a quiet way of saying where you are from.
Wawa Gobbler
Hot turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce folded into a roll at a gas-station counter. The Wawa Gobbler is Thanksgiving dinner as a hoagie, sold only a few weeks a year.
Wawa Classic Hoagie
Italian deli meats on a hoagie roll customized via touchscreen kiosk; Wawa convenience stores are a Mid-Atlantic institution, annual 'Hoa...
Walleye Sandwich
A lean, sweet freshwater fillet fried fast and light on a soft bun, the walleye sandwich is the Upper Midwest's lake fish in one hand. It belongs to the Friday fish fry and the shore lunch alike.
Virginia Ham Biscuit
Virginia country ham is cured and aged for months until it is too salty to eat alone. The bland, fatty buttermilk biscuit exists to make a meat that intense edible, shaved paper-thin into the seam.
Vermonter Sandwich
Roasted turkey or ham with sharp Vermont cheddar, sliced green apples, and honey mustard on country bread; Vermont's namesake deli sandwich.
Vermont Cheddar Burger
A burger that names its cheese by maker and age, two-year Cabot or clothbound Grafton: sharp aged white Vermont cheddar, crumbly and loud, melted gently over a griddled patty.
Venezuelan Arepa
A corn-flour cake split and packed warm with shredded chicken and avocado, black beans and queso, or shredded beef and cheese; the everyday food of a US Venezuelan diaspora.