Elin Eisenberg; she took her hot dogs seriously
Hyfler/Rosner
January 12, 2010
BY MITCH DUDEK Staff Reporter mdu...@suntimes.com
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/1985941,CST-NWS-xeisen12.article#
Elin Eisenberg knew the importance of a perfect Chicago hot
dog.
And Mrs. Eisenberg, who sat on the board of Vienna Beef,
which was founded by her grandfather, took quality control
personally.
"We'd go out to dinner and afterward we'd go to a hot dog
stand and eat hot dogs and make sure they were cooking them
right," said her husband, Jim Eisenberg, chairman emeritus
of Vienna Beef.
"It was just a thing we did."
Mrs. Eisenberg, 73, died Friday following colon surgery in
Rancho Mirage, Calif.
"She'd constantly be getting feedback," her husband said.
"You couldn't get away from it if you wanted to. People are
really involved in hot dogs. If someone went to a hot dog
place and it wasn't right, they'd tell her -- and she'd call
me and say, 'Gee, Jimmy, you'd better look into this.' Oh,
she cared a lot."
Mrs. Eisenberg's grandfather, Austria-Hungarian immigrant
Sam Ladany, founded Vienna Beef after introducing the
Chicago-style hot dog to the world at Chicago's Columbian
Exposition in 1893.
His granddaughter was a big fan of the company's products.
"She ate hot dogs, polish sausage, corned beef . . . and
pickles. She loved pickles," Mr. Eisenberg said. "And she
was a great cook. I'd bring home some new product, and boy
oh boy she would be a critic, good or bad."
The effect of hailing from a bloodline that produced such a
heralded Chicago institution as Vienna Beef is not easy to
sum up.
"Vienna is a cult thing," said Jim Eisenberg. "People who
talk about hot dogs or Vienna, they always have stories.
Even the surgeon who operated on Elin, he sat down and
talked to me to explain the operation. He said 'What do you
do? I said I was a sausage maker, and he said 'Oh! I know
Vienna Beef. Every time I come to Chicago I go to a hot dog
stand before I leave for the airport.' "
Mr. and Mrs. Eisenberg heard thousands of versions of this
story, and they never got old.
The surgeon received a box of hot dogs, said Jim Eisenberg,
who kept his wife company on many trips to the hospital.
"And let me tell you, nurses love Vienna salami," he added.
Mrs. Eisenberg, whose passions ranged from floral
arrangements to painting to golf, often could be found in
her garden. She was on the Chicago Botanic Garden women's
board. "She was warm, caring, thoughtful, tender, outspoken
and loved beauty in all forms," said her son, Jamie.
Born in Chicago, Mrs. Eisenberg grew up and lived most of
her life in Highland Park. "This was her city. We'd go to
Palm Springs in the winter, and she never wanted to go,"
said Jim Eisenberg. "She didn't want to leave Chicago."
Mrs. Eisenberg, who was proud of Vienna Beef's success but
never flaunted it, was on the company board for 40 years
until her death.
"Possibly her greatest involvement in [Vienna Beef] was
listening to me and commenting when I would come home from
work," said Jim Eisenberg. "We were married for 55 years.
She was my soulmate. She really had been very sick for most
of her life, but she was a fighter. We became even closer in
her sickness. It's going to be very, very difficult without
her."
Private services have been held. A memorial service is
scheduled for April 30 at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
In addition to her husband and son, Mrs. Eisenberg is
survived by grandson Sam.
MWB
Matthew Kruk
Newsgroups: alt.obituaries
Subject: Elin Eisenberg, 73, knew the importance of a perfect Chicago
hot dog
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:21:37 -0700
...
Pat Peeve
> On Vienna Beef board, took hot dogs seriously
>
>
Matthew Kruk
news:PPn3n.62643$IU1....@en-nntp-04.dc1.easynews.com...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_hot_dog
Joe Pucillo
> On Jan 13, 8:23 am, "Hyfler/Rosner" <rel...@rcn.com> wrote:
> > On Vienna Beef board, took hot dogs seriously
> Oh, no. Not another porn star!
Why I always preferred Patty to Cathy:
"Where Cathy adores a minuet, the Ballets Russes,
and crêpes Suzette;
Our Patty loves to rock 'n' roll,
a hot dog makes her lose control...."
JP
rob cibik
> Me too.
>
> http://www.cakeandcommerce.com/cake_and_commerce/2008/08/in-maine-red...
>
and me:
Louis Epstein
: Wasn't it Pat Peeve who said...
:> On Jan 13, 8:23?am, "Hyfler/Rosner" <rel...@rcn.com> wrote:
:
:> > On Vienna Beef board, took hot dogs seriously
:
:> Oh, no. Not another porn star!
:
: Why I always preferred Patty to Cathy:
:
: "Where Cathy adores a minuet, the Ballets Russes,
: Our Patty loves to rock 'n' roll,
: a hot dog makes her lose control...."
Make sure she doesn't eat one while driving.
:
: JP
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.