Mustard.

[angus]

If you'll have ketchup or any other toppings...go yellow.  If you,ll just have mustard, use brown or something spicier.

ketchup should be avoided.

I like a mixture of mayonnaise and mustard on the bun, with grilled onions, green peppers, and jalapeños draped liberally atop the frank.  I usually use a bitter American-made mustard such as Gulden's or Hebrew National or Kosciusko, but I find that they often only have French's mustard in many fast food places.  If I'm having Wolf brand chili with beans on my hot dog, then I prefer a mixture of yellow (French's or Plochman's) mustard and mayonnaise on the bread, then copious finely-diced raw onion on the hot dog, then a liberal coating of chili.  It is important that the onions be coated with chili.  I like to wash this down with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  Then I wash the Sierra Nevada taste out of my mouth with a Cape Codder.  

Voted brown, but I can go either way.

[angus]

I did not know Americans divided mustard into brown and yellow

I didn't either.  I suspect most people didn't, but when that grumpy old bastard made the poll it was immediately obvious to me, and I suspect to others, that he meant either the French's style or the Gulden's style.  It's like, "now that you mention it..." even though we never really thought conscientiously before of subcategorizing mustard in this way.

Note:  yellow mustard is actually yellow, but "brown" mustard is only brown the way "red-haired" people have red hair.  In other words, it's not really brown, but more of a babyshit yellow, or maybe a '74 Mercury Comet yellow.  Yellow mustard is made for potato salad.  There is really no substitute for it in potato salad, and potato salad without yellow mustard is not good potato salad.  "Brown" mustard, on the other hand, is versatile, and is good on steak tips, sandwiches, and hot dogs.  My sister even likes it on French fries.  I'll do it too in a pinch, although I prefer mayonnaise on fries.

I have also seen people putting mustard on pretzels, as has been mentioned, but I haven't tried it myself.  A good pretzel should not need basking, although when I get old and my teeth start to fall out I will probably start experimenting with condiments on pretzels.  I think I'd start with a hearty black Chinkiang vinegar for that purpose.

[angus]

Amusing how we're often associated to some stuffs for which we haven't done anything particular (fries, mustard).

We don't have the cumbersome labeling rules here.  I have some Texas chili from New Jersey, Vidalia onions from North Carolina, German beer from Minnesota, and a French Drain in my basement.  

Yeah, the French Fry inventor was a Belgian too.  Or chips.  If he had a French given name and a Flemish last name, like Jean Claude van Damme, we'd probably figure out he was Belgian.  I think Franklin introduced the French court to potatoes.  The king loved them, didn't he?

"Mother'n'Daddy'd come down often enough to where I could have mustard'n'biscuits three times a week.  ummm hmmgh"

I bet Slingblade uses French's Mustard on his biscuits.

[angus]

Chicago dog

what is that?

I guess I'm not a big fan of sweets.  I don't take sugar in my coffee or in my tea, and I rarely have desert.  I like all sorts of tomato sauces, but not ketchup and I know it's the sweet taste that bothers me.  Someone here mentioned sweet mustards.  That sounds awful.  Bananas are good though.  I eat lots of them, as well as mango.  I also have lots of rum drinks when I'm on vacation in the tropics.  We sometimes stay at the all-inclusive resorts which open the bar at about 7AM so I generally start off with rum and pineapple juice for breakfast and continue with rum drinks all day, taking a break from the rum only at lunch and dinner, when I drink beer and wine, respectively, so I guess there are some sweets that I enjoy.  At home I do make my own margaritas as well, usually with 50% tequila, 25% lime juice, and 25% cointreau.  That's another example of sweet and sour that goes down well. 

We have Burman's Spicy Brown mustard in the house at the moment.  I think that's my go-to mustard, mostly because it's really cheap.  Lately, for sandwiches I make a spread of equal parts hummus, brown mustard, and finely-diced garlic.  I put that on bread for sandwich.  On top of that I put sliced jalapeño, then cheese, then roast beef.  On the other side, I put mayonnaise, then cucumber slices, then sliced tomato.  Then I put them together, really fast in one motion so nothing falls out.  Right now I'm using a very dark bread, almost black.  It's pumpernickel, I think.  Around noon I put it in the toaster oven for about five minutes, just enough to lightly crisp the bread and warm the meat and cheese, but not long enough to make the fruits soft. 

I haven't had a hot dog in years, but I have about five sandwiches per week, so we go through lots of mayonnaise and mustard in my house.  There was a hot dog opportunity on Monday around 5, but I needed to get my son to piano practice so I didn't hang around long enough to sample one.  I just grabbed a deviled egg, some Doritos, and a bottle of water.  I did notice that there were three large squeeze bottles of condiments on hand:  French's mustard, Heinz ketchup, and Heinz pickled relish.  I don't know whether that spread represented popular demand, or was simply a reflection of the tastes of the grillmaster.