Baseball, Hot Dog University, apple pie and what? Hot Dog University? Yes, you read correctly.

Hot Dog University, a local school that teaches the necessary skills to operate a mobile food service business, has been described as the Harvard of encased meats. It has become a nationally known educational resource. The school has been featured on CBS and CNN television stations, and it has been written up in an array of magazines and newspapers.

Hot Dog University is the place to launch a career or fill a craving for your future. The curriculum covers trade secrets and the current and emerging trends of the hot dog vending business. An intensive two-day course offers a hands-on experiential program with behind-the-cart training.

Mark Reitman, the founder and instructor, has been declared a PhD - professor of hot dogs. A Chicago native who now calls Racine home, Reitman learned the tricks of the trade at a young age.

"As a kid, my father owned a drugstore, and in that drugstore, there was a soda fountain," recalled Reitman. From the age of 8, he helped his dad serve ice cream, pop and hot dogs. He later worked at a drive-in restaurant and managed a commissary at a college.

Eventually, he became a school counselor, but he couldn't get the taste for hot dogs out of his mouth. Over the years, he helped friends who owned free-standing hot dog stands.

"I had a pulse on what was going on. I helped out. It's a very difficult business, like any food service business," said Reitman.

Although he fully understood the undertaking, Reitman acquired a customized mobile food cart approximately six years ago. He sold his Chicago-style hot dogs in shopping center parking lots and at corporate events. His reputation prompted repeat customers and attention from the media. People often asked Reitman about operating a food cart, and he recognized a need to share his knowledge.

After Reitman retired from the Kenosha Unified School District in January 2005, he decided to combine his love for retail, sales and education into a business that would allow flexibility in his schedule. He has never veered from his youthful roots.

"Take me to the doctor for a blood test," said Reitman. "Neon green relish comes out of my veins."

Hot Dog U

Hot Dog University welcomed its first students in June 2006. The mini-business school has a maximum enrollment of eight budding hot dog vendors

per class.

Classroom sessions are held on Friday at the Milwaukee Public Market in the Historic Third Ward. The curriculum covers everything from food selection and

preparation to licensing to purchasing supplies. Students learn about presenting an image and respecting their customers.

"We do all the researching for them - carts, insurance policies, locations, licensing," said Reitman.

The participants also visit two Milwaukee establishments - Martino's Italian Beef and Restaurant Depot, a restaurant-supply store, - where they learn while eating and

shopping.

The second day of the class is spent experiencing real-life, behind-the-cart training. The students gather at ABT Electronics in Glenview, Ill. The company is one of Reitman's long-standing corporate clients, and its owner and employees beg for the chance to have a hot dog prepared by the protégés.

Under Reitman's watchful eye, students set up, operate and break down the cart. The hands-on schooling is an integral piece of the hot dog vending education. Students work in shifts, in teams of two, during the cart training.

Tuition for the two-day course is $300. Students are responsible for their transportation, food and lodging.

Reitman noted the cost of starting a business with a decent cart and equipment will total about $6,000. Proprietors will need a truck or sports-utility vehicle for towing, too. The expense of the cart can vary depending on the owner's business plan. Reitman customized his cart for larger events. During an event for Harley-Davidson, he served 1,000 hot dogs in four hours.

"It all starts with hot dogs," said Reitman. "To stay alive in the retail food business, you have to cater. There is big money in catering."

Cart-based businesses can provide the food for employee luncheons or corporate events.

Although Reitman still operates his hot dog cart for select clients and occasions, he primarily focuses on Hot Dog University.

The art of dressing a dog

You shouldn't teach an old dog new tricks when it comes to Chicago-style hot dogs. Reitman strongly suggests putting a boiled or steamed Vienna all-beef hot dog on a steamed poppy-seed bun. The hot dog is then dressed, in order, with yellow mustard, neon green relish, fresh chopped onions, two juicy tomato wedges, one kosher dill pickle spear, two sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. Students are taught to always dress the dog, never the bun.

Reitman is a not a huge fan of ketchup, but admits many Wisconsinites like the tangy red condiment on their meat.

"When people dress their own dogs - they make the perfect dog," he conceded. "I can teach regional specialties, such as the slaw dog. It gives students an opportunity to make what they'll sell when they go back home."

He encourages his students to keep complementary items, such as chips or fries, to a minimum, and stated: "Two hands - one for the hot dog, one for a can of Coke."

If Reitman has a craving for a taste of an authentic Chicago-style hot dog when class is not in session, he heads to Tino's Carry Out on Lathrop Avenue. He orders a deep-fried, Vienna beef polish, smothered with grilled onions, mustard and sport peppers, nestled in a steamed poppy-seed bun, which is old-school, Maxwell Street style.

The breed of students

What prompts gainfully employed, successful, educated adults to come to the southeast corner of Wisconsin to learn the art of the cart? Dreams. So far, Reitman has helped more than 50 graduates of Hot Dog University take mouth-watering bites of the future. Dozens of imminent entrepreneurs are registered to take the course in 2008.

The typical students range in age from the mid-40s to 70 and are looking for the next level of their life, often into retirement.

Students with various backgrounds flock to the area to participate in two-day courses. A recent graduating class was comprised of a nurse, flight attendant, horticulturist, trucking company owner and others. Their home states span the country including New Jersey, South Carolina, Colorado and Texas.

Two graduates took Reitman's advice. Brad Bailey and Paul Frautschi opened Mad Dog's Chicago Style Eatery in Madison last summer. With a restaurant and two carts serving residents and guests of Madison and Camp Randall Stadium, their hot dogs are being lapped up.

"The course taught us tricks of the trade that would have taken much longer to learn. Mark gave us more confidence that we were doing the right things," said Bailey.

They researched the business for six months before attending Hot Dog University and appreciated getting reassurances that they were on the right track.

"Mark is a fun guy to be with, very jovial, always entertaining. You have to have a personality in this business to keep people coming back. Some people just can't communicate with customers. Once you're in class with Mark, you understand you have to have that personality," said Bailey. "It was a great time, very well worth the money we spent on it."

Reitman said the class is not what some people expect. "We've had a few people that just quite didn't get it. A lot of people come in with their own ideas. What I tell them is, 'Whatever ideas you have, don't let me discount. Take what you get from me and modify it and take it to the next level.' When they use the formula we use, they'll have continued success. It's tried and true."

In other words, in the business of mobile food service, Reitman is still the top dog.

"I help people live their dreams," he said. "That's what's happening."

To learn more about Hot Dog University, call Reitman at (414) 975-8580 or visit: http://www.hotdogu.com