Hot Dog Sauce King Dies
Alan Geisler of Mahwah, NJ, was 78
Monday, Jan 12, 2009 | Updated 2:15 PM EST
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Three generations of New Yorkers have been raised on Alan Geisler's delicious red onion hot sauce.
Alan Geisler, the genius behind the tasty red onion sauce many New Yorkers love on their hot dogs, has died.
The red onion sauce Geisler created is a New York City culinary icon, commonly used by street-side hot dog vendors in New York City.
Geisler was 78 when he died Tuesday at his winter home in Florida after a battle with a protein disorder.
He created his famous sauce 44 years ago at the request of one of his customers — hot dog and bun manufacturer Gregory Papalexis, whose Englewood-based Marathon Enterprises now owns the Sabrett brand.
Papalexis approached Geisler about making the onion sauce to sell to New York City's pushcart hot dog vendors, who were spending a lot of time making their own versions of the hot dog topping.
Geisler's sauce, which includes onions, tomato paste and olive oil, is still marketed nationwide as "Sabrett's Prepared Onions."
