I think it is right and just that a spicy sausage is a signature dish in the nation’s capital.

Called a half-smoke, it looks like a hot dog on steroids seasoned with red pepper flakes. Half-smokes are often half pork and half beef and can either be smoked or steamed.

The sausage is said to have originated from Briggs and Co meatpackers in DC; Raymond Briggs reportedly started selling them in the thirties.

Here is a dolled-up half-smoke from Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Washington landmark restaurant. It is one of the first places President Obama had lunch when he first came to town.

Looks pretty democratic to me.