City of Fast Food Addendum -- Der Wienerschnitzel

John Gallardi has said that Glen Bell's wife came up with the name Der Wienerschnitzel while looking in a cookbook. Do you think she told them what it meant? Lots of people now think that a wienerschnitzel is a hot dog or something close to it, but the Germans don't think that.

As Wikipedia points out:

"Der Wienerschnitzel" is a famous example of incorrect use of German by native English speakers.

The expression der Wienerschnitzel is German—however the correct article to use in this case is the neuter form das, not the masculine der. This is true for both the actual food (das Schnitzel) and the restaurant itself (das Restaurant, das Lokal), though in the genitive plural, the article does change to "der": Das Restaurant der Wienerschnitzel would be grammatically correct though at least awkward; it literally translates to "the Wiener Schnitzels' restaurant".

Strictly put, Wienerschnitzel might also be seen as incorrect, as the term is a two-word expression in German, written in two words only by the uneducated or by wags suggesting natives of Vienna (Wiener) having been processed to Schnitzel. Thus, Das Wiener Schnitzel would have been correct usage.

In addition to these linguistic flaws, Wiener Schnitzel actually means "breaded veal cutlet, Vienna style", which the restaurant chain does not sell. The name probably came from a mistaken belief that Wiener Schnitzel meant "Wiener sausage". The chain changed its name to "Wienerschnitzel" (sans article) in 1977, though many franchises retained the older name on their restaurants. Also, some older customers still refer to the chain as "Der Wienerschnitzel".