Today’s your lucky day, reader. Why? Because it’s almost Memorial Day Weekend and this newsletter is chock-full of news you can use, like…

• 11 beloved regional hot dog styles: You know the Chicago dog, but what about the Sonoran, Texas Tommy and Ripper? Up your hot dog game.

• The “it” drink of summer: The gallon jug cocktail is the large-format drink to serve this weekend. We’ve got recipes.
• Indy 500 winners spill all: Before Sunday’s race, we spoke with Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson, who won in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Can they repeat?

A Guide to the 11 Most Beloved Regional Hot Dog Styles in the US

There is perhaps no food more synonymous with summertime grilling than the hot dog. And just like minor-league baseball teams and accents, almost every region across the country has one.

Most recipes were products of the Depression Era, when hot dogs were affordable fare, and others were created by immigrants when they blended elements of their home country’s cuisine with the American classic. From Cleveland’s Polish Boy to New Jersey’s Ripper, these are 11 regional hot dog styles to know.

Yesterday we asked for your thoughts on the greatest summer blockbuster of all time. Here are some of our favorite answers:

• 39% of you said Jaws, with one reader writing, "Without a doubt the OG blockbuster — all others need not apply." 
• "Star Wars, no question...I saw this in summer of '77 at age 12 and I still remember thinking, 'Wow, I've never seen anything like this!'"
• "Batman — the Michael Keaton one."
• As for the movies that only got one mention? Barbie, Mad Max: Fury Road and E.T.

The Gallon Jug Cocktail Is the “It” Drink of Summer

Sure, you could simply fill a cooler with the cans of your choice and haul it to the beach or park this summer. On the other hand, you could also put on your bartender cap and batch together something nice for you and 10 of your closest friends with one of these gallon jug cocktails.

All you need is an empty jug and the ingredients for one of the cocktails that have been recommended to us by bartenders, and you have a large-format drink that you can take with you anywhere. Don’t let summer pass you by before making one of these crowd-pleasing recipes.

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Past Indy 500 Winners Marcus Ericsson and Josef Newgarden Are Going for the Milk

On a day that saw three red flags in the final 16 laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 2023 Indianapolis 500 came down to a controversial and tense last-lap shootout between Josef Newgarden and defending champion Marcus Ericsson. Newgarden, a two-time IndyCar series champion from Tennessee, surged from behind and crossed the Yard of Bricks just .0974 seconds ahead of Ericsson, marking the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

On Sunday, Newgarden will look to go back-to-back at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” while Ericsson will look to avenge his loss in 2023 and taste the milk at the Indy 500’s finish line for the second time in his career. We spoke to both drivers ahead of Sunday’s race.

Cannes Enters Its Home Stretch Without a Clear Frontrunner

Francis Ford Coppola isn’t the only filmmaker at this year’s Cannes who risked it all on an epically-scaled, self-funded moonshot: Kevin Costner is here with Horizon: An American Saga, a planned four-part, 12-hour Western epic, which he’s been developing since the late 1980s, almost as long as Coppola had been working on Megalopolis; like Coppola, he tapped into his own real-estate holdings to take on the project.

While Coppola has enjoyed presenting his dream project despite its very mixed reception, things are much more in flux for the man the French call “Ke-veen”: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One comes out theatrically in June, Chapter Two in August, and their success or failure will largely determine whether the scripts for Chapter Three and Four actually enter production, or remain a white whale.

Apart from Horizon, our latest dispatch from Cannes looks at Paul Schrader's Oh, Canada and David Cronenberg's The Shrouds, and what could be in contention for the Palme d'Or.

The Coolest DC Food Tours to Check Out

With the plethora of gastronomic offerings available in our nation’s capital, it can be difficult for D.C. newcomers, tourists or — let’s be honest — even locals to explore the full menu of food options in the city. And given the unique personalities and culinary cultures of the various neighborhoods, scouring "best of" lists will only get you so far. So we’ve rounded up some of the coolest D.C. food tours that represent a variety of neighborhoods, cuisines and interest areas that will leave both your tummy and your mind feeling satiated.