A Chicago hot dog is an all-beef hot dog served on a poppy seed bun, with bright yellow mustard, psychedelic green relish, chopped raw onion, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, sport (hot) peppers, and celery salt.
Sport peppers are the only condiment that may be omitted.
Ketchup is
never put on a Chicago hot dog. Anyone ordering a hot dog with ketchup in Chicago will be deemed a bumpkin.
Although tomatoes are a standard condiment, some sellers use cucumber slices instead. Tomatoes are my preference.
Typical ordering instructions: "dog with everything, including peppers." (To get the correct Chicago accent, listen to the Chicago police announcement that is played over the O'Hare PA system.)
By tradition a Chicago hot dog is cooked in hot, but not boiling, water. Some people refer to this cooking method as steaming, but others object to applying that term to this technique.
A Chicago dog should be prepared to order. There are no wrapped, ready-to-eat dogs as there are burgers at fast food establishments.
Note that you are not eating a Chicago hot dog when you get one at the ball park. Recheck the definition above.
There are two major suppliers of Chicago hot dogs to stands: Vienna Beef (primary) and Red Hot Chicago (secondary). Look for Vienna Beef signage, with big V's, which appear both inside and outside of the establishment. (Red Hot Chicago was started after a split in the family some years ago.)
Chicago all-beef hot dogs are usually referred to as kosher style, representing their origin. Long ago Vienna was a kosher meat supplier.
A few hot dog stands pride themselves on their French fries. One key phrase is "hand cut" fries.
Poochie's
[Northern suburbs]
3602 Dempster St, Skokie
847.673.0100
Note that Poochie's moved a few blocks East (@ Central Park) in 2011 to a larger space. Very nice. Bonus is more indoor seating and three large flat screen TVs. Con is that parking in more limited.
The prototypical
Chicago hot dog stand. They do it right. (Also famous for their cheddarburger, though I've never had one.)
http://www.poochieshotdogs.com/
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=103
Portillo's
[River North, just North of downtown]
100 W. Ontario,
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Chicago312.587.8910
[Many other locations, including one in Buena Park, CA]
Not your typical hot dog stand, as it also offers Italian Beef, salads, and desserts, but it works.
http://www.portillos.com/
Hot Doug's (sadly now closed by Doug)
[rumor is that Doug now operates a food truck, but need confirmation]
3324 N. California,
Chicago
[mid-NW side, middle of nowhere so to speak, sorry Doug]
773.279.9550
Doug, a professional chef, runs this hot dog and sausage emporium. Fries fried in duck fat on Friday/Saturday. Regular fries are superb.
The only hot dog stand that I've ever stood in line for 40 minutes before ordering. It's that good.
Note the limited hours of operation; it's primarily a lunch place.
http://www.hotdougs.com/
Superdawg
[NW side, not far from Kennedy Expy, 10 mins from O"Hare]
6363 N. Milwaukee Avenue,
Chicago
773.763.0660
[One other location at Midway Airport, by Gate B14]
A drive-in style Chicago hot dog stand, which deviates slightly from the standard. Has call boxes, wait staff, and window trays, should you care to be served in your car. Otherwise, just go inside and order at the window. There is a modest amount of indoor and outdoor seating.
Open very late at night! Still owned by the founding family. (Hi Moosh!)
Hot dogs are served in a cool box, along with fries. (Unlike most other hot dog stands, fries are included with your dog.) Good fries, but the box doesn't hold enough of them with the dog in there too. So get another order and share.
http://www.superdawg.com/
Wiener's Circle
[Lincoln Park, Near North]
2622 N. Clark
773.477.7444
Have not personally sampled, but reviews read well.
Also, has an entry in the WikiPedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener's_Circle
Byron's Hot Dogs
[North Side, 1/2 mile North of Wrigley Field]
1017 Irving Park
773.281.7474
[Two other locations; check web site for info]
Have not personally sampled, but reviews read well. Based on a photo on their website Byron's offers additional hot dog toppings such as cucumbers.
http://www.byronshotdogs.com/
Fred's Hots and Frys
[Northern suburbs]
1707 Chestnut Ave
Glenview
847.657.9200
Another hot dog/sausage stand of high quality.
