Regional Hot Dog Styles: What City Has The Best Wieners? [Survey]

ACROSS AMERICA — It’s on. Where is the best hot dog in America found? This is not a trivial question as National Hot Dog Day approaches on Wednesday, July 19. Multiple U.S. cities and states have a dog in this fight.

Let the wiener wars begin.

In Chicago, people are likely to talk about Vienna beef or red hot dogs swaddled in a poppy seed bun and piled high with pickle relish, tomatoes, pickled peppers, celery salt and a dill pickle slice as if it were their own child — one they might disown if ketchup was added to the mix.

Coney island sandwiches have little to do with the actual Coney Island. The coney dog is king in Michigan, which claims these hot dogs topped with all-meat chili, yellow mustard and chopped onions are its birthright. Rival Detroit restaurants, American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, and Todoroff’s Original Coney Island in Jackson all say the coney dog originated with their founders more than 100 years ago. Their dogs are based on recipes brought to Ellis Island by immigrants from Greece and Macedonia in the early 20th century.

New Yorkers like simple hot dogs, sandwiched in a bun and served with steamed onions and pale, deli-style yellow mustard, according to a survey by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

Perhaps, but what about sauerkraut? Or even ketchup? Just as New York is diverse, so are its dogs. For example, White hot dogs are the rage in places like Rochester. The blend of uncured and unsmoked pork, beef and veal gives the dogs their unique color.

Sometimes a hot dog is known by its name. You don’t have to go to a ballpark for Fenway Franks, but they’re a favorite in Boston for obvious reasons. There’s nothing fancy about them: The dog is boiled, then grilled, nestled in a split-top New England-style bun and dressed with mustard and sweet pickle relish.

Another regional favorite is the Southwest Sonoran dog, a grilled, bacon-wrapped hot dog in a substantial bun and topped with pinto beans, grilled onions and green peppers, chopped fresh tomatoes, relish, tomatillo jalapeño salsa, mayonnaise, mustard and shredded cheese.

Other regional favorites include the famous Half-Smoke in Washington, D.C., a coarsely-ground half beef sausage with extra spice and topped with chili, mustard and onions, and the Seattle dog, a hot dog split in half before grilling and served in a toasted bun with cream cheese, grilled onions and sriracha or jalapeños.

They didn’t register in the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council’s survey, but don’t overlook New Jersey’s Italian hot dogs — a fried frank topped with potatoes, red peppers and onions and served on pizza bread — or Cleveland’s Polish Boy Sandwich — a kielbasa in a bun slathered with barbecue sauce and topped with mounds of coleslaw and fries.

The scrambled dog is considered a delicacy in Georgia. It’s as simple as it sounds — a wiener on a bun topped with chili, onions, mustard, pickle slices, oyster crackers or anything else that could conceivably (or not) be put on a hot dog.

The Kansas City-style all-pork dog is a nod to the Reuben sandwich with melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and mustard or thousand island dressing.

So, what region is, ahem, the wiener here? Just fill out the form below. And don’t worry, we don’t collect email addresses.