It may or may not be (I don’t know), but it’s definitely a West Virginia thing, on a chili dog with mustard and onions. I haven’t been to West Virginia, but I’ve tried this variation at home and it’s actually quite good. For me, I really don’t give that much a shit about the condiments (although I eschew ketchup on a hot dog in most, but not all, cases) – I just want a natural casing dog. My main exception is hot dogs like Sonoran dogs or Coney Islands or Cincinnati style dogs where the chili and cheese overwhelm the dog and it doesn’t matter so much.
I judge you not guilty, because that sounds delicious.
If it’s a good dog, my preference is for the afore-mentioned ballpark mustard, plus kraut and grilled onions. Possibly relish, especially if it’s my family’s recipe for green tomato relish. But if it’s the cheap-o kind I usually buy, yeah, ketchup goes on there too.
And seriously, any of you guys who consider yourselves hot dog connoisseurs, you simply must try Cleveland ballpark mustard if you haven’t already. We don’t have much in the way of signature foods, but by golly, we have that.
My big beef with some of these hot do combos is that in my experience most places don’t give a big enough piece of bread to accommodate all of the toppings, so they sorta cascade down the sides. If I were making my own, I’d probably use a hollowed-out baguette.
Back when I used to eat hot dogs, I discovered the ultimate in over-the-top hot dog, the Sonoran Dog.
Truly a messy-dog lover’s delight, purists be damned!
Long beat you to it in post 7, and, I agree, tasty dog!
A lot of the signs and marketing material for Chicago dogs say it was “dragged through the garden.”
I’ve lived in Chicago practically my whole life (I’m 40), and I’ve never seen them advertised as “dragged through the garden.” It is a phrase that is familiar to us, but I’ve never seen it officially used. For a true “dragged through the garden dog,” there’s Byron’s, which a fully dressed dog is: “All sandwiches served with mustard, relish, onions, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, cucumber, pickle and celery salt. (ketchup & hot peppers on request)” Now that is truly dragged through the garden. I find it terrible but, hey, if you feel like you’re not getting enough veggies, go for it. A regular “Chicago dog” is just normal hot dog toppings with the addition of tomatoes and a pickle spear which does not have to be eaten with the dog itself (I almost always remove it and eat it separately, as I would with a normal sandwich.) Then there’s celery salt and poppy seed bun, which have nothing to do with vegetable toppings.
Byron’s is my favorite hot dog joint in the whole city, but I always remove about half the toppings (especially the pickle spear and the tomato slices, and usually the sport peppers as well) and eat them with a fork like a side salad.
And by the bye, I don’t recall ever getting lettuce or green peppers on them. Or cucumber, other than the pickle spear.
Here’s a pic and article for you. I’ve gotten it, and it came with everything.
And another cite. (ETA: And the quote in my last post was directly from Byron’s website.)
Blasphemers, all you ketchup people! 
I can forgive the ketchup, actually. However, not the lettuce, which is probably the evil, disgusting, and worthless iceberg variety. All toppings are a go, but not the lettuce.
It’s 9 in the morning and all I want right now is a hot dog. Damn you people.
But not any hotdog. A chili-cheese and onion dog from my college hotdog stand Carter’s.
He would grab a literal handful of cheese and plop it right on there…God it was so good.
Ah, I see the problem. I always ask for “Chicago Style” at Byron’s. I forgot that they also offer an “everything on it” dog (for people who think Chicago Style is just to minimalist). That looks like a bit much to me.
Yeah, if you just ask for a hot dog at Byron’s, everything, you get the whole salad. Typically, for me, “everything” in Chicago always means at least mustard, relish (not necessarily neon green–few in my area do it with that relish), onions. Then many stands will go the full “Chicago dog” route and add some or all of the rest (fresh tomato, or in Superdawg’s case, pickled tomato, pickle spear, celery salt, on a poppy seed bun–sport peppers optional on all dogs–I always specify that I want hot peppers) with a very few (like JR’s) including fresh cucumber (JR’s does this in lieu of the pickle spear). Note that many of the highly vaunted Chicago-area hot dog stands like Jimmy’s Red Hots, Gene and Jude’s, Red Hot Ranch, 35th Street Red hots just do the relish, onions, and mustard on a plain bun.) So I was very surprised when an “everything” dog at Byron’s included lettuce and green peppers. That is not something I expected, and I believe Byron’s is the only hot dog stand that does this. The defunct Harry’s mentioned above is another place where I was surprised on the definition of “everything,” which included ketchup. I can’t think of another typical hot dog stand around here where that’s standard on an “everything” dog. (I’m not including places that specialize in Sonoran or other regional dogs, or Home Depots, or things of that nature. I’m just talking your regular Chicago-area hot dog stand.)
Coleslaw on your sandwich is fine, but if you get a really good pulled pork barbecue - Wilber’s in Goldsboro, or King’s in Kinston - you don’t need to add anything to it. Not salt, not extra sauce, not even a bun.
Heaven.
You certainly don’t, but I’ve moved away from my more purist stance on this, as I like the acidic complement of the coleslaw (any type, creamy, mustard, or vinegar slaw) to the fatty richness of the pulled pork. Fatty foods, to me, need an acidic complement. Now, they might be on the side, but if I don’t feel like fiddling with utensils, put it on the sandwich for me. I think it was Morris Grocery in Eads, TN that finally convinced me of this. I was going to, in my usual manner, ask for the coleslaw to be left off, but, for whatever reason, I had a change of heart, and I’m glad I did. One of the best and sloppiest sandwiches I’ve had in my life. I’ve semi-seriously considered making the 8.5 hour trip down there from Chicago for a weekend getaway just for that sandwich.
Decent slaw also adds texture.
Iceberg lettuce has no business on or in anything. I still can’t figure out why that stuff even exists.
I’m in my 50’s
I own my own home
I’ve raised three kids and am now putting them through college
I’ve been voting since the Reagan era
I don’t get carded when buying liquor
My “salt and pepper” beard is more salt than pepper
I spend money on things I don’t even want… like vacuum cleaners
I worry about saving for retirement
I like ketchup on my hot dog.
<drops mic>
There’s the rub. Most cole slaw is Mafia Cole Slaw. You can’t always rely on cole slaw being good or the god-awful watery generic stuff.
Goldsboro, huh…did you ever make it down to Grady’s in Dudley? I love the flavor/texture of barbecue and cole slaw, but the slaw tends to dissolve the bun if it’s put on a sandwich.
Also, I found a nice smokey barbecue ketchup (no relation to the barbecue discussed above) that’s absolutely wonderful on a hot dog.
One of my mom’s older cousins loves the stuff, and thinks it’s the only basis for any salad – especially a “toss” salad.