# Let's say I offered you five dollars to eat a Chicago-style hot dog... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256 "2014-10-03T06:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/101 "2014-10-03T20:33:07Z")
Chicago style dogs don’t do anything special for me, but sure, I’d eat it for nothing, there’s nothing objectionable about anything on it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/102 "2014-10-03T21:44:48Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Food, even commonly available food, is allowed to have regional variation that is distinctive. St. Louis Toasted Ravioli, Sheboygan-style brats, New Mexico green, I love the unique regional takes on dishes. Exactly. One of my favorite parts, if not my favorite part, of traveling is tasting the local takes on foods and libations. Regions certainly do have distinctive styles that are worthy of carrying their region’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/103 "2014-10-03T21:45:20Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > You sound like a lot of fun. > > Your last sentence is ludicrous. That combination of hot dog toppings likely isn’t common in say, Tuscaloosa. And if you happen to find a hot dog with neon relish, tomato, sport peppers, etc in Tuscaloosa, they will probably call it a Chicago Dog. > > Food, even commonly available food, is allowed to have regional variation that is distinctive. St. Louis Toasted Ravioli, Sheboygan-style brats, New Mexico green, I love the unique regional takes on dishes. The world is a very big place, and for things like hot dogs and hamburgers the chances of coming with a combination of toppings that hasn’t already been tried in numerous places independently of each other is extremely slim. It’s not a question of being allowed to have regional variations, it’s just that the variations are more common than you might think. It’s like the episode of Andy Griffith where everyone was confiding their unique family recipe for spaghetti sauce to Andy and in all of them the “secret ingredient” was oregano. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/104 "2014-10-03T21:51:13Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > The world is a very big place, and for things like hot dogs and hamburgers the chances of coming with a combination of toppings that hasn’t already been tried in numerous places independently of each other is extremely slim. It’s not a question of being allowed to have regional variations, it’s just that the variations are more common than you might think. It’s like the episode of Andy Griffith where everyone was confiding their unique family recipe for spaghetti sauce to Andy and in all of them the “secret ingredient” was oregano. Ok, so do regional variations exist or not? And if so why not name it after the region? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/105 "2014-10-03T21:57:28Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > The world is a very big place, and for things like hot dogs and hamburgers the chances of coming with a combination of toppings that hasn’t already been tried in numerous places independently of each other is extremely slim. It’s not a question of being allowed to have regional variations, it’s just that the variations are more common than you might think. It’s like the episode of Andy Griffith where everyone was confiding their unique family recipe for spaghetti sauce to Andy and in all of them the “secret ingredient” was oregano. Sure. But there are certainly common toppings in one region that are not in another. And the Chicago dog, really, is about the frank being used, not the topping, in my opinion. All-beef, steamed or boiled (I guess char-grilled is acceptable, but not the traditional preparation), natural casing, Vienna Beef/David Berg or Chicago Red Hots (or something similarly spiced.) They’re not necessarily my favorite, but they are distinctive. I’ve had “Chicago style hot dogs” outside of Chicago. For the most part, they all missed the mark. The closest I’ve had that hit it was some stand in Milwaukee and the Phoenix-area branches of Portillo’s. New York or just general East Coast style street pizza is something I’ve never quite had anywhere else. There are “New York style” places all over the US, but I’ve never gotten one that really hit it just right outside the East Coast. It’s not necessarily my favorite style, either, but it is distinctive, and a bit difficult to replicate outside the geographic region where it’s popular. Nothing wrong with regions laying claim to foods that they are famous for. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/106 "2014-10-04T01:26:10Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Ok, so do regional variations exist or not? And if so why not name it after the region? Yes and no. You’ll find food variations in region A that aren’t in region B or C, but look enough places you’ll find them in region J, or Z, or A3. Go to 1000 mom and pop restaurants in 1000 small towns and find many that have their very own special recipe that was created by the original owner 70 some years ago. And some of those very own special recipes will be nearly identical. So why not name it after the region? Because no one really knows who did it first, and it became a “thing” because enough people in enough places thought of it independently. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/107 "2014-10-04T01:46:21Z")
I like the _idea_ of Chicago hot dogs, but I don’t care for raw tomatoes on anything. So I’d eat it for $5 but I wouldn’t love it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/108 "2014-10-04T02:38:45Z")
Oh, _hell_ yes! No question. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/109 "2014-10-04T02:52:43Z")
Chicago-style dogs are my favorite. Of course, in Texas, no one seems capable of making them _exactly_ Chicago-style, but I like 'em. If I can get good quality prepared yellow mustard on my dog, I prefer that. If all the dog shop offers is that yellow-colored vinegar with a “French’s” label slapped on it, I ask if they can put stone-ground mustard on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/110 "2014-10-04T03:13:52Z")
I really don’t care for relish much at all. I also generally don’t much like pickles or tomatoes with hotdogs, though I like them just fine in other contexts. The whole thing looks overdone - I like my hotdogs pretty spartan. But yeah, I might or might not pass if offered one for free, but for five bucks I’d have no problem eating it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/111 "2014-10-04T03:48:32Z")
OK, **Doug K.** , where’s the other region where that style of hot dog is commonplace? And what do you propose we call that style of hot dog? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/112 "2014-10-04T04:35:17Z")
In a world where I could eat bread, sure. I don’t actually like relish at all, but I’d still try it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/113 "2014-10-04T04:56:22Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > (Ketchup on a hot dog is an abomination.) Not my only abomination. Anyway . . . Could I take things off and eat them separately, sort of creating a pre-hot dog salad? That’s how I eat “non-Chicago” hot dogs. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/114 "2014-10-04T05:52:50Z")
I’d eat that & you wouldn’t even have to pay the $5. But my preferred hotdog would have mayo on the bun, then the hotdog, then a line each of mustard & ketchup, chopped onions, & a sprinkle of black pepper. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/115 "2014-10-04T06:30:01Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Suppose I told you that I’d pay you five bucks to eat a hot dog, Chicago-style. > > [This is what it would look like, exact.](http://greatestamericanhotdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/chicago-dog.jpg) > You, to get the five bucks, must eat it all yourself and you’re not allowed to take ANYTHING off of it (that is currently on it…however you may add other things if you like)… Its colours are a bit scary. However,… Really? Free food AND free money? Oh yes! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/116 "2014-10-04T06:58:55Z")
Love me some Chicago dogs (don’t forget the celery salt!) but my favorite is chili-cheese with a line of mustard. And I’ll take a really good brat over a dog any day. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/117 "2014-10-04T14:39:01Z")
Just how old is this “Chicago Tradition,” anyway? I remember orders being called out “one dog, roll it through the garden!” back in the 70’s, and then they’d smirk at you as if to say “why don’t you just move to California?” I suspect this is like a lot of marketed Chicago “tradition,” that was created since the 80’s when the yuppies pulled the city out of the Rust Belt. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/118 "2014-10-04T14:50:21Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Just how old is this “Chicago Tradition,” anyway? I remember orders being called out “one dog, roll it through the garden!” back in the 70’s, and then they’d smirk at you as if to say “why don’t you just move to California?” > > I suspect this is like a lot of marketed Chicago “tradition,” that was created since the 80’s when the yuppies pulled the city out of the Rust Belt. My hunch is Vienna Beef marketing popularized it and standardized it, but the salad on the bun goes back to the Great Depression, at least that’s the story, where hot dog vendors would provide a cheap and somewhat complete/healthy meal by topping the hod dog with those ingredients. If you look around town, you will find the occasional place like Byron’s that does an even more extreme version of this, with lettuce, fresh cucumbers, and I believe green bell peppers. And there are variations with green tomato relish (Superdawg) and the such. Plus the stalwarts like the above mentioned Gene and Jude’s and Jimmy’s Red Hots which don’t do poppy seed bun or tomato (and I don’t think they do celery salt, either.) So there’s a lot of variety. I believe, but am not 100% sure, that it is Vienna beef that standardized it. Note the neon green relish is primarily a Vienna beef product, as are the pickled sport peppers, in addition to the frank itself. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/119 "2014-10-04T16:47:17Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > What’s the green stuff - is it gherkin? That might be weird. How hot is the mustard? > > The worst thing about hot dogs is that the meat is not usually that great, but if it was a decent sausage-y thing I’d happily eat it. > [@cochrane](#): > > The green stuff is relish. Relish or just chopped up celery? Looks like a perfectly good dog to me, even if I wouldn’t dress it up exactly like that myself. I’d eat it and take the $5 to buy a nice cold beer to go along with it. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256/120 "2014-10-04T16:48:49Z")
It’s pickle relish (chopped pickles) dyed neon green [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-i-offered-you-five-dollars-to-eat-a-chicago-style-hot-dog/700256.md?page=7)