(note: a video production is in the works – stay posted)

The Chicago Food Whore’s took advantage of the President’s Day holiday and ventured out to find out what it takes to satisfy the hot dog cravings of a food whore. As neither one of us is originally from Chicago (thus no ties as to how a “proper” hot dog should be), we were able to take an objective look at each dog we ate. Note: we could not have done this just buy ourselves as there were too many dogs to eat – so we brought along a few friends to help us (all Chicago transplants) to offer their stomach space and opinions on where to find Chicago’s Best Wiener!

We learned through this adventure that this is the ONLY way to truly understand what you like in a Hot Dog. Tasting dogs side by side truly helped us appreciate the different serving styles of all the places we visited. We made our choice on where to go based on the company’s reputation. Yes, we missed Hot Doug’s (your loss Doug) because they were closed. And we also missed Jim’s Original on Maxwell when our stomach’s could no longer accept any more nitrates.

What is a Chicago Style Hot Dog?

Traditionally, a Chicago Style Hot Dog wiener is always steamed. In addition, the golden rule is NO KETCHUP – which is to my disappointment since I love ketchup on my hot dog. However, I followed this rule and still managed to enjoy each and every bite today. Secondly, a Chicago Style Hot Dog is not complete without the following: onions, mustard, radioactive green relish, pickle, sport peppers, tomatoes and celery salt. Our goal today was to try as many Chicago Style sausages we could stomach and try the best that the restaurant could offer for this category. We learned that the polish dog has all the same ingredients as a regular hot dog, but the difference is that the polish has significantly more of the same spices making it a great choice for anyone looking for a peppery finish.

Byron’s

We ordered:
Chicago Style Jumbo Hotdog & Chicago Style Bratwurst
Byron’s sausages are cooked on a flat top grill then placed into a steamed plain bun. Topped with all the traditional fixings. Notable difference is that their pickles are sliced crosswise and you get two pieces. Presentation a bit sloppy as the tomatoe’s were all over the place.

Wiener’s Circle

We ordered:
Chicago Style Charred Polish
At Wiener’s Circle, you can opt for an extra charred dog which gives it a smokey, hickory finish. They also served the polish in a steamed poppy seed bun. Lastly, rather than sliced pickles, WC uses a 1/4 sliced lengthwise pickle. Bonus points for presentation as the tomatoes were perfectly stacked along the length of the dog.

Wiener Circle is famous as a drunken snack destination for Lakeview / Wrigleyville and even Lincoln Park alcoholics. There is often an exchange of crass and rude remarks between the staff and their customers. If you dare, ask for the Chocolate Milkshake! (no, it’s not on the menu!)

Vienna Beef Factory

We ordered:
Chicago Style Vienna Beef Hot Dog & Chicago Style Spicy Vienna Beef Polish

The Vienna Beef is famous for the “bouncy” bite, somewhere between a traditional hot dog casing and the chewy bite of a knockwurst. The dog is steamed and nestled in a steamed poppy seed bun, this was fixed with all the traditional toppings Chicago style. Pickle here is also quartered and sliced lengthwise, topped with a few messy tomatoe’s.

Fat Johnnie’s Famous Red Hots

We ordered:
Fat Johnnie’s Chicago Style Red Hot (the old school way to call at hot dog), Chicago Style Polish, Super Dog, Mighty Dog, Tamale Sundae & the Mother-in-law

Always famous, but made headlines with Anthony Bourdain’s visit & featured on ‘No Reservations’ (Travel Channel), this place is THE place to go for both the traditional Chicago style hot dog as well as something different. It’s well worth the trek to the sketchier south side, but not recommended after dark (they close at 6pm anyway). Wow, where do I begin? This place as so many tasty offerings that it will take an essay to explain our adventure to this hot dog shack.

Notable difference: In addition to the traditional condiments, Fat Johnnie’s also adds fresh sliced cucumbers on their dogs. I personally LOVED this – the cucumbers added a fresh crunch and mild flavor to balance out the saltiness of the dog.

Definitely save some stomach space to try the mother-in-law, a bowl of tamales topped with their super delicious yellow processed cheese and cucumbers.

Conclusion:

It was a great day of processed food consumption and we managed to get all of our food groups in. Although I doubt I will be eating hot dogs for a while, I am thankful for my experience today because I now feel that I am capable of offering an educated recommendation of where to find Chicago’s Best Wiener.

The winner is……

Hands-down, Wiener’s Circle’s charred polish offered an enhanced flavor and texture that all the other places did not have. Since WC already beings with the bouncy texture of the Vienna Beef – the charring makes it even more CRISP and locked in the moisture of the sausage. Disappointingly, Vienna Beef was perhaps the worst sausage of the bunch – making two of my food whore followers today a little sick to the stomach. Complaints included being bloated, mobil expansion of dog moving up the esophogus as well as an irkey feeling across the board. I recommend Byron’s for the a fairly close interpretation of the Chicago Style Hot Dog (remember, their dogs are flat top grilled and not steamed). Finally, DO take the effort to trek down to Fat Johnnie’s to experience dogs and tasty treats like no other in this town. The combination of tamales, processed gooey yellow cheese, chili and a hotdog all complete inside a hog dog topped with Chicago style fixin’s and fresh cucumber is not to be missed. Truly an experience worth travelling for.

- Vivian