**A Guide to Chicago's Best Hot Dogs: A Comprehensive Review**

As I ventured out to explore the best hot dogs in Chicago, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and trepidation. With so many options to choose from, it was hard to know where to start. But, after trying 13 different hot dogs, I'm here to share my thoughts on each one and crown the champion.

**Mass Market Dog**

My first stop was Mass Market, the largest hot dog chain in the city. While I expected a lot from this behemoth of a hot dog joint, I was disappointed by the lackluster snap of the Frank itself. The only redeeming quality was the super crunchy pickle that stood out amidst the mediocrity. I dubbed this the "Mass Market Dog" and was left feeling underwhelmed.

**Kimky: A Sausage Sandwich with a Twist**

Next up was Kimky, a Korean-Polish fusion hot dog joint that serves a sausage sandwich masquerading as a hot dog. The Frank itself was an all-beef Frank infused with duck fat, giving it a rich and indulgent flavor profile. The crispy casing added a satisfying crunch to each bite, but the bun was unfortunately stale and overpowered the other flavors. I dubbed this the "Anti-Dog" due to its departure from traditional hot dog norms.

**Duck's Hot Dog Joint: A Game-Changer**

Then, there was Duck in there, a family-owned hot dog joint that has been making waves with its unique takes on classic Chicago-style dogs. The Frank itself was an all-beef Frank injected with duck fat and topped with a tangy super condiment made from blending every topping imaginable. The crispiness of the casing was unparalleled, but the bun was unfortunately a bland, brioche-like affair that overpowered the other flavors. Despite this, I was blown away by the harmony and balance of each bite.

**The Spinal Tap Dog: A Taste of Chaos**

For those who like it hot, there's The Spinal Tap Dog from RPA Teddy Ted. This Frank is made with red hot beef, giving it a spicy kick that's sure to awaken even the most slumbering palate. While not as cohesive as some of the other dogs on this list, The Spinal Tap Dog has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes it worth trying.

**The Sugar Dog: A Sweet Treat**

Last but not least was The Sugar Dog from an unnamed vendor. With its sweet and sticky bun, this hot dog is more akin to a dessert than a savory meal. While it may not be for everyone, I appreciated the unique twist on traditional hot dog norms.

**Other Notable Mentions**

* **Boney Maroney's**: A modern take on the classic Chicago-style hot dog with a Korean flair.

* **Portillo's**: A beloved institution in Chicago, Portillo's serves up some of the city's best hot dogs, but their bun can be a bit lacking.

* **The Original Hot Dog Factory**: While not as flashy as some of the other joints on this list, The Original Hot Dog Factory has been serving up classic Chicago-style hot dogs for decades.

**The Verdict**

After trying 13 different hot dogs, I'm left with one clear winner: the Spinal Tap Dog from RPA Teddy Ted. Its spicy kick and perfect balance of flavors make it a must-try for any hot dog enthusiast. But don't just take my word for it – grab a hot dog at your favorite joint and let me know what you think!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys we are here in Chicago the restaurant city of the year but we're not here to hit up new restaurants I am here to eat hot dogs I'm here because one I've never been to Chicago before I have absolutely no opinions on any Chicago hot dog spots that means I'm coming in without bias and I'm going to be a fair judge somehow we're going to hit 14 hot dog spots in a single day to figure out what's the best we're going to look at a bunch of different things does it follow the guidelines of what a classic Chicago hot dog is besides the ingredients the other things I'm looking for in my hot dog are is it harmonious do all of the ingredients work together Chicago dogs are made with natural casing which means when I bite into it there's a little bit of resistance and when I tear away it pops a little bit a good Chicago hot dog will have that snap let's do this thing we are here at Ducks our first spot double dogs went for two there's no tomato there's obviously a bun but there are no poppy seeds on said bun there does not appear to be celery salt which is another big component of the hot dog which gives like this vegetable super salty seasoning flavor let the Day begin great bun texture that snap that we were talking about from the Vienna Beef totally there this dog itself is awesome little bit heat from the sport pepper classic mustard Nothing Fancy on the mustard onions I'd like them like a little more finely chopped the presentation sat fine I want a humble dog if I had to give this dog in name I think that might be it the humble dog overall this is a high quality hot dog teddy is a very old friend I met him about 15 minutes ago he is driving the van I just got a oil change uh requirement oh so okay Republican Quality Meats everything in there looked awesome pickles on the side in very cool pickle bags this is definitely not a classic Chicago style dog Publican Quality Meats makes their own dogs we've got some Chim cherry salsa Rojo and cilantro pickle the bun does not look like your typical hot dog bun this is made in house there's Spice in couple different ways Spice from the salsa Spice from the paprika and then you get a little bit of like brightness from that cilantro pickle in my book that is not a hot dog it's not to say it's not good it's delicious so I'm going to call this one the $10 dog I am not mad that I spent $10 on this thing so we are at Fatso's Last Stand the Frank is Vienna Beef bre brand the poppy seed bun is the S Rosen brand all the toppings are here also when it comes to the Vienna be frank these are Char dogs I love a grilled hot dog I'm a little biased there super high heat split on the sides you get that texture all the way down it this is the kind of thing that I would eat maybe three of at a baseball game calling this one the baseball dog before even opening this very interesting thing going on here fries inside the wrap perfectly steamed Frank crispy casing experience-wise love this place it's dog itself little underwhelming it's a very simple hot dog this is a classic it is the simple dog the fans so the cool thing about super dog is that you can sit in the AC and listen to whatever we want our budget isn't expansive per se so I'm not going to throw in some music because we'd have to buy those rights so sit back and relax as I turn this volume up and you hear some smooth royaltyfree music that's the stuff and this by the way this is stop number five I'm a little full already was not expecting that this is by far the heftiest dog that we've had so far tons of that sweet relish big dog big pickle oh just now realizing that's a pickled tomato definitely a lot of brine going on salty little bit of spice that followed by the bite of the hot dog is a very pleasant experience we're calling this one the Nostalgia dog I am starting to get sunburned these look like pretty classic dogs not as much snap as previous dogs good pickle though really crisp good celery salt presents this is the most celery flavor we've had so far I feel like this is the everyday dog there's not anything wrong with it there's not anything so noteworthy about it at the end of the day if you want a Chicago style dog you're probably looking for something like this Ginger tomato uh two two red hot am I ketchup you put ketchup on there I'll kill you good that's what I wanted to hear all right thank you kindly that snap that I'm talking about this so far best when I bit into it gave like resistance and it was like pop super good dog good boy and the rest everything's there this is really really good we're calling this one the real dog this dog is a real Chicago style hot dog we're at Red Hot Ranch cash only doesn't have the poppy seeds doesn't have the tomatoes doesn't have the pickle this is a little bit of a depression dog the snap is there perfect amount of mustard perfect amount of relish this is probably the most harmonious dog that we've had so far I'm going to be calling it The Dark Horse dog looking at it sure it'll probably be fine tasting it damn this is a contender for the best for sure Portilla is the biggest hot dog chain in the city it was a little bit like Disney World in there that I think is as neatly compiled as we've seen today it has everything we're looking for this is where I'm going to tread not so lightly and I might get a little backlash for me this is not one of the best hot dogs that I've had today this is the first dog I've had today where the snap is not quite there texturally the pickle is the only thing that stands out the Pickle's super super crunchy I think I'm going to call this the mass Market dog it's what I expected from the biggest spot kimky is kind of a crossover between Polish food and Korean food what we have here is Polish sausage a kraut kimchi a bun that is definitely not a poppy seed bun and then we have some Soju mustard my first impression is that this is insanely delicious in terms of Harmony here perfect this is one of the best things I've eaten today but this is a sausage sandwich not a hot dog lovingly I think this guy gets a little bit disqualified this sausage sandwich from kimky is termed the anti-dog we are at Duck in there's a lot going on here the Frank itself is an allbe Frank it is not a Vienna be frank they inject it with duck fat slight little bit of duck meat as well this yellowish type topping here that you see they call the super condiment so they take every condiment that goes on the regular Chicago style hot dog and put it in a blender and just pulse the hell out of it the Frank itself the flavor is insane there's so much fat and such a good texture on this the crisp from the casing isn't so much a snap like I said more of a crisp the biggest thing to me here and it's not necessarily a good thing is the bun I don't want a Brios hot dog bun because to me it do dominates everything else a little bit if we're talking about Harmony the way that they treat the condiment it's Perfection because you really do get every single aspect in every bite this is an intense dog this dog is called the spinal tap dog because it's turned up to 11 everyone's out of work traffic is gridlocked we're putting the fate of this video in the hands of one man that's RPA Teddy Ted oh sweet sweet teddy anything Devil Dogs that's looking pretty classic the Frank not a Vienna beef frank this Frank's made by the other company in Chicago that makes Natural Casing all beef franks that is red hot beef I can see a lot of relish happening here it is pretty sweet the flavor of the Frank itself is pretty good it is a little different like the casing I think on the Vienna is a little bit firmer this is like lacking a little bit of the snap for a name I mean come on the first thing that I tast was the sugar this has to be the sugar dog right so this place isn't necessarily on Julia's list but I've been thinking about it all day and it kind of reminds me of home a little bit no snap at all in all seriousness there's absolutely no snap in this casing the bun stale has like that Play-Doh equality slurpie though always fantastic these things are certainly not hot dogs they look like flowers this is a take on a classic Chinese bun combination of beef hot dog and uh scallions the bread's going to be a little sweet just that's the traditional kind of dough that they use before I even try this I'm not going to not name this the hot dog flower this is making me think that some people should start messing around with scallions on a Chicago dog also let the record show that we showed up after the bakery closed and the fat rice staff was very nice led us into the bakery and sold us a couple of these things so what did I learn today so thinking back all 13 dogs I tried each kind of brought something unique to the table there's one that stood out and that is the super dog every single thing about that dog was perfect the Frank the bun the toppings the proportion the Harmony and the Zen of that dog was unparalleled also as classic as it was it gave you that one little twist that pickled tomato that was one of the best toppings that we had on any dog super dog also an incredible Place family-owned you can drive up in your car that Decor the typography the neon everything about that place so rad thank you Julia Kramer for providing such an awesome Chicago dog list and thank you to Chicago You're the restaurant city of the year for a reason but guys when you're out here checking out these new restaurants grab a hot dog and then let us know what your favorite is I'm Alex Delany thanks for hanging out bone Appetit the One Shining Light of today good old Teddyhey guys we are here in Chicago the restaurant city of the year but we're not here to hit up new restaurants I am here to eat hot dogs I'm here because one I've never been to Chicago before I have absolutely no opinions on any Chicago hot dog spots that means I'm coming in without bias and I'm going to be a fair judge somehow we're going to hit 14 hot dog spots in a single day to figure out what's the best we're going to look at a bunch of different things does it follow the guidelines of what a classic Chicago hot dog is besides the ingredients the other things I'm looking for in my hot dog are is it harmonious do all of the ingredients work together Chicago dogs are made with natural casing which means when I bite into it there's a little bit of resistance and when I tear away it pops a little bit a good Chicago hot dog will have that snap let's do this thing we are here at Ducks our first spot double dogs went for two there's no tomato there's obviously a bun but there are no poppy seeds on said bun there does not appear to be celery salt which is another big component of the hot dog which gives like this vegetable super salty seasoning flavor let the Day begin great bun texture that snap that we were talking about from the Vienna Beef totally there this dog itself is awesome little bit heat from the sport pepper classic mustard Nothing Fancy on the mustard onions I'd like them like a little more finely chopped the presentation sat fine I want a humble dog if I had to give this dog in name I think that might be it the humble dog overall this is a high quality hot dog teddy is a very old friend I met him about 15 minutes ago he is driving the van I just got a oil change uh requirement oh so okay Republican Quality Meats everything in there looked awesome pickles on the side in very cool pickle bags this is definitely not a classic Chicago style dog Publican Quality Meats makes their own dogs we've got some Chim cherry salsa Rojo and cilantro pickle the bun does not look like your typical hot dog bun this is made in house there's Spice in couple different ways Spice from the salsa Spice from the paprika and then you get a little bit of like brightness from that cilantro pickle in my book that is not a hot dog it's not to say it's not good it's delicious so I'm going to call this one the $10 dog I am not mad that I spent $10 on this thing so we are at Fatso's Last Stand the Frank is Vienna Beef bre brand the poppy seed bun is the S Rosen brand all the toppings are here also when it comes to the Vienna be frank these are Char dogs I love a grilled hot dog I'm a little biased there super high heat split on the sides you get that texture all the way down it this is the kind of thing that I would eat maybe three of at a baseball game calling this one the baseball dog before even opening this very interesting thing going on here fries inside the wrap perfectly steamed Frank crispy casing experience-wise love this place it's dog itself little underwhelming it's a very simple hot dog this is a classic it is the simple dog the fans so the cool thing about super dog is that you can sit in the AC and listen to whatever we want our budget isn't expansive per se so I'm not going to throw in some music because we'd have to buy those rights so sit back and relax as I turn this volume up and you hear some smooth royaltyfree music that's the stuff and this by the way this is stop number five I'm a little full already was not expecting that this is by far the heftiest dog that we've had so far tons of that sweet relish big dog big pickle oh just now realizing that's a pickled tomato definitely a lot of brine going on salty little bit of spice that followed by the bite of the hot dog is a very pleasant experience we're calling this one the Nostalgia dog I am starting to get sunburned these look like pretty classic dogs not as much snap as previous dogs good pickle though really crisp good celery salt presents this is the most celery flavor we've had so far I feel like this is the everyday dog there's not anything wrong with it there's not anything so noteworthy about it at the end of the day if you want a Chicago style dog you're probably looking for something like this Ginger tomato uh two two red hot am I ketchup you put ketchup on there I'll kill you good that's what I wanted to hear all right thank you kindly that snap that I'm talking about this so far best when I bit into it gave like resistance and it was like pop super good dog good boy and the rest everything's there this is really really good we're calling this one the real dog this dog is a real Chicago style hot dog we're at Red Hot Ranch cash only doesn't have the poppy seeds doesn't have the tomatoes doesn't have the pickle this is a little bit of a depression dog the snap is there perfect amount of mustard perfect amount of relish this is probably the most harmonious dog that we've had so far I'm going to be calling it The Dark Horse dog looking at it sure it'll probably be fine tasting it damn this is a contender for the best for sure Portilla is the biggest hot dog chain in the city it was a little bit like Disney World in there that I think is as neatly compiled as we've seen today it has everything we're looking for this is where I'm going to tread not so lightly and I might get a little backlash for me this is not one of the best hot dogs that I've had today this is the first dog I've had today where the snap is not quite there texturally the pickle is the only thing that stands out the Pickle's super super crunchy I think I'm going to call this the mass Market dog it's what I expected from the biggest spot kimky is kind of a crossover between Polish food and Korean food what we have here is Polish sausage a kraut kimchi a bun that is definitely not a poppy seed bun and then we have some Soju mustard my first impression is that this is insanely delicious in terms of Harmony here perfect this is one of the best things I've eaten today but this is a sausage sandwich not a hot dog lovingly I think this guy gets a little bit disqualified this sausage sandwich from kimky is termed the anti-dog we are at Duck in there's a lot going on here the Frank itself is an allbe Frank it is not a Vienna be frank they inject it with duck fat slight little bit of duck meat as well this yellowish type topping here that you see they call the super condiment so they take every condiment that goes on the regular Chicago style hot dog and put it in a blender and just pulse the hell out of it the Frank itself the flavor is insane there's so much fat and such a good texture on this the crisp from the casing isn't so much a snap like I said more of a crisp the biggest thing to me here and it's not necessarily a good thing is the bun I don't want a Brios hot dog bun because to me it do dominates everything else a little bit if we're talking about Harmony the way that they treat the condiment it's Perfection because you really do get every single aspect in every bite this is an intense dog this dog is called the spinal tap dog because it's turned up to 11 everyone's out of work traffic is gridlocked we're putting the fate of this video in the hands of one man that's RPA Teddy Ted oh sweet sweet teddy anything Devil Dogs that's looking pretty classic the Frank not a Vienna beef frank this Frank's made by the other company in Chicago that makes Natural Casing all beef franks that is red hot beef I can see a lot of relish happening here it is pretty sweet the flavor of the Frank itself is pretty good it is a little different like the casing I think on the Vienna is a little bit firmer this is like lacking a little bit of the snap for a name I mean come on the first thing that I tast was the sugar this has to be the sugar dog right so this place isn't necessarily on Julia's list but I've been thinking about it all day and it kind of reminds me of home a little bit no snap at all in all seriousness there's absolutely no snap in this casing the bun stale has like that Play-Doh equality slurpie though always fantastic these things are certainly not hot dogs they look like flowers this is a take on a classic Chinese bun combination of beef hot dog and uh scallions the bread's going to be a little sweet just that's the traditional kind of dough that they use before I even try this I'm not going to not name this the hot dog flower this is making me think that some people should start messing around with scallions on a Chicago dog also let the record show that we showed up after the bakery closed and the fat rice staff was very nice led us into the bakery and sold us a couple of these things so what did I learn today so thinking back all 13 dogs I tried each kind of brought something unique to the table there's one that stood out and that is the super dog every single thing about that dog was perfect the Frank the bun the toppings the proportion the Harmony and the Zen of that dog was unparalleled also as classic as it was it gave you that one little twist that pickled tomato that was one of the best toppings that we had on any dog super dog also an incredible Place family-owned you can drive up in your car that Decor the typography the neon everything about that place so rad thank you Julia Kramer for providing such an awesome Chicago dog list and thank you to Chicago You're the restaurant city of the year for a reason but guys when you're out here checking out these new restaurants grab a hot dog and then let us know what your favorite is I'm Alex Delany thanks for hanging out bone Appetit the One Shining Light of today good old Teddy\n"