The Best Hot Dog Joint in Every State

The dogs here include an all-beef version plus such wiener-adjacent choices as kielbasa, Portuguese sausage, and linguica. All are available on a choice of white, wheat, or Punalu’u sweet bun, and the condiments offered include (besides the usual) passion fruit-mustard sauce, kimchi aïoli, and house-made bourbon pineapple BBQ sauce. .

“Serving the great American hot dog,” this laid-back wiener stand offers both Chicago-style beef franks and Polish sausage, either available with krаut, mustard, onions, pickles, and peppers; chili, cheese, onions, and peppers; or “the works” — mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickles, and peppers. Soft pretzels and Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese are also on the menu.

This Lincoln Park institution is known for two things: its franks (especially the char-grilled “Char-dogs,” with all the classic Chicago condiments) and its longtime tradition of encouraging name-calling and other verbal abuse between staff and customers, especially in the evenings. If the mutual insults don’t chase you away, you’ll find the dogs hard to beat.

Opened in 1913, this old-style eatery has welcomed everybody from Mickey Mantle to Jay Leno to Mike Pence for its famous Coney Island dogs, grilled and served on a steamed bun with mustard, chopped onions, and housemade Coney sauce (a tomatoey meat sauce reminiscent of mild chili). Regulars use shorthand to order: “Three without” is three dogs with mustard and Coney sauce but no onions. “Three and a bottle” is three dogs with everything and a Coke on the side.

Red Hot Chicago brand dogs, all beef, are available with all the usual toppings here — though the Flying Wienie adds peanut butter to the mix as a possibility. Other choices include a chili cheese dog (“lots of chili and covered with cheese”) and a gyro cheese dog.