The Best Hot Dog Joint in Every State

With both a food truck and a brick-and-mortar restaurant, Urban offers an array of all-beef dogs (and other sausages) with elaborate combinations of ingredients. The Crunchy Onion, for instance, is topped with ancho-chile-dusted onion strings and chipotle mayo. The Fully Loaded is a frank wrapped in potato slices and deep-fried, then enhanced with horseradish sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onions, and bacon.

Choosing just one top hot dog purveyor in New York State is a tough call, but Walter’s — established in 1919 and designated as a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places — is hard to beat. Their dogs are a blend of pork, beef, and veal, made especially for Walter’s, split down the middle and grilled with a secret sauce, then served on a toasted bun with a custom mustard blend. A variation on the standard version is the Puffy Dog, topped with smashed and grilled potato puffs.

This is a big, sleek restaurant rather than a funky hot dog stand, but the franks are definitely the thing here. Signature offerings include the Chicago-style Joliet Jake and the Southern Girl (pimento cheese, slaw, bacon, and “hot blonde mustard”). There are also weekly special dogs with names like The Big Cheesy and Frank the Ripper.

Nearly every national ranking of wieners puts this curiously named establishment, near the University of North Dakota, at the top for the state. The all-beef franks include a classic offering, a Chicago dog, and specials like the Green Party Dog (guacamole, Hatch green chiles, and salsa verde) and the 5th Bro (cream cheese, mango relish, padang sauce, pineapple, and sriracha).

Ohio-made all-beef franks in toasted and steamed honey buns with hand-cut twice-cooked fries on the side are the draw here. The decor pays tribute to old-school burlesque stars, as do the names of the dogs — for instance the Tempest “Stormy Weather” (habanero salsa, chopped jalapeños, sharp aged cheddar, and sour cream) and the Varla “Va-Va-Voom” (krаut, bacon bits, housemade horseradish sauce, and 1000 Island dressing).