Chicago’s hot dog tradition is built around an all-beef sausage in a steamed poppyseed bun, topped with mustard, chopped onions, neon-green relish, tomatoes, pickle, sport peppers and celery salt. Locals often call the fully dressed version a dog “dragged through the garden.” Ketchup is not part of the classic preparation.

A Chicago resident and longtime hot dog enthusiast recommends a range of spots, including Fixin’ Franks, whose stands inside Home Depot stores serve Chicago dogs, Polish and Maxwell Street sausages, Italian beef and elotes. The writer suggests adding hot giardiniera for an extra kick. Byron’s offers a different take, adding lettuce, green peppers and cucumber to its Standard toppings; sport peppers are available on request.

For more than hot dogs, Jim’s Original is known for its Maxwell Street Polish sausage, served with mustard, grilled onions and sport peppers, as well as a bone-in pork chop sandwich. Portillo’s is another visitor-friendly choice for Chicago staples, with a steamed hot dog alongside Italian beef and a Maxwell Street Polish. Its chocolate cake shake blends a slice of chocolate cake into a milkshake.

Red Hot Ranch serves Depression-style hot dogs with mustard, onion, relish and sport peppers, topped with fries. The guide also recommends sharing one of the stand’s double smashburgers. Superdawg, which opened as a drive-in in 1948, serves a larger custom all-beef dog with mustard, pickle, sport peppers, onions, piccalilli and pickled green tomato, accompanied by crinkle-cut fries.

Some of the city’s other recommended options put a twist on the classic. The Duck Inn Dog combines a grilled beef, pork and duck-fat sausage with a brioche poppyseed bun, a mustard-and-relish condiment mixed with tomato and onion, dill pickle, pickled serranos and celery salt. The Wiener’s Circle chars its hot dogs for a smoky flavor and crispier texture, and serves them with cheddar fries.

For a textbook Chicago-style dog, the guide points to the Vienna Beef cafe across the street from the company’s factory. It also highlights a Polish restaurant where the kielbasa is made in-house and smoked over pecan wood, while the all-beef dog can be ordered Chicago-style or with Polish-inspired toppings, including sauerkraut, onions, sour cream and a potato-and-cheese pierogi.

Sources: Condé Nast Traveler.