The humble hot dog is the definitive all-American food, with billions eaten each year across the US. But it's not as simple as it appears. Hot dogs, in fact, can unite and divide the country, with each variation – from state specialties to old-school favourites – representing a story, community and microcosm of history. Here, we look at some of America's original hot dog recipes, from Chicago's loaded Depression-era meal staple to Cleveland's hearty Polish Boy, and the best places to try them.
Click or scroll our gallery to uncover America's best original hot dogs and the must-visit places to try them, counting down to the most iconic of all.
We've based our ranking on the enduring popularity of each hot dog style in its place of origin and beyond, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.
The Sonoran hot dog – known as the Danger Dog in LA – was born sometime in the 1980s at baseball games. Many culinary historians claim it originated in Mexico City, while others believe it came from Hermosillo, the capital city of Sonora in Mexico. It’s widely thought to have gained widespread popularity in the cities of Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona, where it was tweaked with a few American condiments.
This vibrant – and heavily loaded – work of art gives the hearty Chicago-style hot dog, known for its countless accompaniments, a run for its money when it comes to toppings. It features a slightly sweet bun, bacon-wrapped wiener, pinto beans, onions, tomato, salsa verde, mustard and mayonnaise. Tucson is packed with places to sample a superior Sonoran; try BK's Carne Asada, whose dainty creations are packed with flavour. Monster Sonoran Hot Dogs, home of the footlong Sonoran dog, is the go-to spot for the extremely hungry and adventurous.
Alaska is best known for producing high-end ingredients from the sea like oysters, wild salmon and king crab. But, when it comes to fast food, its most famous invention is the reindeer dog. The origins are murky, but several sources suggest the dog was first sold across the state in 1999. The unique sausage generally blends reindeer (or caribou) meat with pork and beef, and has a subtle flavour a bit like venison.
They’re sold at restaurants, food trucks and hot dog carts all over the state, with all kinds of toppings. Loved by locals are both Yeti Dogs and Anchorage's International House of Hot Dogs. The latter offers some seriously creative gourmet dogs, but the real specialty here is the Alaskan, a reindeer or buffalo Polish sausage, dressed with sautéed onions and the joint's secret-recipe chipotle sauce.
The Dodger Dog is a ballpark hot dog variety named after the Major League Baseball team the LA Dodgers; they've been sold at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles since it opened in 1962. It was invented by the team’s food concessions manager, Thomas Arthur, who took inspiration from Coney Island's foot-long hot dogs, as a way to pay homage to the team’s East Coast old-school New York origins. The Dodger Dog is made with a 10-inch pork sausage that sticks out either end of a soft white bun, usually topped simply with mustard and diced onions.
Dodger Dogs are either steamed or grilled – where you buy them in the stadium depends on how it’s cooked. Grilled dogs are considered the classic version, available at the back of the stadium, so baseball fans don’t get covered in smoke. Also on offer is the Super Dodger Dog, made with a 10-inch beef sausage, instead of pork.
This Pacific Northwestern craze dates back to 1989 and is widely credited to bagel-loving Seattle local, Hadley Long. From his food stand, in Pioneer Square, he sold vegetarian bagels to loyal grunge-loving customers, who displayed insatiable post-gig appetites for hot dogs. To meet continual demand, he created the Seattle dog: a unique fusion of a hot dog in a bagel-esque bun, slathered in cream cheese and drizzled with a healthy portion of glossy fried onions.
Thanks to the grunge music movement of the 1990s, Seattle dogs increased in popularity at bars and music venues. The Seattle-style hot dog is still very much a grab-and-go street food snack, widely available from vendors all across the city. Local favourites for a classic Seattle-style dog, complete with a slathering of cream cheese, include Al's Gourmet Sausages and Dog in the Park, which also claims to have invented the original Seattle hot dog.
The Hawaiian-style hot dog reportedly started life in 2000 at a little blue shack, Puka Dog, at Kekaha Beach on the island of Kauai. Also known as puka dogs, after the restaurant that invented them, they're unique for their tropical twist, but also for their design. A puka, or hole, is created in the centre of a freshly baked soft roll using a hot rod, which toasts the inside of the soft bun to create a contrast of textures.
The hollowed-out soft roll is then filled with a lemony garlic sauce and a tropical relish made from local fruits like mango and papaya, or even banana or star fruit. These fruit relishes add a sweet and tangy flavour that balances the spiciness of the garlic sauce. The crowning glory of the puka dog is a generous drizzle of a special passion fruit mustard. The best place to try a Hawaiian puka dog is at Puka Dog's outpost at Poipu Beach Park, in Koloa, Kauai.
The West Virginia–style hot dog is defined by its bold mix of flavours and textures within the toppings. It offers a tangy twist on a chilli dog, topped with beef sauce without beans and vegetables, before a squirt of ketchup, and – although purists might shudder – a dollop of coleslaw. According to culinary historians, the West Virginia–style hot dog boomed in the 1910s, particularly in Charleston, with many of the stands owned by Greek immigrants.
Local favourite joints for a West Virginia–style dog fix are aplenty in the state. The dogs might be small, basic and cheap at eight-seater shack Yann’s, open since 1927, but it’s the secret-recipe sauce with a kick that steals the show. Over at family-run Dave's Famous T & L Hot Dogs, you get a choice of mild, medium or hot sauce, while Hillbilly Hot Dogs is well-known for the Homewrecker: a 15-inch beef dog, topped with jalapeños, pepper hash, nacho cheese, habanero, chilli sauce, mustard, slaw, lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese, all crammed in a bun.
The Texas Tommy, said to date back to the 1940s or 1950s, is the American hot dog most shrouded in mystery. Contrary to what you might think, it's not from the Lone Star State, but from the town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Why? Well, no one knows for sure. Adding to the confusion, some say it takes its name after a Ragtime-era dance, also called the Texas Tommy, that originated in San Francisco. What is certain is that the New York Times voted it one of the best regional hot dogs in the US.
The original Texas Tommy is an indulgent combination of melted cheese and bacon – with not a vegetable in sight. A sausage, sliced in half lengthways, is stuffed with a slice of American cheese, wrapped in bacon and grilled. It's then popped into a warmed or toasted bun and squirted with mustard (or not, if you prefer). The Texas Tommy is a staple at ballgames and on diner menus around Philly – including a deep-fried dog smothered in house-made cheese sauce from Buddy’s Burgers. For another stand-out version, head to Lucky's Last Chance in Manayunk, home of 'serious hot dogs'.
A Michigan-style hot dog is a simple recipe: a steamed dog in a soft steamed bun topped with a meaty sauce. Confusingly it's not from the Midwestern state, but is in fact a specialty of Plattsburgh in New York. It's named in honour of a couple called Eula and Garth Otis from Michigan, who opened the first hot dog stand in Plattsburgh in 1920. So proud are the people of Plattsburgh of this story, the town has its own historic marker, and celebrates Michigan Month every July.
Aside from its meaty topping, another factor in a Michigan-style hot dog's uniqueness is the seasonal roadside stands that serve them. The most famous Michigan stand is said to be Clare & Carl’s, a wonky, whitewashed, wooden building with a loyal local following. Others include Connie’s, McSweeney’s and Gus’s Red Hots, each serving a slightly different recipe with its own special flavour profile.
Like so many food origin stories, exactly when a certain food came into existence can be hard to pin down; when it comes to the Fenway Frank, Boston’s quintessential stadium snack, most accounts credit its invention to 1912, when Boston’s baseball stadium, Fenway Park – home of the Red Sox and the city’s American League baseball team – opened. It’s remained the stadium’s snack of choice ever since.
Boston’s Fenway Frank stands out for three reasons. While most hot dogs are either steamed, boiled or grilled, the Boston Fenway Frank is cooked twice – boiled first, then delicately grilled. It’s then placed in an incredibly soft New England–style hot dog bun – the same kind used to make state's famous the lobster rolls – with a distinct buttery flavour. When it comes to toppings, this is left to the eater’s discretion.
The signature hot dog of Cleveland, Ohio, is a hefty sandwich packed with a kielbasa sausage, coleslaw, fries and barbecue sauce, all in a bun. It’s thought to have been invented in the 1940s by a restaurant owner named Virgil Whitmore, who combined a smoked beef sausage with other available ingredients that he had in the restaurant. Today, there are some variations on the original, such as the addition of pulled pork.
For a taste of the best, a trip to Cleveland is essential. Whitmore’s BBQ, around since the 1940s, serves old-school Polish Boys in nostalgic surroundings, while Seti’s Polish Boys (featured on Food Network) dishes out excellent classics from a food truck. Fresh takes on the classic are also never far away; standouts include the Polish Girl at Mabel’s BBQ, which swaps fries out for chopped pork.
Chicago-style dogs are the antithesis of the simple New York hot dog. They feature a beef sausage served in a poppy seed bun and strictly no ketchup. They’re known for their gloriously colourful array of toppings, which are heaped on from the ground up. The fun starts with the hot dog and mustard in the bun followed by onions, a pickle spear, a few spicy sport peppers and fresh slices of tomatoes, finished with a sprinkle of celery salt.
Now-closed hot dog joint Fluky’s, which opened in 1929, claimed to have invented the original Chicago-style dog. Back then, it was called a ‘Depression sandwich’, as the abundance of toppings made it a relatively affordable meal in a bun. The original recipe is said to vary slightly from the current standard; it was typically a frankfurter topped with mustard, pickle relish, onions, a dill pickle, hot peppers, lettuce and tomatoes, and cost five cents (the equivalent of just over a dollar today).
You’re never far from a great hot dog in the Windy City, whether it’s to grab and go, or sit down and savour in a restaurant. Local favourites include Superdawg Drive-in, Fat Johnnie’s Famous Red Hots – a hole-in-the-wall serving dogs any which way – and Portillo's, a legendary Chicago hot dog joint that first opened in 1963, and now has more than 70 locations across the US.
After New York's classic hot dog was established in the late 19th century, the city's beach enclave became a hub of hot dog authenticity. The idea of the Coney dog began spreading across the US in the early 20th century, as Greek and Macedonian immigrants took their hot dog-making skills to other states when they moved around.
The Detroit derivative of a Coney dog features chilli, mustard and diced onions. Two of Detroit's most popular establishments, Lafayette and American, are neighbours. These two iconic venues offer similar hot dogs with distinct twists on the star ingredient – the chilli. American Coney Island offers a spicier chilli sauce for those who love a bit of heat in their meal. In contrast, Lafayette Coney Island takes a different route, offering a chilli sauce that tastes rich and meaty.
Thought to be the oldest – and arguably, most iconic – of all, it’s safe to say the American hot dog started with a European style of sausage, brought to New York in the 1860s by German immigrant butchers. In their new home, the long and thin sausage variety was referred to as the ‘little-dog’ or ‘dachshund’, presumably after the German dog breed. Street vendors cooked and sold them from carts as ‘dachshund dogs’. Historians suggest the term 'hot dog' appeared in 1890 in college magazines, referring to ‘dog wagons’ that sold hot dogs at the dorms.
Who sold the first dachshund sausage in a bun is hotly debated; though, it’s widely credited to German immigrant, Charles Feltman, who is said to have set up the first hot dog stand in 1867, on Coney Island in New York. From here, he served his Coney Island Red Hots with mustard, sauerkraut and diced raw onions, conveniently packed into a bun so beachgoers could enjoy them without a plate. They were an instant hit and, by 1871, he was selling 40,000 hot dogs a day out of nine Feltman’s restaurants in the city.
In 1916, he was undercut when a Feltman employee and Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker, set up his own hot dog stand, Nathan’s Famous. Feltman's closed in 1954, but Nathan's thrived to become a well-loved US chain. It's considered an essential stop for hot dog lovers wanting a taste of the original New York hot dog, served slathered in mustard and topped with onions and sauerkraut. Nathan’s is also well known for its Hot Dog Eating Contest, taking place annually since 4 July 1979.
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Last updated by Lottie Woodrow