It isn’t a trip to Chicago without sampling some of their unique cuisine – one of which being their famous take on an American tradition: the hot dog. The Chicago-style hot dog looks intimidating, seeing as the bun and wiener are laden with enough colourful toppings to evoke the term “dragged through the garden.”

The hot dog is an all beef wiener, most often of the Vienna Beef brand, which is a local company founded back in the 1890s. The wiener can be steamed, boiled or grilled before being placed in a steamed poppy seed bun with the following toppings: yellow mustard, sweet neon green relish, chopped onions, single pickle spear, tomato wedges, sport peppers and celery salt. Under no circumstances is ketchup to be placed on the hot dog.

You can find hot dog vendors all over Chicago from the street corners to Wrigley Field. I finally had my first Chicago-style hot dog from Gold Coast Dogs at Union Station – and it was delicious. My friends enjoyed my reaction to the sport peppers when I bit into them, but overall it was really tasty. The Chicago-style is probably the best tasting hot dog with its fresh and distinctive flavours.

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