11 Illinois Hot Dog Joints Among 75 Best In U.S.: Report

Independence Day is special, and not just because it’s America’s birthday. It’s of the few days of the year where it’s OK — nay, encouraged — to be a kid again and stuff your face with more meat and buns than your stomach can possibly handle.

But the Fourth of July holiday is also a day when self-proclaimed “grill master” Uncle Benny decides it’s a good idea to cook 75 sausages at the same time — and ends up undercooking exactly all of them — while repeating the Oscar Mayer weiner song because, in his eyes, it “never gets old.”

Sound familiar?

Luckily, the good folks over at The Daily Meal say Illinois is actually home to 11 of America’s 75 best hot dog joints. So if you’re like the many others anticipating a less-than-edible sausage, why not treat yourself to a real dog.

Here are the best hot dog joints in Illinois, how they rank and where you can find them, according to the report.

Fat Johnnie's Famous Red Hots, Chicago

National rank: #3

"Not so at Fat Johnnie’s Famous Red Hots, where John Pawlikowski serves the Mighty Dog — a hot dog and tamale on a bun with chili and cheese. Sounds like a monster, right? You’re right to be scared — it’s a mess. You want tomato, sport peppers, relish, and pickles on that? You bet you do. Soft steamed bun, moist tamale, fresh snap of the dog, chili, cheese, and a slice of cucumber sliced on the bias — it’s one of the best hot dogs you’ll ever have. "

Weiner's Circle, Chicago

National rank: #6

"A Vienna Beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun gets all the iconic Chicago toppings (raw onions, neon-green relish, pickle spear, tomato slices, and celery salt). The departure from the purist version? Wiener's Circle char-grills its dogs rather than steaming them."

Murphy's Red Hots, Chicago

National rank: #16

"One difference here is the fresh, crusty French roll on which Murphy serves dogs. Char-broiling is more prominent than at most of Chicago’s notable hot dog joints, and that split, charred dog adds lots of texture and flavor to the Chicago icon."

Superdawg, Wheeling, Illinois

National rank: #17

"The family-owned, working drive-in still serves superior pure beef dogs, "the loveliest, juiciest creation of pure beef hot dog (no pork, no veal, no cereal, no filler) formally dressed with all the trimmings: golden mustard, tangy piccalilli, kosher dill pickle, chopped Spanish onions, and a memorable hot pepper."

Gene and Jude's, River Grove, Illinois

National rank: #21

“The hot dogs are a mess — covered with and rolled up with sometimes surprisingly soft fries — but that introduction of saltiness and textural variation makes them more nuanced than many other Chicago dogs.”

Portillo's, Chicago

National rank: #24

“...given its iconic status, it wouldn’t be fair to exclude it, even if it can be found in Arizona, California, and Indiana (lucky them). The link is plump and juicy, there’s ample mustard and a perfectly respectable pickle spear, and it’s a mighty tasty dog. ”

Wolfy's Double Dog, Chicago

National rank: #37

"...a thin, super-steamed, but still-not-soggy-bun is the foundation for two natural-casing dogs nestled with all the traditional Chicago fixings, a beautiful bun-long pickle spear, and thicker-than-normal slices of tomato. You want a quintessential Chicago hot dog done right? Stop by Wolfy’s."

Shake Shack, Chicago (and multiple locations)

National rank: #45

"This dog is 'split and dragged through the garden with Rick’s Picks Shack relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport peppers, celery salt, and mustard.' The bun is even soft, just like in Chicago."

Vienna Beef Factory, Chicago

National rank: #47

"Steamed bun, juicy dog, all the right toppings and proportions... you’ve found the place that holds the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame. You can’t go wrong. Really, you can’t."

Gold Coast Dogs, Chicago

National rank: #60

"What Gold Coast may lack in charm, though, it makes up in char. These are some juicy red tomato-laden, chargrilled dogs with split ends that flay open in quarters on either end of the bun like some crazy, juicy-crunchy hot-dog-end propellers."

Jimmy's Red Hots, Chicago

National rank: #61

"...Jimmy’s gets points for keeping what you’d have to imagine was a packaging tradition that originated as an everyman practicality, and while it shouldn’t work it does: the steamed bun gets a bit manhandled, there are few if any poppy seeds to speak of, and the peppers are darker and more crimped than any others in Chicago, but when added together, the whole is a lot more than the sum of its parts."

Chicago, where hot dogs are a religion, dominated the list with 11 mentions — the most of any city — including two in the top 10. But the king of the wieners is Katz’s Deli in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood.

“Made especially for the restaurant by Sabrett, these garlicky, natural-casing, jumbo-size all-beef dogs spend such a long time on the flat-top grill that the outside gets a nice char and snaps when you bite into it,” the authors note. “A smear of mustard is all that’s needed, but a little sauerkraut or stewed onions certainly won’t hurt. It’s a perfect hot dog, from a perfect deli.”

Photo credit: Shutterstock