The New York Times recently published a piece comparing fifteen regional hot dogs:

New York Dog: sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard

Texas Tommy (actually from Pennsylvania) bacon and cheese

Slaw Dog (originally from West Virginia but now considered generally southern): slaw

Puerto Rican-Style Dog: pretty much everything, but mustard, ketchup, cheese sauce, sauerkraut, onions, carne molida, and crunchy potato sticks are listed as common.

The Sonoran Dog (Arizona): pinto beans, diced tomatoes and onions, green salsa, and mayo, with a dog wrapped in bacon. Bun is unique.

The Ripper (New Jersey): deep-fried dog with chili-cheese, relish, and mustard.

New York System Dog (Rhode Island): veal-beef-pork dogs on Homestead Baking buns, with mustard, meat sauce (basically chili), raw onions, and celery salt. Glass of coffee milk on the side.

Chicago Dog: yellow mustard, relish, chopped white onions, tomato slices, pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt. Poppy seed bun.

Half-Smoke Dog (DC): chili, chopped onions, and yellow mustard on smoky pork-and-beef links.

Cheese Coney (Cincinnati): chopped onion, mustard, Skyline chili sauce, and “a prodigal pile of shredded Cheddar.”

Seattle Dog (fuck this): bullshit hot dog that doesn’t deserve “Seattle” in its name with cream cheese and grilled onions.

Coneys (Michigan): toppings vary, apparently, but chili including beef heart (?!?!) is essential.

Bologna Dog (Baltimore): griddled beef bologna.

Polish Boy (Cleveland): coleslaw, French fries, BBQ sauce.

Reindeer Dog (Alaska): reindeer frank, onions sautéed in Coca Cola.

Tf is Arizona on about? Pinto beans

Chicago w/Seattle a close second. Cleveland & Alaska's look yummy.

With the caveats that (1) I’ve never tried most of these, and (2) I’ve never tried any of them with a meat frank, I have to tip it to the classic New York, which Chicago so close in second place that I might change my mind right after I click “submit.”

Against all odds, the Seattle Dog is extremely good. I never thought cream cheese and hot dog would be a good combo. I have to go to Cleveland next month, and I'm going to seek out a Polish Boy.

Sonoran is the superior hot dog, but this Cleveland dog intrigues me.

Sauerkraut is just great on anything. NY Dog.

Wood Goblin wrote: Sun Aug 27, 2023 9:43 am Seattle Dog (fuck this): bullshit hot dog that doesn’t deserve “Seattle” in its name with cream cheese and grilled onions.

No, that's fine. But

Bologna Dog (Baltimore): griddled beef bologna.

OK, I get that for some people cooked bologna is a tradition/culture thing, and I'm going to try to tread lightly. I get that in some parts of the Midwest (Baltimore, I'm pretty sure, is not part of the Midwest) there are great local and regional bologna brands and they make a good hot sandwich. Hey, where I come from, there's pork roll, which is just a nice bologna that you fry up for breakfast sandwiches.

But regular bologna is just a step down from hot dog meat, and shaped differently. How does that translate into a good topping for a hot dog?

NY style or basically any minimalist dog. If you need a pile of shit on it, you might as well just skip the dog.

About seven or eight years ago, I was introduced to my first slawdog and I came away a changed man.

I have made Polish boys; they are messy, there's no avoiding that. I remember liking them.

But I am a NWOH boy, closer to Detroit than Cleveland, a lover of Tigers over Guardians, and my number one is always going to be the Coney: beanless chili with onions and yellow mustard.

Top three rank:
Coney
Slaw Dog
Polish Boy

biscuitdough wrote: Sun Aug 27, 2023 12:00 pmOK, I get that for some people cooked bologna is a tradition/culture thing, and I'm going to try to tread lightly. I get that in some parts of the Midwest (Baltimore, I'm pretty sure, is not part of the Midwest) there are great local and regional bologna brands and they make a good hot sandwich. Hey, where I come from, there's pork roll, which is just a nice bologna that you fry up for breakfast sandwiches.

But regular bologna is just a step down from hot dog meat, and shaped differently. How does that translate into a good topping for a hot dog?

There's also ground bologna and bologna salad, I had both growing up. Bologna salad, IIRC, is like tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, etc: ground bologna, mayonnaise, and diced pickle. Loved it when I was a kid.