The special Superdawg proprietary all-beef sausage is perfectly complemented by pickled tomatoes. Enjoy it in the privacy of your car at one of the city’s only true drive-ins while admiring anthropomorphic sausage mascots Maury and Flaury, based on the stand’s owners. There’s also a suburban location in Wheeling.

There's a certain joy driving down Peterson and seeing that iconic Wolfy's sign with the fork and lights. The jumbo char dog is the proper choice here.

Byron's boiled dogs are probably one of the best examples of the Chicago-style dog. The empire may have shrunk — at one time Byron's had locations in front of Wrigley Field and in Lincoln Park where the massive Crate & Barrel store now stands. But the hot dogs always deliver a quality bite.

This delightful dog slinger is partially hidden in a basement along Broadway in Lakeview, so keep an eye out. The pulled pork chub dog is a fan favorite, and so is the quarter-pound “Chubby.”

The Wiener’s Circle isn’t a joke. Sure, most of its popularity comes from the scathing insults delivered by its counter servers late at night, after the bars empty out. But that’s just a much needed checks and balances system that’s quieted many a bro through the years. In 2021, ownership unveiled a renovation that includes a back bar and patio. The classic stand reminds the same with, arguably, the best char dogs in the city.

The spiritual successor to Hot Doug's is often on the summer festival circuit. But stop by Chicago’s Dog House’s Lincoln Park location for the full arsenal of sausages named for local celebrities, including the Chance the Snapper Dog, which contains smoked alligator sausage, caramelized onions and sweet chili sauce.

Red Hot Ranch’s all-natural sausages with their casing that just has enough bite are no longer a secret. The double dog is the way to go, as the sausages are a bit slimmer than at most places. There’s a second location in Lakeview, and, on the South Side, the same owners run 35th Street Dogs near Sox Park which has an identical menu.

Not all Home Depots are created equal. There are six in Chicago (Avondale, Bucktown, Chatham, West Rogers Park, Chatham) and five in the suburbs (Evanston, Mount Prospect, two in Niles, Oak Lawn), all with special hot dog stands supplied by Makowski Sausage, a beloved South Side sausage maker. Fixin’ Franks, as the Tribune writes, sells affordable hot dogs at a high quality.

A love letter to Detroit, Lola’s Coney Island is a small restaurant that imports hot dogs, chili (from the National Chili Company, if you’re partisan), Better Made potato chips, Faygo, and Sanders bumpy cake from the Motor City. The stand also sells traditional Chicago-style red hots and a truly lovely avgolemono soup.

Grilling a hot dog isn't a novice's task. The counter crew at Fatso's are experts: its char dog is one of the best in the city. The West Town staple now has a Lincoln Park location.

Started near outside the Fullerton El stop as compensation for the loss of Demon Dogs, a beloved hot dog stand/shrine to the band Chicago, Devil Dawgs satisfied the neighborhood’s yearning for great hot dogs and fresh-cut fries (if not light rock) before moving downtown. There are now additional locations in Lakeview, the Gold Coast, and Wicker Park.

Chicago’s oldest hot dog stand has been open since the early 1930s and has always been a family-owned business: first the Kaplans, then the Karms, and now the Fountains. The Karms originally refused to serve their hot dogs with any condiments besides mustard, pickles, and peppers, but restrictions have loosened over the years. Still, no ketchup is allowed.

The Duck Inn's duck fat dog is the kind of mad scientist genius diners have come to expect from chef Kevin Hickey, who led two restaurants to Michelin stars before opening his own place in 2014. The hybrid beef/duck link is a welcome addition to Chicago's hot dog landscape.

North Siders cried about Vienna Beef closing its Bucktown headquarters in 2016. But those in the know didn’t care: the Vienna Beef Factory Store reopened in Bridgeport shortly afterward. Vienna’s Hot Dog University program, previously offered through the factory store, continues, but since the pandemic, it’s only been offered online.

Since its humble beginnings as a push cart around 70 years ago, this Chicago hot dog stand has been serving the West Chatham community. It’s been around so long that the original owner, Jack Gullickson, purchased his kitchen equipment from Ray Kroc when the McDonald’s founder was still a humble salesman. The hot dogs and fixings are a little sweeter than at other stands, but everything is top notch down to the sport pepper.