When I stepped out into the Wicker Park neighborhood for the first time in the Fall of 2023, I was on a mission. I wanted needed to find a Chicago dog. It’s tradition, if not a mandatory passage into the food mecca of the windy city. This past year I was able to make it to my first Cubs game where I guzzled down a tallboy of Budweiser, yelling “LFGGGGGGG,” and inhaling a hot dog wrapped in foil. A beautiful sight, really. This dog did have ketchup on it gulp but I swear I didn’t know the rules before. Hug me.

A proper Chicago hot dog will be topped with yellow mustard, finely chopped white onions, sweet green relish, sliced tomatoes, dill pickle spears, sport peppers (a variety of a hot chili pepper), and celery salt. The bun is usually poppy seed, but I’ve seen them on all kinds. All these experiences below are all over Chicago, so sharing all their locations would take the fun out of it – go explore and send me YOUR recs!

Music cue: Vacation by The Go-Go’s