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Hot dog, wiener, frank, red hot, encased meat bestowed by the gods…whatever you call it, chances are you’re going to gobble this all-American artery-clogger at least once during the Fourth of July weekend. If you’re going for an authentic Chicago dog, it must have seven specific ingredients—no more, no less—or it ain’t no hometown wiener. And for the love of God, don’t order your frank with ketchup, lest you incur the wrath of anti–red sauce activists. We Chicagoans love our favorite stands almost as much as the dogs themselves, and sometimes we’re willing to go to great lengths (or at least put up with lines of unbearable length) to get our hands on perfection in a bun. Here's how to find 'em:
 | The magnificent seven: The story of how the Chicago hot dog came to host a lucky number of pile-ons is as bewildering as that neon-green relish. |
 | The originator: The home of the first Chicago-style dog might have a new name, but it’s held on to its tried-and-true taste. |
 | The survivor: Jim’s Original accepts no imitations. |
 | The split decision: X marks the spot at Gold Coast Dogs. |
 | The minimalist: At Gene & Jude’s there’s no eye-candy, no seating and no time for chitchat. |
 | The glutton: At Susie’s Drive Thru, you might get more wiener than you bargained for. |
 | Top dogs: Smallest, longest, cheapest, priciest—we tell you where to find them all. |
 | Line of the times: One very hungover man puts up with an agonizingly long Saturday wait to get his hands on Hot Doug’s duck-fat fries and a frank. |
 | Wieners, exposed: Stripped down to its bare elements, a hot dog’s ingredients aren’t exactly the stuff of horror flicks. |
 | Better dead than red: We put Chicagoans’ legendary antipathy toward ketchup to the test. |
| Playing ketchup: Two diametrically opposed hot-dog lovers bare their souls on the controversial condiment. |
