VIDEO: Chicago-Style Hot Dog Pitted Against New York's, L.A.'s
In a recent video, a group of individuals got together to decide once and for all whose hot dog is better -- Chicago's, L.A.'s or New York's. As with anything pitting Chicago against America's other large cities, watching these people criticize one of our city's finest accomplishments may make your blood boil.
The Buzzfeed (our first clue that the video might be a bit irreverent) video features a group of normal people. This isn't cooks, food experts or self-dubbed foodies, just a handful of intrepid men and women willing to eat three hot dogs. They are to eat the L.A., New York and Chicago hot dogs, then simply state which they like better. Easy enough, right?
The Dogs
Los Angeles: Bacon, ketchup, grilled jalapeños, mustard, grilled onions, grilled peppers and... mayo (really).
Chicago (as you know): Vienna dog, tomato, yellow mustard, pickle, poppy seed bun, hot pepper and atomic green relish. White onion and celery salt weren't mentioned in the video. Should they do the whole thing over?
New York: "Sweet and saucy" onion was the ingredient of note.
Of course, L.A. and New York, for better or worse, don't have as definitive as a signature hot dog as Chicago. Their styles can vary greatly, though while you're perfectly allowed to get whatever you want on a dog in Chicago (at most places, at least), the list of ingredients doesn't tend to change from place to place. Even Chicagoans who don't like the Chicago-style dog understand its finite ingredients.
As you might imagine, the L.A. dog did quite well. How could it not? Though its ingredients don't exactly seem thoughtful, they combine to be a glutton's dream.
With that said, the Chicago dog had its fair share of love.
My condolences go to New York...
Mason Johnson is a Web Content Producer for CBS Chicago. You can find him on Twitter.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)