Hot Dogs. Is there a more American food than these super unhealthy yet tasty tubes of meat?
When I think of a barbecue, I think hot dogs. The Fouth of July- fireworks and you guessed it, hot dogs.
Growing up I loved hot dogs, much more than burgers but probably not quite as much as pizza. While burgers have edged out the hot dog for me, I still do love a good, tasty dog.
And who knew there were so many varieties!
After writing about The Daily Meal’s list of 101 Best Burgers in America, I was happy to come across their list of the 75 Best Hot Dogs in America for 2015.
I was looking forward to going through the list to find out how many I’ve been to.
While traveling I can’t say that I seek out awesome hot dogs however on a drive through New England a few years back, I did make it a point to try out quite a few of the top dogs around Rhode Island. When I finally make it to Detroit, I’ll be sure to do the same there!
Rather than list all 75 best hot dogs from the Daily Meal, I’ll just list the ones that I’ve visited. If I had to guess how many I’ve been to before looking over the list, I’d go with 6.
Let’s see how many hot dogs recognized by the Daily Meal I’ve tried:
- 1. Katz’s Deli, New York City
- 4. Crif Dogs- New York City
- 7. Bark Hot Dogs- Brooklyn, NY
- 11. Olneyville N.Y. System- Providence, RI
- 12. Rutt’s Hut- Clifton, NJ
- 14. Super Duper Weenie- Fairfield, CT
- 17. Superdawg- Wheeling, IL
- 19. Rawley’s Drive- In- Fairfield, CT
- 20. Ben’s Chili Bowl- Washington, D.C.
- 24. Portillo’s- Chicago, IL
- 43. The Varsity- Atlanta, GA
- 45. Shake Shack- Multiple Locations
- 47. Vienna Beef Factory– Chicago
- 48. Gray’s Papaya- New York City
- 75. Nathan’s Famous- Coney Island, NY (Brooklyn)
After going over the list, I have to say that I was a bit surprised. I didn’t think that I would’ve made a dent in this list but I’ve eaten a hot dog at 15 of 75 places which made the list.
That’s means I’ve tried 20% of the best hot dogs in America according to the Daily Meal!
Some thoughts on the selections:
- I wonder why chains like Shake Shack were excluded from the burger list but they were included in this one. (BTW- they are delicious & worthy.)
- Why is Nathan’s (as long as it is from the original in Coney Island- just 10-15 min away from where I live!) ranked so low? I think their dogs are better than 75th! 🙂
- I really wasn’t a fan of the deep fried hot dog at Rutt’s Hut which came in 12th place. If it was all beef, I may have liked it better…
- I’m curious to find out how The Daily Meal would compare Gray’s Papaya (48th) to Papaya King, both in NYC. (I had a hot dog from Papaya King’s mobile cart a few weeks back and it was very tasty.)
While I can’t say that I’ve extensively tried hot dogs around America, I do have a couple of suggestions for the list.
- The hot dog at Ripper’s, located on the boardwak in Rockaway, NY are delicious and impressive. They should be considered but they do seem more like a sausage than an actual hot dog.
- I was happy to see that Shake Shack made the cut but they offer another item that might be worthy too. Their limited release (mostly for holidays) corn dog is delicious. Kim, Lucas and I all really loved it when it was on the menu a couple of months back.
What are your thoughts on the hot dog? Are you a fan or do you try to stay away from eating them? Let us know where your favorite hot dog is from!
Find out about all of The Daily Meal’s 75 Best Hot Dogs in America here.
Elroy- Sounds like genius marketing! I only buy Nathan’s hot dogs at the original.
He sold his franks for just 5 cents, making them the cheapest around, and reportedly hired actors to dress as doctors and eat there in order to convince folks that they were safe to eat. The business took off, and today there are more than 40,000 outlets selling Nathan’s hot dogs.
Brian- While I’m a huge fan of the original Nathan’s and do feel it belongs further up the list (nostalgia + bias since I live relatively close), I can’t say that it should be second. Crif Dogs is better and IMO a hot dog I had from a Papaya King (not even on the list) mobile cart recently could challenge it too. I also can’t compare it to all of the dogs I haven’t tried!
Either way, Nathan’s does make a fine hot dog!
That the original Nathan’s Famous from Coney Island placed at the bottom of this so-called list completely lost all credibility with me. I would have placed it as second behind Katz’ Deli, which deserves to be first.
The hot dog from Nathan’s is not the worst wurst, to be frank.
As for me, it is only Kosher frankfurters all the way — with the notable exceptions of Nathan’s and Kosher-style delicatessen hot dogs such as Katz’ Deli.
Fortunately, I can purchase Hebrew National frankfurters and have my broiled or grilled hot dog fix any time I like — along with real delicatessen mustard, of course…