Chicago-style hot dogs

I made authentic Chicago-style hot dogs for this afternoon’s Northwestern-Stanford football game at Stanford Stadium. Tailgating from our house!

“Some traditions you just don’t mess with, and a Chicago dog is one of them. All-beef frankfurters are ‘dragged through the garden,’ meaning they’re piled with a bunch of veggie condiments.” 

The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. And no ketchup! More details here.

The Cardinal beat the Wildcats 21-7. I get excited when the football and baseball seasons merge. I have fond memories of eating Chicago dogs at Cubs games, in downtown Chicago and in Evanston, where Northwestern is located. One hot dog stand/restaurant is called Mustard’s Last Stand on Central St., near the stadium.

Author: jeffpelline

Jeff Pelline is a veteran editor and award-winning journalist - in print and online. He is publisher of Sierra FoodWineArt magazine and its website SierraCulture.com. Jeff covered business and technology for The San Francisco Chronicle for 12 years, and he was a founding editor and Editor of CNET News for eight years, among other positions. Jeff has a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a master's from Northwestern University. His hobbies include sailing, swimming, and trout fishing in the Sierra. View all posts by jeffpelline