Trying A Chicago Style Hot Dog At Tony's

How does one eat a Chicago hot dog? The answer at Tony's is; with a fork and knife.

Last Friday Robert and I wanted to continue the hot dog tour. We settled on Tony's since it is close to both of our offices and we wanted to spend a little less time than we have on some of the trips. Also this was the one previous place I reported on when he didn't go with me. See Tony's


On this visit I decided to order a "Chicago Style Hot Dog". I have seen some information about these recently and decided I needed to have one sometime just for the experience. This hot dog is like nothing I've ever had before. They typically come with the following toppings:

• Bright Green Sweet Pickle Relish
  
• Mustard
• Onion
• Fresh Tomato (But no ketchup)
• Fresh Cucumber
• A Large Dill Pickle Spear
• Celery Salt
• A Hot Pepper
  
• Fancy Bun
  

Here's a link to a site that can read more on the subject. Tony's Chicago dog is a jumbo and comes with most of the ingredients listed above. It comes loaded into a standard hot dog bun making it overloaded. I suppose the fancy buns used in Chicago can hold it all but the Hoover Alabama version didn't begin to hold it.

After eating it I must admit that it is pretty good, but definitely different from any hot dog I have ever had before. I think I like Southern hot dogs better. Tony's does offer a "Junk Yard Dog" that is a little more to my liking. It comes with slaw, kraut, special meat sauce, onions, cheese, and probably some other ingredients a little closer to what we are accustomed to. It also must be eaten with a fork and a knife.
Robert ordered our usual order of a hot dog, a chili dog, chips (Golden Flake) and a drink. He pronounced their hot dogs to be as good as any we have had so far. He didn't comment on the chili dog but I remember it also as being good when I had one before.