Frankly, America Has Some Explaining To Do
You probably have strong opinions about what belongs on a hot dog. Well, prepare to have a few more. Across these various states, regional traditions and local twists might change your usual order—or make you appreciate plain mustard even more. How adventurous are you feeling?
Washington: Cream Cheese
Seattle looked at a hot dog and apparently decided it needed something from the bagel counter. The Seattle dog combines cream cheese with grilled onions, sometimes adding jalapeños or Sriracha. It sounds like a questionable late-night decision. Around Seattle, it’s an established late-night tradition.
Another Believer, Wikimedia Commons
Pennsylvania: A Fish Cake
Philadelphia’s old-school “combo” puts a hot dog and a fish cake inside the same bun. Mustard and pepper hash—a tangy cabbage mixture—can finish the job. Cheesesteaks get most of the attention, but this local combination deserves credit for making surf and turf considerably more affordable.
Alaska: Coca-Cola Onions
In Anchorage, some vendors finish their grilled onions with Coca-Cola before piling them onto reindeer sausage dogs. The soda adds sweetness to a very savory street-food favorite. You could order an ordinary hot dog, but you’ve traveled all that way. At least let the onions get interesting.
New Jersey: Fried Potatoes
New Jersey’s Italian hot dog comes with onions, peppers, and fried potatoes tucked into substantial pizza bread. Jimmy Buff’s helped establish the style in Newark back in 1932. This isn’t a few fries accidentally falling into your lunch. The potatoes belong there, and the bread makes room.
Arizona: Pinto Beans
Southern Arizona’s Sonoran dog starts with a bacon-wrapped frank, then adds pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, and sauces inside a bolillo-style roll. The tradition came from Sonora, Mexico, and became a Tucson favorite. If your usual hot dog has two toppings, this one might seem aggressively overqualified.
stu_spivack, Wikimedia Commons
Georgia: Oyster Crackers
Columbus has the scrambled dog: chopped hot dog and bun covered with chili, onions, pickles, and oyster crackers. Dinglewood Pharmacy is a famous local example. Forget carrying this around at a cookout. Once someone starts putting crackers on your hot dog, you’re probably going to need utensils.
Jason Zhang, Wikimedia Commons
Maryland: Fried Bologna
Baltimore’s answer to “Does this hot dog need more meat?” is a slice of fried bologna. The local deli tradition pairs a beef frank with bologna, plus whatever condiments you prefer. Attman’s still serves a version. Apparently, one processed meat was never going to be enough.
Michigan: Beef-Heart Sauce
Flint-style coneys have a finely textured meat topping traditionally made with ground beef heart, usually joined by mustard and onions. Compared with Detroit’s saucier coneys, Flint’s version tends to be drier. You might enjoy the entire thing before discovering which part of the cow helped make lunch.
LG2 (talk) (Transfered by Diadoco/Original uploaded by LG2), Wikimedia Commons
Illinois: Neon-Green Relish
Chicago-style hot dogs don’t settle for ordinary-looking relish. Their famously bright green version joins mustard, onions, tomatoes, a pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt. There’s enough happening to keep every bite busy. Somehow, the relish still manages to be the first thing your eyes notice.
Tennessee: Hot Slaw
Cleveland, Tennessee, takes hot slaw seriously enough to celebrate it with a festival. The spicy, mustard-based cabbage mixture goes on hot dogs, burgers, and barbecue. “Hot” refers to its kick, rather than a requirement to serve it warm. Your hot dog just picked up a very opinionated condiment.
Oklahoma: Mustard Slaw
El Reno is famous for onion burgers, but its hot dogs deserve a look too. Local coneys can come topped with chili and mustard-based slaw, giving the cabbage a tangy, sweet-and-sour edge. At places like Sid’s and Robert’s Grill, the slaw is part of the attraction.
Ohio: Cinnamon-Spiced Chili
Cincinnati-style chili can feature cinnamon, cloves, or allspice—flavors you might expect somewhere considerably closer to dessert. On a cheese coney, that distinctive meat sauce joins mustard, onions, and a generous pile of shredded cheddar. It’s a real regional tradition, even if your first reaction is, “Cinnamon?”
Alabama: Ground Beef And Special Sauce
Birmingham’s Special Dog adds ground beef to a frank already dressed with mustard, onions, and sauerkraut, then brings in the house’s special sauce. Greek immigrant restaurateurs helped shape this local tradition. The extra beef isn’t a substitute for the hot dog. Birmingham decided lunch should have both.
Florida: Pineapple Sauce And Potato Sticks
Florida’s Colombian food businesses offer hot dogs that combine sweet pineapple sauce with crunchy potato sticks. Ricopan in Tampa adds cheese, onions, and mayo-ketchup to its version. The roots are Colombian, rather than a Florida invention. Still, this is a much more interesting local order than another plain frank.
The Washington Post, Getty Images
Rhode Island: Celery Salt
Rhode Island’s New York System hot wieners come “all the way” with meat sauce, mustard, chopped onions, and celery salt. That final seasoning helps define a combination locals take seriously. The name might point toward New York, but the tradition belongs firmly to Rhode Island’s own hot-wiener counters.
John Phelan, Wikimedia Commons
West Virginia: Coleslaw Over Chili
Across much of West Virginia, a properly dressed hot dog combines chili, mustard, onions, and creamy coleslaw. The slaw supplies a cool, crunchy layer over the warm meat sauce. Not every corner of the state orders identically, but this combination has a genuine regional following—and requires several napkins.
North Carolina: Coleslaw With The Works
North Carolina shares its affection for chili-and-slaw dogs with neighboring states. Order Carolina-style and you’ll generally get chili and coleslaw, often with mustard or onions joining in. This is an established regional combination rather than one restaurant’s experiment. Around here, the cabbage doesn’t have to stay beside the bun.
Bigeasydoesit, Wikimedia Commons
Vermont: Maple Mustard
Vermont businesses have given hot dogs a distinctly local maple twist. April’s Maple serves maple dogs with maple mustard, while Morrisville’s 802 Soup combines maple mustard, caramelized onions, and Cabot cheddar. These are individual interpretations of familiar Vermont flavors. Apparently, breakfast shouldn’t have exclusive rights to the maple supply.
Massachusetts: Baked Beans
Boston baked beans don’t always stay beside the hot dog. They can go directly into the bun, as on a Boston-style dog. Fenway even lists a Boston Dog with beans, bacon bits, and diced onion. It’s a familiar dinner pairing turned into a potentially messy handheld lunch.
Texas: Chopped Brisket
Texas barbecue flavors have worked their way onto hot dogs at multiple businesses. That’s My Dog in Katy features a brisket dog, while Wings Over Forney combines chopped brisket, shredded cheese, and barbecue sauce. It’s a modern local twist with an obvious appeal: more beef, less decision-making.
Mironov Vladimir, Shutterstock
South Carolina: Pimento Cheese
South Carolina businesses have brought a favorite Southern spread to the hot dog bun. Blackmon’s offers a Pimento Dog, while Franks for the Memories pairs pimento cheese with bacon. These are local takes on a regional flavor. A slice of American cheese suddenly seems like a fairly restrained choice.
California: A Grilled Jalapeño
Los Angeles street dogs commonly arrive wrapped in bacon and loaded with grilled onions and peppers. A grilled jalapeño can make the package especially memorable. The tradition has Mexican roots and a strong local following. Whether you eat the whole pepper is a decision best made before that first bite.
New York: Meaty “Hot Sauce”
In Rochester, “hot sauce” on a hot dog can mean a spiced meat sauce rather than something shaken out of a little bottle. Mustard and onions often complete the order. It’s a local tradition with devoted fans. Ask for hot sauce expecting a few drops, and lunch may surprise you.
Connecticut: Hot Pepper Relish
Connecticut’s hot dog stands have a thing for homemade hot relish, with versions at Blackie’s, Dogtown, and Super Duper Weenie. Blackie’s famous recipe uses peppers rather than pickles, giving the familiar condiment a different personality. If you think all relish is sweet, Connecticut would like a word.
Paul Brian Kiser, Shutterstock
New Mexico: Red Chile Sauce
At Albuquerque’s Dog House, split, grilled footlongs come dressed with the restaurant’s distinctive red chile sauce, with cheese and onions available too. This particular recipe is a house specialty with a clear New Mexico connection. The frank might be familiar. The sauce gives you a reason to remember the stop.
Have We Gone Too Far With The Frank?
Some of these probably sound delicious. Others might have you reaching for the mustard and asking everyone to calm down. Be honest: would you try the fish cake, the beef-heart sauce, or the Coca-Cola onions? And which regional topping deserves a place on this list?
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