but Chicago knows how to make it a full meal.

We visited three famous spots,

Gene and Jude's, Superdawg's Drive-In, and Portillo's,

to find which Chicago-style hot dog is best in town.

Producer: Rolling. Cameraman: OK, rolling.

Erin Kommor: Rolling!

Herrine: We're in Chicago to start our journey

to find the best Chicago-style hot dog.

Have you had one before?

Erin: Herrine, like most things,

I have not had a Chicago-style hot dog.

What are we looking for in this hot dog?

Herrine: One,

the dog itself should be flavorful

and have that snap to it.

Erin: Oh, I love a snap.

Herrine: Yeah. The second one

is that every place that we'll be visiting

has their own iteration of what a Chicago-style hot dog is.

So the toppings should all meld together and make sense.

Everything should be a cohesive flavor profile.

Erin: Uh-huh, amazing.

Herrine: Third, we're looking for the satiation effect.

A Chicago-style hot dog should be a full meal.

Erin: Yes!

Herrine: So after you eat it, are we full?

Erin: Yeah. Herrine: Do we want more?

Erin: OK, so let's go try them.

Herrine: Our first stop is Superdawg's,

and this place is known for their Superdawgs,

not their hot dogs. Erin: Ooh! Amazing.

Herrine: We will truly get in trouble

if we call it a hot dog.

Erin: OK, OK. I will not call it that.

Lisa Drucker: There are other hot-dog places

throughout Chicago, but nothing is a Superdawg.

Customer: I consider Superdawg to have the best

Chicago hot dogs in the city.

I think it has a lot to do with the dog itself.

It's a little bit thicker and heavier

than the dogs you get at most places.

Scott Berman: The Superdawg is all-beef choice cuts

made to our recipe.

Extra large, so large that we have to have buns

made specially to hold the Superdawg.

Lisa: And they're also cooked exactly

the right amount of time

to give it the right snap, the right bite in your mouth.

Not too soft and not too hard.

Don Drucker: The generic, traditional definition

of a Chicago-style hot dog is a boiled hot dog

served on a steamed poppy seed bun

served with the Chicago seven:

golden yellow mustard, bright neon-green relish,

a white chopped onion, a kosher pickle spear, a red tomato,

hot peppers, and celery salt.

We're a little bit different.

We don't use a red tomato.

We use the green pickled tomato,

and we don't use celery salt.

The other thing about a Chicago-style hot dog

is you never put ketchup on a hot dog in Chicago.

Scott: We serve all of our Superdawgs in a box,

and it also contains Superfries.

We're very proud of our french fries.

Fresh potatoes peeled and cut in-house

and then put in the box with the Superdawg.

Herrine: I don't know how to do this.

Erin: Oh, my God, you're gonna fall out.

I feel like I have to spot you.

Herrine: I feel like a dog.

"Press button for service."

Lisa: Hiya, thanks for stopping.

Can I take your order now, please?

Herrine: Yes, can I get two Superdawgs?

Lisa: Sure, everything on both of them?

Herrine: Yes, please.

Lisa: Thank you. Herrine: Thank you!

Lisa: Coming right up, thank you.

Herrine: Can you pop the trunk?

Erin: Yes, honey.

Herrine: Oh, wow. Erin: Holy...!

Herrine: She is filled to the brim.

Erin: She is filled to the brim!

It's not just, like, a wimpy little hot dog.

Herrine: Like, it's so packed that it's, like,

difficult for me to fish out the....

Erin: I know, I'm actually having -

uh-oh.

[somber music]

Herrine: No!

Erin: You can have mine, Herrine.

Herrine: It was part of the experience.

Erin: Oh, my God, it's really good.

Oh, my God.

Herrine: Oh, yeah!

Erin: That is...

unreal.

Herrine: That is so good.

Erin: It's one of the best hot -

if not the best hot dog I've had.

Herrine: Every ingredient is, like, very purposely put on.

Erin: Totally.

I didn't know what a hot dog -

like, I'm basic.

Like, I've only had a hot dog with, like,

ketchup and mustard from, like, a stand.

The mustard and the onions and the pickle,

that's what should be on a hot dog.

Herrine: Yeah, I agree.

Erin: And they're so fresh.

Every single ingredient is so fresh here.

Herrine: The first bite of that dog,

for me, I got the snap.

You got the snap? Erin: I got the snap,

and I love the end piece.

That's, like, my favorite.

It had such a nice crispy snap.

Herrine: And it's so juicy!

Erin: It's so juicy.

Herrine: And that bun is not something to be overlooked.

Erin: No!

Herrine: It is so plush and honestly, like...

Erin: The plushest.

Herrine: Sticks together, and I like the combination of

the toppings and how it's, like, sweet and crunchy and sour.

Erin: Me too, I love...

acidity is my thing, so all the pickles

and onions and relish really adds a real big pop.

Wait, have you tried the...

Herrine: Sport pepper. Erin: Yeah.

Herrine: Let's try it together.

Erin: Oh, I like that.

[Herrine laughs]

Oh, it's very spicy!

OK, so, overall, how do you feel?

Herrine: I like everything in a Superdawg.

Erin: I do like everything, but I just, like,

love the meat so much.

Herrine: The fries, also...

Erin: They've divine. I love a crinkle.

Herrine: You get that pillowy inside and crunchy outside.

Erin: So pillowy.

Herrine: I don't think there's one thing

that I can say that's bad about this.

Erin: I wouldn't change anything.

Herrine: Would you consider this the

super hot dog? Erin: Superiest?

It's the superiest Superdawg I've ever had.

Herrine: But we can't make a decision just yet.

Erin: I want another one.

Herrine: I want another one too.

Erin: OK, Herrine. Where are we?

Herrine: Surprise! We're not in Chicago anymore.

We are five minutes outside of Chicago,

but we still have to loop this in because

this place sells a very famous Chicago-style hot dog.

Erin: I see.

Nick Holmes: Gene and Jude's

is a traditional hot-dog stand,

one of the few remaining in the country.

And we're located in River Grove,

which is about five minutes

outside the city limits of Chicago.

There's two styles of Chicago hot dog.

There are the "dragged through the garden" variety,

which has tomatoes, pickles, and all that.

We do Depression Dogs,

which is kind of the original Chicago hot dog.

But the Depression Dog started back in the Depression era,

when people didn't really have a lot of money

and they were looking for a cheaper way

to get a lot of food.

My uncle decided to take fries

and top the hot dog with them

as a way to help fill your belly a little bit more

and add a little more flavor to the hot dog.

The Depression Dog is actually more iconic to local

Chicagoans than the dragged through the garden variety.

Customer: What I love most about the hot dogs here

are the authenticity.

It really comes with the culture of the community,

and I feel like I'm in Chicago when I eat a hot dog here.

It's great.

Nick: So, we use regular hot dog buns that we do steam,

and that helps soften them up a bit.

We use classic Vienna hot dogs.

We boil them for a very specific time.

Our hot dogs come with a full casing,

so when you bite into it, you get that,

you know, it breaks off with a good snap.

So, a Depression Dog is only mustard,

relish - brown relish, typically -

onions,

and sport peppers,

and then you top that with fries.

Our fries are peeled and hand-cut in-house.

Herrine: I'm gonna get us napkins.

Where are the napkins?

Oh, here we are.

I have found the napkins.

Erin: Boop. [beep]

Oh, my goodness, there's so many fries.

Oh, my God.

Herrine: You know how, like, people say, like,

"Oh, you're a snack," Erin: Holy...!

"This is, like, the whole meal"?

Erin: Take a few fries off. Herrine: OK.

Erin: And then eat a few fries, like,

just, like, to warm yourself up.

Oh, heck, yeah. Herrine: Solid fry.

Erin: So solid.

Herrine: OK, let's go for it.

Erin: Cheers.

Mm.

Herrine: When I saw photos, like,

I thought it was gonna be too much carbs,

because, a pile of fries.

So I thought topping-wise it would be overwhelming,

but there is a very pleasant sensation to it

when you take a bite and you get all of these, like,

layers of plushy potatoes. Erin: I know.

They're so plush.

Herrine: And, like, the flavorful, snappy dog.

Erin: So snappy.

It feels very, like, comforting and familiar.

Herrine: This I feel like is, like,

the true Midwest thing, Erin: Yeah.

where it's like, a meal is supposed to be, like,

hearty, stick to your bones.

Erin: Yeah.

Herrine: You know, like, how sometimes when you're eating,

like, a regular sandwich, you, like,

put in fries or potato chips?

Erin: Potato chips, yeah!

Herrine: To, like, make it taste better.

Erin: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's like the missing link we've been searching for.

Herrine: The link!

Like a sausage, you know?

Erin: [laughing] I truly didn't get it.

At Superdawg, they serve them on the side.

Herrine: And I don't think it would work with, like,

a dragged through the garden thing,

where you put fries on top. Erin: No, there's no room!

Herrine: There truly is no room.

Erin: No. And if you're gonna put fries on the hot dog,

they better be good, and I'm just gonna say it.

These are my favorite fries.

Herrine: Really? Erin: Yes.

Herrine: Why?

Erin: I love a crinkle cut, sure,

but I find that with crinkle cut sometimes

they get, like, dry,

and, like, they're not as flavorful to me.

These are so greasy and, like, satisfying.

Herrine: It's very smart that they use this kind of fry,

like you said, because it, like,

sops up all that extra juice.

If we're judging on the satiation,

you're getting a full-on serving of french fries