If You Want A Great Hot Dog In Chicago, You Should Head To Home Depot

Chicago-style hot dogs have a few earmarks that set them apart from other frankfurters. They're all-beef, thanks to the Jewish immigrants who settled in Chicago around the turn of the 20th century and didn't include pork in their diets. Chicago dogs also sleep in a steamed — yes, steamed — poppy seed bun cushion. Diced onions, sliced tomatoes, a spot o' pickle relish come next. A pickle spear adds some lip-puckering tang to the meal, as do pickled peppers. Finally, be sure to ask for mustard and a bit of celery salt to finish the Chicago dog off.

If you really want to make an excellent impression on your tongue while in Chicago, then you'll head over to the nearest Home Depot for a boiled, not grilled, Waygu beef hot dog you won't likely forget. Granted, although food tourism is a big deal nowadays and Home Depot exists in almost every city in the great U.S. of A., you might feel hard-pressed to justify a stop-off at the local branch of a national home improvement store just for a hot dog. 

However, you'll be glad you did. You'll be experiencing Chicago food history in a place you'd least expect. For the novelty factor alone, it's worth a trip. Besides, the hot dog sold at Home Depot is way cheap. Not as affordable as Costco's perhaps, but maybe one of the cheapest and tastiest meals you'll have in the Windy City.

In Chicago, hot dogs were one of the many foods that were popular during the Great Depression. Hot dog vendors sold the cheap sausages topped with assorted veggies that kept hungry families fed during the Depression years. Hot dogs offered people a complete and nutritious meal for not very much money – about a nickel, give or take. 

The Chicago-style hot dogs sold today at Home Depot carry on the traditional toppings of Depression dogs. They'll run you about $8 or $10 a piece, depending on where you buy them. As for finding them, there are nearly two dozen Home Depots to choose from in the Windy City that feature a Fixin' Franks, the hot dog chain behind the fantastic frankfurter. You're guaranteed to not only find the Chicago-style dog of your dreams but you also likely won't have to drive very far to get it, given how many Home Depots the city has.

Eating a Chicago-style dog in a Home Depot just kinda seems right. Most Chicagoans find their dogs at one of the many hot dog stands that have sprung up around the city, like mushrooms on trees after a spring rain. However, nothing builds up an appetite quite like shopping for home-improvement implements. Even if you're not planning any DIY projects, you'll probably find plenty of parking at Home Depot, making your rather unorthodox lunchtime stop easier, considering how scarce parking spots can be in Chicago.

But whatever you do, please don't ask for ketchup. It's simply not a thing on Chicago-style hot dogs, sold at Home Depot or elsewhere.