Good Dog, Los Banditos Hot Dog Speakeasy (Iowa)

Good Dog, Los Banditos Hot Dog Speakeasy (Iowa)

What started as a joke between friends — about a hot dog speakeasy in the old basement bar of Krunkwich Ramen House — turned into an reality. This late-night weekend pop-up serves a diverse array of hot dogs from the ramen shop after it’s finished serving noodles. Locally produced Berkwood Farms pork franks serve as the base for most of the Asian, Latin American, French and Midwestern-inspired hot dogs and sides. (The tater tot casserole should be Iowa’s state dish.) The most-popular pick is the Good Dog, inspired by a late-night chat about crab rangoon pizza. Unlike the other franks, this dog is all beef, served alongside a cream cheese and real crab spread, rolled in an egg roll wrapper, deep fried and placed on a bun with housemade sweet chile sauce.

Coney Island Hot Dog, Fort Wayne's Famous Coney Island (Indiana)

Coney Island Hot Dog, Fort Wayne's Famous Coney Island (Indiana)

A short drive from the Michigan and Ohio borders, Fort Wayne’s Famous Coney Island picks up where celebrated Coney traditions of Detroit and Cincinnati (sort of) stop. Owned and operated by the same family for more than a century, this lively eatery has worked its way into the city’s culinary fabric. It sells around a million hot dogs per year. Why the fuss? Its legendary dogs are just that good. Each frank is grilled and placed inside a steamed bun with mustard, hand-chopped onions and homemade Coney sauce that’s essentially Greek bolognese. The must-order is "three and a bottle," three dogs with all the fixings and a bottle of Coke.

Chicago Red Hot, Superdawg Drive-In (Illinois)

Chicago Red Hot, Superdawg Drive-In (Illinois)

The winking weenie couple atop this 1948 drive-in have been a beacon to Windy City hot dog lovers for more than half a century. This multigenerational icon is hailed as one of Chicago's top red hots. Here, proprietary beef hot dogs are served on steamed poppy seed buns and dragged through the garden with yellow mustard, sweet neon green relish, chopped white onion, a kosher dill pickle spear and hot sport peppers as is tradition in the Second City, but this real drive-in - complete with carhop service - also throws on a pickled green tomatoes, as well. Get 

yours with a side of crinkle cut fries and an old-fashioned Supermalt to wash it down.

Tater Dog, Dave's Tater Grill (Idaho)

Tater Dog, Dave's Tater Grill (Idaho)

Idaho is best known for its eponymous spuds, so it makes sense that representative wiener has some potatoes incorporated into the mix. Cue: the tater dog. At Dave’s Tater Grill, a food cart parked on Boise’s 6th Street between Main and Grove, late-night diners queue for shredded hash browns grilled with cheddar and jack cheeses laid on a toasted bun with a quarter-pound Nathan’s all-beef hot dog (or whatever other sausage you please) crown.

Puka Dog, Puka Dog (Hawaii)

Puka Dog, Puka Dog (Hawaii)

Essentially a larger, more interesting take on pigs in blankets, this Hawaiian specialty features a proprietary dog cradled inside freshly baked Hawaiian sweet bread. That bun, called a puka for the hole in the center, is where the shop and corresponding hot dog style get their name. Each one of these volcano-like snacks comes with choice of Polish sausage or veggie dog, garlic-lemon secret sauce (ranging in heat from mild to lava), and pick of Hawaiian fruit relish with tropical flavors including mango, pineapple, coconut and papaya. Those seeking traditional condiments can also add ketchup, yellow or Dijon mustard, sweet relish and the state's special — and addictive — Auntie Lilikoi's Hawaiian mustard.

Scrambled Dog, Dinglewood Pharmacy (Georgia)

Back around 1946, an inventive Columbus, Georgia, restaurateur decided to create a unique hot dog dish with boiled chopped franks smothered in chili, onions and pickles served with a substantial handful of oyster crackers on top that was intended to be consumed with utensils. That diner went out of business, but its Scrambled Dog stuck around, becoming a Columbus-area mainstay. It's been on the menu, true to its original form, for more than 50 years at the century-old Dinglewood Pharmacy, where it's served in a porcelain relish dish and a spoon. This regional classic is still so popular that accounts for 85 percent of the independent pharmacy's soda fountain sales.

Cartel Dog, Pincho Factory (Florida)

Cartel Dog, Pincho Factory (Florida)

Drawing inspiration from the local flavors found throughout Miami and the streets of Latin America, the folks behind South Florida’s fast-casual Pincho Factorycreated the Cartel Dog. It has quickly beat out all other wieners to take the podium as Miami’s favorite hot dog. A grilled kosher frank is slathered with a wholly unkosher, but incredibly delicious mix of chopped bacon, cheddar cheese, mango sauce, potato sticks and secret pink Pincho sauce, a ketchup and mayonnaise blend that’s a favorite condiment throughout South America.

Griddle-Fried Franks, Deerhead Hot Dogs (Delaware)

Split griddle-fried franks are an obligatory Delaware rite of passage during the summer months. For in-the-know Delawareans, these crisp dogs drum up ardent everyday affection akin to Joe Biden' s obsession with aviator sunglasses. Deerhead Hot Dogs has been center-slicing and crisping up its dogs according to local tradition since 1935. Those side-by-side halves are cradled in a soft dinner roll-like bun with compulsory mustard, onions and a healthy serving of its secret tomato-based sauce thatâ s like a slightly spicy, sweet and tangy cross between standard chili and the liquid that comes in a can of Heinz baked beans.

Griddle-Fried Franks, Deerhead Hot Dogs (Delaware)

Split griddle-fried franks are an obligatory Delaware rite of passage during the summer months. For in-the-know Delawareans, these crisp dogs drum up ardent everyday affection akin to Joe Biden' s obsession with aviator sunglasses. Deerhead Hot Dogs has been center-slicing and crisping up its dogs according to local tradition since 1935. Those side-by-side halves are cradled in a soft dinner roll-like bun with compulsory mustard, onions and a healthy serving of its secret tomato-based sauce thatâ s like a slightly spicy, sweet and tangy cross between standard chili and the liquid that comes in a can of Heinz baked beans.

New Englander, Super Duper Weenie (Connecticut)

New Englander, Super Duper Weenie (Connecticut)

Cities like New York and Chicago get tons of hot dog praise; however, Connecticut is hailed by those in the know as one of the greatest wiener sanctuaries in the United States. Exemplary hot dog stands can be found in pretty much every town. One of the best is Super Duper Weenie in Fairfield. Owner Gary Zemola is known for sourcing prime ingredients for all of the housemade toppings (like the highly classified relish), house-baked rolls and fresh-cut fries. The proper order is the New Englander, which starts out with a Hummel Bros. frank purchased from the family-run New Haven deli. In the classic New England style, it’s split in half and grilled, then topped with a healthy serving of sauerkraut, bacon, raw white onions, mustard and relish.

Elk-Jalapano-Cheddar Sausage, (Colorado)

Elk-Jalapeño-Cheddar Sausage, Biker Jim's ()

From a souped-up hot dog cart on Denver's 16th Street Mall to multiple carts, a brick-and-mortar locale and a stand at Coors Field, Jim Pittenger, aka Biker Jim, has become the de facto hot dog king of the Rocky Mountains for his creative toppings and 15 gourmet different sausages. Many highlight Rocky Mountain-inspired wild game, ranging from wild boar and Southwest buffalo to rattlesnake and pheasant. None represent the Centennial State better than the spicy and savory elk-jalapeno-cheddar sausage. Guests can order it topped however they please, but the proper accoutrement for this top dog is Biker Jim's cream cheese and caramelized onion cooked in soda.

Levy

Dodger Dog, Dodger Stadium (California)

Hot dogs are a baseball rite of passage, and few dogs are as associated with a ballclub as the Dodgers' Dodger Dog. A fan favorite since 1962, the 10-inch Dodger Dog is available steamed or grilled at kiosks throughout the stadium, then tucked into a steamed bun. Kiosks nearby offer ketchup, mustard, onions and relish. Bring it back to your seat and feast while looking out at the palm tree-silhouetted horizon. It's as Californian as a hot dog experience can get.

Johnsonville Morning Campers

WHAT YOU NEED

1 pkg Johnson vile Smoked Maple Flavoured Breakfast Sausages

6 hot dog buns (of choice)

2 tbsps butter

6 eggs, scrambled

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1-2 tspns oil

Optional

chopped tomato, onion, avacado, arugula

To Make

Butter both sides of each bun, set aside (reserve small portion of butter to fry eggs). In a medium size bowl, scramble 6 eggs and set aside.

In a skillet over media heat, cook 6 Smoked Maple Flavoured Breakfast Sausages in a drop of oil, rolling regularly to brown slightly and heat through (approximately 6-8 minutes). Turn off heat and keep warm in pan.

In another large skillet over medium heat, place buns in the pan and toast until golden on both sides (about 1-2 minutes) then set aside. Melt the reserved butter in the pan, pour in scrambled eggs and cook gently on medium heat, folding them over as bottom cooks until done (approximately 3-5 minutes).

In each toasted bun, spoon scrambled egg along one side, then add sausage and sprinkling of cheddar cheese.  Add other condiments or toppings to your preference.