![]() ![]() In 1972, Vienna made Chicago's North Side home, setting up headquarters where you can stop by for a hot dog when they're open for the season. Don't expect lots of love. Their first store opened a year later, and their sausages spread across Chicago in 1908, went from horse to buggy in 1928, expanded beyond Chicago in 1950, and started regularly getting dragged through the garden in 1957. They're predictably proud, and why shouldn't they be? As they note, "From the moment Emil Reichel and Sam Ladany gave Chicago its first taste of Vienna, we've been making hot dog history." According to the company, the big debut was in 1893, when more than 27 million people flocked to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago to witness the latest inventions, including the Vienna Beef hot dog, created by Austrian-Hungarian immigrants Reichel and Ladany. Vienna has been around for 120 years, so you have to figure they know what they're doing when it comes to making a Chicago-style hot dog. The toppings don't overpower, the pickles and shallots add texture and crunch, and, simply put, it's a brilliant dog. It's their take on a Denmark-style hot dog, and it's bacon-wrapped and topped with remoulade, Dijon, pickles, and crispy fried shallots. But if you have to choose just one, go with the Polser. There are also brunch dogs, like the one that's wrapped in bacon and topped with American cheese and scrambled eggs. There's the Mackinac, which tops a chili cheese dog with macaroni salad the Blue Hawaii, a bacon-wrapped dog with deep-fried banana, Dijon, and peanut butter powder and the Popper, topped with jalapeño-Cheddar spread, fried jalapeños, and jalapeño mustard. The topping options here are mind-blowingly creative. The dogs here are prepared in an on-site truck, and start with long, skinny links from New Jersey cult favorite Best Provisions. The beer garden at Philly's Memphis Taproom is one of the most inviting spots in the city for outdoor drinking, but it's also a world-class destination for serious hot dog lovers. Crushed and rolled up with soft, soggy fries like something you'd toss into the trash, Jimmy's gets points for keeping what you'd have to imagine was a packaging tradition that originated as an everyman practicality, and while it shouldn't work it does: the steamed bun gets a bit manhandled, there are few if any poppy seeds to speak of, and the peppers are darker and more crimped than any others in Chicago, but when added together, the whole is a lot more than the sum of its parts. But with no disrespect to history (and going back more than 55 years, there is history at Jimmy's Red Hots), the profound love for Jimmy's really has to be attributed to the anti-ketchup crusade and their uniquely delicious hot dogs. NO MEANS NO!" Admirable, appreciated, and fair enough. ![]() So when you come to Jimmy's, remember ketchup is outlawed. Placing that foul condiment on a Chicago-style Depression Dog or Polish is like violating a tradition. It doesn't mean maybe on the side, in the bottles, or even in packs. There are signs on the wall and a vehement explanation of their position on their site that makes everything very clear: "There is absolutely, positively, without question NO FREAKING KETCHUP AT JIMMY'S! No means no. You have to admire the ardor and passion at this Chicago West Side icon it takes the "no ketchup" position very seriously.
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