A hot dog is one of the most iconic American foods of summer — and there are so many unique ways to eat one.
From the neon-colored “red snappers” of Maine to Seattle’s cream cheese-topped namesake dog, there is pretty much something for everyone’s taste buds.
Fox News Digital took a look at some of the ways people around the United States enjoy their hot dogs.
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Going from east to west, here’s a look at five interesting regional specialty dogs — not just in time for National Hot Dog Day on Wednesday, July 17 but for all summer long.
Dig right in!
There are a number of regional hot dogs throughout the country. They include, from left to right, the “red snapper,” the Coney Island dog, the Chicago dog, the Sonoran dog, and the Seattle dog. (Getty; American Coney Island; Portillo’s; Getty; iStock)
1. Red snapper (Maine)
In the country’s easternmost state, it is not uncommon to see people chowing down on hot dogs – bright red hot dogs, that is.
As the name suggests, the “red snapper” hot dog is bright red. It is traditionally served in a New England-style split-top bun. (Carl D. Walsh/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
“Maine’s iconic red hot dog, commonly referred to as a ‘red snapper,’ is known for its bright red color and snap from the natural casing,” Chris Cameron, vice president of communications for the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, told Fox News Digital.
The “red snapper” hot dog is so well-known in the state that the Portland Sea Dogs have re-branded themselves the “Maine Red Snappers” for at least one game a season each of the past four years to pay homage to the product.
Each year, the Portland Sea Dogs temporarily change their name to the “Maine Red Snappers” to honor the red snapper hot dog. (Portland Sea Dogs)
The red snapper hot dogs are “traditionally served in a split-top New England-style hot dog bun and have been the go-to hot dog for many Mainers for over 100 years,” Cameron said.
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This hot dog, he added, “is best enjoyed with a can of Moxie, Maine’s official soft drink, and a whoopie pie, the official state treat of Maine.”
2. Coney dog (Michigan)
Despite the name that refers to a neighborhood in New York City, the “Coney Island” hot dog is a specialty of Michigan — specifically, the Detroit area.
“A Coney dog here at American Coney Island is our proprietary hot dog in a steamed bun, topped with our family recipe chili, tangy mustard and sweet onion,” Grace Keros, owner of American Coney Island, a restaurant in Detroit, told Fox News Digital via email.
The Coney dog is a Detroit specialty. It features chili, onions and mustard. (Grace Keros)
American Coney Island, she said, is the oldest family-owned business in Michigan and has been around for 107 years. It also ships its products nationwide.
A Coney dog “snaps when you bite it,” she explained. “That’s what we are world-famous for.”
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American Coney Island was founded by Keros’ grandfather.
Constantine “Gust” Keros, an immigrant from Greece, traveled through New York on his way to Michigan, and the name “Coney Island” is believed to have come from there.
“I’m the third-generation owner,” his granddaughter said.
3. Chicago dog (Illinois)
While Chicago-style dogs are emblematic of Illinois’ largest city, they can be found all over the country thanks to chains like Portillo’s.
The Chicago-style hot dog is “an integral part of the Windy City’s iconic culinary landscape,” said Portillo’s, a nationwide chain of restaurants that began in Illinois. (Portillo’s)
The company was founded in 1963 and now has more than 80 locations in 10 states.
“Chicago-style hot dogs are an integral part of the Windy City’s iconic culinary landscape and the foundation of the Portillo’s menu for more than 60 years,” a representative for Portillo’s told Fox News Digital in an email.
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The toppings, the company said, are what makes a Chicago-style hot dog.
A Chicago-style dog has “yellow mustard, neon green relish, chopped onion, fresh tomato slices, celery salt, pickle spear and sport peppers – all piled on a freshly steamed poppyseed bun,” Portillo’s said.
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Ketchup, however, is nowhere to be found on a Chicago-style dog.
A Chicago dog has many toppings — but ketchup is not one of them, said Portillo’s. (Portillo’s)
“No need,” Portillo’s said. “The tomato does the trick.”
4. Sonoran dog (Arizona)
A Sonoran dog is a bacon-wrapped hot dog and is served on Mexican bread called a “bolillo.” It’s topped with “the kitchen sink,” chef and television personality Andrew Zimmern told Fox News Digital in an email.
“A lot of stands and restaurants serve it with a certain combination of tomatoes and crema and cheese and jalapeños and beans and salsa,” he said.
Sonoran dogs are wrapped in bacon and served on Mexican bread called a bolillo. They are topped with crema, beans, cheese, salsa and peppers. (iStock)
Others “have a big sort of card table set up with containers where you can sort of help yourself to all kinds of different ingredients,” Zimmern added.
Originally a product of Sonora, the Mexican state directly bordering Arizona, the Sonoran dog made its way to Arizona sometime in the 1970s, he said.
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“You would see families set up grills – makeshift cooking setups – underneath the overpasses on the highway system in Arizona and then later in New Mexico and then some occasionally in California, but mostly in southern Arizona,” he said. “And you would stop by the side of the road and get a Sonoran hot dog.”
While the Sonoran dog has made its way into restaurants, Zimmern insisted that the best way to eat one is still from a cart on the side of the road.
The best Sonoran dogs, Zimmern told Fox News Digital, are the ones made and sold by the side of the road. (Courtesy Andrew Zimmern; Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images)
“I would say restaurants don’t do half as good a job of making them as some of the great vendors on the street do,” he said. “There’s just something about that loving care that someone gives to a food when that’s the only thing they serve.”
5. Seattle dog (Washington)
A Seattle dog is characterized not by the dog itself, but by what’s put on the bun: cream cheese.
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This head-scratching topping was the brainchild of bagel-turned-hot dog vendor Hadley Long in the 1980s, he told Seattle Magazine in 2016.
At the time, Long sold bagels and “bagel sticks,” but he kept fielding requests from hungry college students in the area to sell his bagel sticks with hot dogs inside.
A Seattle-style dog was invented after people begged a bagel vendor to start selling his “bagel sticks” with hot dogs. Today, the Seattle-style hot dog has a regular bun, but the cream cheese topping remains. (iStock)
“I didn’t want to sell hot dogs because I was already the bagel man,” he told Seattle Magazine.
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Eventually, he caved – and a new signature dog was born for the city of Seattle.
Long no longer lives in Seattle, according to Seattle Magazine, but the Seattle dog is still sold today at food carts and restaurants around the city.
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