Chicago's link to hot dogs remains strong

Jim Photopoulus estimates he's eaten 10,000 hot dogs in the last 19 years. That would be more than 500 a year - roughly 10 per week.

Needless to say, Photopoulus, a 1984 graduate of Buffalo Grove High School, isn't average. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans consume 70 hot dogs per person each year. If you haven't eaten your share, Photopoulus has you covered.

"I've never not liked a hot dog," says Photopoulus, owner of Photo's Hotdogs in Mount Prospect and Palatine. "You'd think that when you eat one all the time, you'd get sick of 'em, but they're so (darn) good."

That sentiment is shared by people across the suburbs and Chicago, the city with the highest concentration of hot dog stands in the U.S.

Considering hot dogs and Chicago are linked with a long history, that really shouldn't come as a surprise.

Austrian-Hungarian immigrants Emil Reichel and Sam Ladany introduced the world to these tasty sausages at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. That same year, 1893, they founded Vienna Sausage Co., opening up their first store on the Near West Side in 1894.

Hot dogs' popularity took off in the 1930s, says Jane Lustig, vice president of marketing for the still-Chicago-based Vienna Beef Co.

"During the Great Depression, you could get a meal for a nickel," Lustig says, describing a dog that had been "dragged through the garden" with mustard, relish, onion, tomato and pickle. That style became the iconic Chicago hot dog.

During the early 20th century when the Union Stock Yards put Chicago as the top meat manufacturing city, Vienna and companies such as Oscar Mayer and Armour turned out thousands of links each day. Oscar Mayer and Armour have since left Chicago, but Vienna still operates a plant (and a factory store) at 2501 N. Damen Ave.

The hand-held sandwich became a popular treat at baseball parks, cementing its hold as the official food of summer. In a year, Vienna Beef produces 100 million hot dogs (from tiny cocktail franks to 2-pounders sold only at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago); two-thirds of those sell between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

When Maurie Berman, a GI returning home from World War II, got the idea to open a summer hot dog stand with his bride, he wasn't content to go with one of the existing brands. Instead, he developed his own recipe, described as more smoky and garlicky than others, and opened Superdawg, a drive-in at the intersection of Milwaukee, Devon and Nagel avenues on Chicago's Northwest side.

"He's a perfectionist," Don Drucker says of his father-in-law. "He said 'I could do it better; I don't want to be like everybody else.'"

Drucker said that dare-to-be-different approach is the same reason Superdawg puts pickled green tomatoes on its otherwise traditionally dressed Chicago hot dog.

It's the versatility of hot dogs that keeps them on menus and in refrigerators. Consumers can choose dogs made from pork, beef, turkey, chicken and tofu, as well as those in natural casings, no casings or those made with all-natural ingredients. Rock Star Dogs, a new joint on Ashland Avenue near Chicago Avenue, dresses a variety of dogs with everything from bacon to jalapenos to cheddar cheese.

"There are so many ways you can dress them," says Photopoulus, who in 2006 claimed the title as fastest hot dog maker in a Vienna-sponsored contest.

He remembers a favorite childhood snack: microwaved hot dog wrapped in white bread - "on the diagonal" - with ketchup.

That condiment is akin to heresy to some, but Photopoulus doesn't deny his customers ketchup upon request. A large contingent of hot dog fanatics claim ketchup has no place on the bun, saying it dulls the frank's flavor. Some hard-core stands don't even provide ketchup pumps.

"I'm not a ketchup guy," Photopoulus says, "but being in the business, serving millions, I love the idea of a hot dog being so flexible."

By the numbers

Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs a year - that's about 70 hot dogs per person each year.

In 2007, more than 740 million packages of hot dogs were sold at retail stores (not including Wal-Mart, which does not report sales data). That number represents almost $1.6 billion in retail sales.

Top hot-dog-consuming cities in 2007:

New York: $103,640,400

Los Angeles: $86,460,420

Baltimore area: $51,147,980

Philadelphia: $46,501,420

Chicago: $43,885,180

O'Hare Airport serves nearly 725,000 hot dogs each year.

38 percent of hot dogs, or $6.14 million, are sold between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

10 percent of the annual sales occur during National Hot Dog Month in July.

60 percent of mostly older consumers surveyed said they prefer all-beef hot dogs; younger consumers preferred other products such as pork and chicken.

Source: hot-dog.org

"There are so many ways you can dress them."

Jim Photopoulous

All dressed up

Mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, celery salt and sport peppers. I learned that mantra my first day working at Fratello's, a now-closed hot dog stand in Palatine.

While fanatics continue to debate the merits of neon green relish versus the dark green variety and the necessity of poppyseeds on the bun, that lineup of garnishes tops an official Chicago hot dog.

Here's a look at how folks in other parts of this great land dress their dogs.

Atlanta: Buy a hot dog at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, and you'll end up with your dog topped with the usual condiments and a heap of coleslaw.

Boston: Ketchup, mustard, relish, picalilli and chopped onions are Beantown's most common toppings.

Cincinatti: The town's famous chili as well as mild cheddar, mustard and diced onion top dogs in this Ohio berg.

Kansas City, Mo.: You'll need mints after eating a hot dog served with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese on a sesame seed bun.

New York City: From downtown Manhattan to Coney Island, when you buy a hot dog in the Big Apple, it will come with steamed onions and a pale, deli-style yellow mustard.

The Rockie Dog: Served at Coors Field in Denver, the home of the Colorado Rockies, this footlong dog comes with grilled peppers, kraut and onions.

The Texas Dog: Chili, cheese and jalapenos make this a favored item in the Houston area.

- Deborah Pankey