Hot Dog, It's Friday! - Ron Jackson Insurance

This weekend Michigan State is headed to Evanston, IL to play Northwestern. If you’ve read the agency blog before you’ve realized that the Ron Jackson Agency is pro State because of a certain Offensive Tackle, ahem, no. 74. In the spirit of the Spartans heading to the Chicago suburbs this weekend, a favorite spot and home town of this girl, I thought it would be appropriate to have a hot dog theme.

Here at the agency we have every Friday as “take your dog to work day”, so in the spirit of dogs, today you will learn about the infamous Chicago Dog.

A lot of major metropolitan cities have famous takes on various foods, but the Chicago dog is a classic. Those of us from the area know that you NEVER EVER EVER ask for ketchup on your Chicago style dog. It’s downright offensive (though I must admit, I am a ketchup lover but please don’t tell anyone). So what makes a Chicago dog so special? The ingredients!

Most importantly you start off with a steamed all beef Frankfurter (my preference is Vienna Beef), put it on a poppy-seed bun, add yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato, pickled peppers and a dash of celery salt. If you’re looking to fatten up the meal even more, order some cheese fries to go with it. You won’t be sorry, but the you may want to do some extra cardio that morning.

Now for a little history lesson: It’s been said that the Chicago-style wiener originated by Fluky’s in 1928. Both founders of Vienna Beef frankfurters, the most common brand served, first sold at the 1893 Wold’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the owners of Fluky’s were Jewish, which is why the typical Chicago dog is made from kosher beef. The toppings date back to the depression, because they added bulk to the meal with little cost.

Why not give it a whirl yourself?! Check out my tasty recipe for the perfect dog!