CHICAGO DIVISION:
PLAY-IN
Fenway Frank: The Fenway Frank is not a special hot dog. It's a pretty standard hot dog, in a pretty standard white roll, with packets of Heinz ketchup, yellow mustard, neon relish. It comes served in foil, and when you take it out, it feels slightly damp. But it's not about the hot dog. It's the happiest bite I can imagine, because Fenway is one of my favorite places in the world. Just walking to my seat fills me with sincere joy. You give me a Fenway Frank right now, sitting at my desk in London, I might not even eat it. But at Fenway Park, with the green of the grass and the monster, the white of the uniforms, and "the bluest sky I've ever seen", this just beats all.
Chicago Loaded Dog: Chicagoans are very proud of their hot dogs. And very specific about how they should be eaten. On a poppy-seed bun. With mustard, relish, tomatoes, onions, sport peppers, a pickle spear, and celery salt. NEVER with ketchup. It's more a salad than a hot dog. It's messy, it's fun. They belong at Wrigley Field, but also Navy Pier, or any of the excellent hot dog restaurants like Hot Doug's or Portillo's. But seriously, don't let a Chicagoan see you put ketchup on it.
WINNER: I lived in Chicago for seven years, but I've always been from Boston, and I'm picking the Frank for the win. Not because it's tastier, but because it brings me more joy. And something about the "right way" to eat a Chicago dog has always seemed a little humorless to me (despite my hard-line approach to Ranch dressing on Buffalo Wings.) The Fenway Frank makes the Big Dance.
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