nacho cheese sauce with pieces of jalapeño peppers. Preparation Chicago-style hot dogs are cooked in hot water or steamed before adding the toppings. A less common style is cooked on a charcoal grill and referred to as a "char-dog". Char-dogs are easily identifiable because very often the ends of the dog are sliced in crisscross fashion before cooking, producing a distinctive cervelat-style "curled-x" shape as the dog cooks. Some hot dog stands, such as The Wieners Circle, only serve char-dogs. The typical beef hot dog weighs 1/8 of a pound or and the most traditional type features a natural casing, providing a distinctive "snap" when bitten. The buns are a high-gluten variety made to hold up to steam warming, typically the S. Rosen's Mary Ann brand from Alpha Baking Company. The traditional "neon-green" relish is prepared by simply adding blue food coloring to sweet pickle relish until the natural yellow hue turns a deep green. Restaurants The Chicago area has more hot dog restaurants than McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King restaurants combined. A "hot dog stand" in Chicago may serve many other items, including the Maxwell Street Polish, gyros, pork chop and Italian beef sandwiches, corn dogs, tamales, pizza puffs and Italian ice. The restaurants often have unique names or architectural features. Popular and historic vendors Fluky's Gene & Jude's Hot Doug's (closed) Portillo's Superdawg The Wieners Circle Woody's Chicago Style See also Chicago-style pizza Coney Island hot dog Cuisine of Chicago Francheezie Hot dog variations Italian Beef List of hot dogs Maxwell Street Polish References Further reading External links Cuisine of Chicago Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Hot dogs Celery