The Vienna Beef Hall Of Fame Is One Of The Highest Honors A Hot Dog Restaurant Can Get

Being from Chicago, I'm particularly proud of our very own style of hot dogs. You know the type — red hots nearly overloaded with colorful toppings like yellow mustard, neon green relish, chopped onion, a pickle spear, slices of tomato, sport peppers (which really are a kind of pepper!), along with a perfect little sprinkling of grassy celery salt; which ties the proverbial room together. There are multiple variations on a Chicago-style hot dog, too, which makes them even more fascinating and a deeper subject than you might expect.

The primary manufacturer for the frankfurters in our neck of the woods is a company called Vienna Beef, who supplies the majority of the all-beef hot dogs to stands around Chicago. You'll know when a hot dog stand uses Vienna Beef too. The place will be decorated with Vienna Beef signage, and in my opinion, the older and grimier, the better. Some of these hot dog stands that have truly lasted through the test of time get awarded with an induction into the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame. Which in hot dog circles is not only a sort of stamp of authenticity, but also one of local cultural significance.

First off, an eligible hot dog stand for the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame does have to sell its brand of hot dogs. Vienna Beef's website doesn't give specific criteria as to what makes for a Hall of Fame hot dog stand, but rather says, "Operators become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame based on how long they have been serving Vienna Beef products, their contribution to their community, and overall commitment to the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customers."

Previous Vienna Beef Hall of Fame restaurants include Portillo's, which has gone from a local Chicago chain to a publicly traded national one. That's a particularly unusual example, however, and most inductees are more along the lines of independent owners like Red Hot Ranch (which is a personal favorite of mine), Luke's Italian Beef (near a former office I worked at), and a joint called Jeff's Red Hots which is not too far from where I live right now. Though it might seem like a hyper-regional sign of recognition, the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame isn't just limited to stands in the Chicagoland area. 

Hot dog stands in Michigan, Indiana, and as far away as Arizona have also made it into the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame. And though the accolade might not be a household one nationwide, it's still a mark of a classic hot dog stand by a Chicagoan's standards; even though we know the award comes from the manufacturer itself. Think of it more as an exclusive hot dog club.

The Vienna Beef Hall of Fame harkens back to 2006, which in terms of Vienna Beef's operating period, isn't actually that long. The company's debut was in 1893 during the World's Columbian Exposition, by Emil Reichel and Sam Ladany, who were immigrants from Vienna. Reichel and Ladany introduced their sausages then, but it was during the Great Depression when the Chicago-style hot dog as we know it truly began to take shape.

Many of those toppings were built by a combination of Greek and Italian street vendors who were stationed at the Maxwell Street Market. And that relatively veggie-heavy dog ended up providing a cheap square meal that included protein and a whole load of vegetables on top. The seven toppings mentioned earlier are the ones that stayed and they provide a vibrant mix of acidic, sweet, salty, and fresh flavors to compliment the beefy frank. These days, it makes for a visually iconic symbol of Chicago that happens to be delicious.

If you're not from Chicago but plan on visiting, perusing through the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame is a surefire way to find a hot dog stand that'll serve you a classic hometown version of our dogs. I highly encourage you to go visit. Those places were inducted in there for a reason, after all.