- Am I gonna shove more hot dog down this gullet?
You can bet my sweet, fine (beep) you will.
(upbeat music)
- We are in Chicago, Illinois.
- That's right.
- Known for a couple of things,
its sport teams and "hat dawgz."
- Our good friend, Annie,
behind the camera right there,
was like, "Why don't we try the top three places on Yelp
"and see if they're actually as good as they say they are.
"Cause Yelp is a very powerful tool
"that a lot of people use to find restaurants."
Here's the thing though.
It sometimes is an unfair way
that does very strongly affect small businesses.
- And it's very subjective, too.
- Yeah, take everything on Yelp with a grain of salt.
- A Chicago style hot dog is poppy or sesame bun,
yellow mustard, onions, relish, tomatoes, hot peppers,
a long pickle, and that's usually it.
It's very simple and really there's never ketchup
(buzzer noise) on there.
- What? - No ketchup.
- No? What if I'm running behind?
(Steven laughing) - All right.
That's brilliant. That's it.
That's all we need!
You got it! Bye!
(tango music)
- We're at Fatso's!
One thing about Fatso's is that their dogs are charred
on the grill.
They're a little bit crispier than I think your--
- Crispier. - Average hot dog.
- They're a little burnt on the end.
- Yeah, they're a little burnt.
- A little smokey. - A little smokey.
- You know? Look at that dog.
- Yeah. - It's pretty big.
- One hot diggidy-dog.
- Cheers. - Sesame seed bun.
I think the char actually gives it a little bit
more of a extra flavor which I appreciate.
- This is a dangerous place, okay?
If I lived right on this corner,
I'd probably be eating here at least once a week.
- They gave us a lot of fries.
This thing is overflowing with onions.
- We typed in "Fatso's" right?
And I was like, "Ah, this can't be that good."
Four and a half stars, though, on Yelp,
which is not too shabby.
- Good hot dog.
- It's a good hot dog.
- More hot dogs!
- Annie, why did I do this?
This is your fault.
- [Annie] Don't point at me.
(jazz music)
- All right. This is spot number two.
We're at U.B. Dogs
and we got their Chicago hot dog.
- This is their joey dog.
- Their joey.
It is a very beautiful dog.
- Yeah, the joey dog is pretty intense looking.
- All right, so here's yours.
- Thanks, I already know I'm gonna love this.
This is the hot dog I ate all the time growing up.
It's why I never put ketchup on my hot dog.
It's weird.
- This looks really good actually.
- Yeah, it's gonna be dope! - Cheers.
Oh, that pepper kick!
- There's a little bit of spice to these hot dogs.
All of the condiments are expertly seasoned.
- Oh yeah, it is really good.
Two hot dogs and a drink and fries
for under $10 is a very good deal.
- [Jen] Yeah.
- So, I'll give them props for that.
- A little soggy bun.
Sometimes I like them a little bit crispier,
but all in all, a pretty decent dog.
- Here's the thing, if I wanted a hot dog
and I looked on Yelp and I found this place
and I came here, I would be satisfied.
- I want ketchup on this.
- [Jen] Annie!
(jazz music)
- Okay. The number one rated place on Yelp
for hot dogs in Chicago.
It's pretty small.
- Mm-hmm.
- I do love the logo.
The mascot?
- It's pretty cute. - It's cute.
That is an immense pickle.
It's not as photogenic as you would expect it to be.
- It is a very unique experience eating this hot dog.
- I actually think the meat
on this hot dog is more flavorful.
- It's memorable cause that bite is just like
all of this pickle coming in.
- I actually really do like it.
- You do like it?
- Yeah, I like it a lot.
It is the least attractive hot dog we've seen.
(Annie laughing)
No offense, it's kind of ugly. - [Steven] It's true.
- But I think this was my favorite hot dog.
- Whoa! I can't believe it.
- It was the nostalgia factor
that really brought it home for me.
- I'm gonna probably go with U.B.'s.
It was just bursting with ingredients and flavor.
- Yeah. - Yeah, it was really good.
- I'm bursting with something, too, over here,
you know what I mean?
But I'm not sure you can have a favorite one
when at the end of it you do want to die.
There's a train.
- [Annie] Okay.
- [Steven] You're gross.
- [Jen] I feel awful.