Forget Chicago, This Illinois Town Has the State’s Best Hot Dog

Americans consume approximately 20 billion hot dogs per year, which makes perfect sense considering they are a popular food choice. Hot dogs at baseball games, backyard cookouts, and late-night eats, they're everywhere and for real, totally underrated.

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How Tasting Table Chose Illinois’ Best Hot Dog

So when Tasting Table decided to go out and crown the best hot dog in every state, you just had to know that Illinois was going to be a tough call. After all, there are few foods decidedly more iconic than the Chicago-style dog.

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Why Gene & Jude’s Stands Out

Instead of Chicago, Tasting Table opted for River Grove and Gene & Jude's, where they've been keeping it simple since 1946. No ketchup (obviously) and zero nonsense, where they serve you just a dog, a double dog, fries, and a corn roll tamale. That's it, that's the menu. If you ask anyone who goes to Gene & Jude's, this is all you need.

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The Superdawg Snub

Here's the deal: I've never been to Gene & Jude's, and you know, since I'm way into the food scene, I've heard of the place, but what I have heard of and had plenty of, too, is Superdawg. To say Superdawg wasn't strong enough to make the cut is shocking.

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Are Wrigley Field Hot Dogs the Real Winner?

The absolute truth is, is there anything better than a gameday dog at Wrigley? Is it not the best hot dog experience in the state? Go ahead and try to prove me wrong.

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