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ExploreThis LaGrange restaurant has served hot dogs for more than 100 years

Skip’s Chicago Dogs

Founded in 1979 by Chicago transplant Leo Shababy and his son, Leo “Skip” Shababy Jr., Skip’s is the place for a proper Chicago-style hot dog, and is a favorite among kids and cops alike.

A sign on the counter explains how Skip’s fashions a Vienna beef frank on a steamed poppy seed bun. To “drag it through the garden,” toppings are added in the following order: mild yellow mustard; sweet, tangy, electric green relish; chopped onion; two tomato wedges; a kosher pickle spear; two sport peppers and a dash of celery salt.

There’s also the Maxwell Street Polish, a grilled beef sausage topped with mustard and grilled peppers on a poppy seed bun. Green sport peppers are 40 cents extra. Get ‘em. That’s part of what makes it a Maxwell Street.

Combo meals ($8.75-$12.59) come with a drink and fries, but the $1.25 upcharge for terrifically crispy, beer-battered onion rings is worth it.

ExploreAttention, baseball fans: The Atlanta Braves stadium sells loaded waffle fries and a half-pound hot dog

And, if you’re following the FX hit comedy series “The Bear,” featuring an elite chef who returns to Chicago to run his family’s beef sandwich shop, you’d do well to order one of those at Skip’s. Make it dipped — and with hot peppers.

Grab a seat at one of the booths and let Skip’s put you in a Windy City state of mind.

48 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. 404-292-6703, skipschicagodogs.com

ExploreMore places for over-the-top gourmet hot dogs

ExploreDeKalb County restaurant and dining news

DBA Barbecue

DBA is an Atlanta barbecue mainstay, but it also offers a half-dozen hot dogs, each featuring a quarter-pound Nathan’s beef frankfurter on your choice of poppy seed or brioche bun.

A best bet is the signature DBA dog, whose toppings of pimento cheese, bacon bits, cooling coleslaw and crunchy fried onions make it a tasty ode to the South. The Mac Daddy, meanwhile, is a seriously loaded dog, piled with pulled pork and mac and cheese, plus a squirt of sweet, house-made barbecue sauce. Another unique option is the stew dog, served with a ladleful of Brunswick stew. All dogs ($9-$13) come with a side of Zapps potato chips or impressively crisp french fries.

Enjoy your dog at DBA’s location in the old Greater Good BBQ spot near Chastain Park, and a soon-to-open outlet in Clarkston, complete with a drive-thru.

4441 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta. 404-249-5000, dbabarbecue.com

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Love at Wurst Sight

This gourmet wurstery-on-wheels offers a variety of grilled sausages and hot dogs, as well as Philly cheesesteaks and burgers.

The clear wiener winner is the Polish sausage, topped with grilled onions and peppers. But you’ll also find bratwurst, vegan sausage made with Beyond meat, and a foot-long, half-pound Black Angus beef dog that you can douse with cheese and/or chili for an extra $1.

Solo sausages and dogs are $9-$14. Plates, which come with a side of shoestring fries and kraut, or sweet German potato salad, are $11-$16. A side table is crammed with all the condiments imaginable, so you can doctor a naked dog to your liking.

This food truck really gets around, making stops as far south as Senoia and Fayetteville, and north to Commerce. The truck’s whereabouts are posted weekly on Instagram (@loveatwurstsight) and Facebook (LoveAtWurstSight).

404-405-7466, instagram.com/loveatwurstsight

Farm Burger

Regional chain Farm Burger is known for its 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef burgers, but sustainable dogs are on the menu, too.The spicy jalapeno cheddarwurst ($9.50) from local butcher Spotted Trotter is topped with jalapeno mustard, chili ketchup, bacon and spicy garlic pickles.

Make it a meal with an order of other menu newbies, such as Greek feta fries; the health-minded summer farm salad (lettuce, arugula, cucumber, tomatoes, radish, parmesan and buttermilk dill dressing); or the summer superfood salad (kale, black rice, radish, strawberries, pickled red onion, feta and honey-ginger dressing), made with ingredients grown on nearby farms.

Multiple locations, farmburger.com

NFA Burger

Although beloved for its burgers, this counter-service restaurant inside a gas station also has a couple of substantive dogs on the menu.

The Southsider ($8) features a plump one-third-pound Vienna beef Polish sausage, while the quarter-pound Jersey dog ($6) is Angus beef. Diced pickles, mustard and “sassy sauce” — a slightly spicier, sweeter version of the special sauce used on NFA’s burgers — are freebie toppings, but you can fuel up with more — such as jalapenos, raw or grilled onions, cheese, bacon, Hatch green chiles and turkey chili — for an additional 75 cents to $1.75 per add-on.

And it’s not a real NFA Burger experience unless you scarf down your fare at the picnic tables out back.

Inside a Chevron gas station, 5465 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 404-666-2874, nfaburger.com

Pepper’s Hot Dogs

Tarina Hodges worked at some of Atlanta’s top restaurants before launching her hot dog pop-up in 2020, making appearances at breweries, restaurants and farmers markets around metro Atlanta.

She sources her dogs and pepperoni from local producer Fripper’s (she also offers chicken sausage from Delia’s and veggie dogs); potato bread from Martin’s; and housemade toppings including chili, cheese blends and sauces.

Though Hodges makes regular tweaks to her menu, you can almost always count on finding the Damn Dog, with caramelized onions, jalapeno, truffle aioli, and the only dog that’s guaranteed to be on every iteration of the rotating menu; the Red Dawg with turkey chili, cheese, onions, garlic aioli and spicy mustard; and the Bleu Dog with lettuce, sundried tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, bacon, crispy onions and barbecue sauce.

instagram.com/peppershotdogs

Dog Days

If you’re the indecisive type, the menu at Dog Days in Peachtree Corners might pose a problem for you — the menu offers 15 dogs, not including a build-your-own option ($4.99-$7.50).

There are three dogs with a nod to Chicago: the Chicago Dog, with mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickles, sport peppers and celery salt; the Maxwell Dog with mustard and grilled onions and peppers; and a dog topped with Italian beef.

If your alliances lean toward the northeast, try the New York Dog with sauerkraut, chili, mustard and onions.

And for something totally different, opt for a dog topped with a five-cheese mac and cheese or the Nacho Dog topped with sour cream, cheese sauce, onions, guac, jalapenos and salsa.

6025 Peachtree Pkwy #3, Peachtree Corners. 770-449-7433, dogdayshotdogs.com/

— AJC food and dining deputy editor Yvonne Zusel contributed to this report

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