Kansas City, MOHot Dogs

Kansas City Magazine put The Brick's Oklahoma on its list of local hot dogs that go well past ketchup and mustard. An all-beef frank gets a long strip of bacon twirled around it, then a brief dunk into a thick Boulevard beer batter before it hits the fryer. The Crossroads bar has run on live music and bar food for years, so order the Oklahoma with a Boulevard and stay for whoever is playing that night.

Kansas City Magazine's hot dog roundup singles out the Jack Russell at this Brookside bar, which piles mac and cheese on top of a hot dog and finishes it with bacon. It is the order to make when a plain frank will not do. Charlie Hooper's is a long-running neighborhood tavern at 63rd and Oak with a deep beer list, so pair the Jack Russell with something on tap.

The Mama Mia is Fric & Frac's entry in Kansas City Magazine's roundup of local hot dogs worth a detour: an Italian sausage slathered with basil marinara and mozzarella on a sesame roll. Ask for it by name. The bar sits on the 39th Street restaurant row near the KU Medical Center, a small dark room where the sausage and a beer is the whole point of the visit.

Kansas City Magazine named the chili cheese dog at this Armour Road counter, where the chili is made with grass fed Missouri beef and carries what the magazine called a zesty punch of spice. Order the chili cheese dog. Tay's is a small griddle shack in North Kansas City known for early hours and a walk up window, which makes it a reliable stop when the kitchens across the river have shut down.

Hank's runs a rotating weekly hot dog special, and Kansas City Magazine's Tyler Shane found the New York style dirty water dog, boiled in spices then topped with mustard and diced onions, the most satisfying of the bunch alongside Chicago and Sonoran versions. Shane wrote that you cannot go wrong with the burgers, hot dogs or pastas here, so get the week's dog and add the Spam fries with banana ketchup.