Eat this!

Gourmet hot dog: I could (and do) argue that a hot dog needs little adornment other than those prescribed by Chicago tradition, but a number of purveyors, such as Hot Doug’s and Franks ‘N’ Dawgs, offer convincing rebuttals. Consider, for instance, this month’s featured special at America’s Dog, owned by the Alpogianis brothers (Manolis and George). Created by guest chef Heather Terhune (of Sable Kitchen & Bar and “Top Chef: Texas”), this $4.29 beauty takes a flash-fried Vienna Beef hot dog and adorns it with maple-bourbon-glazed pork belly, smoked cheese fondue, sharp beer mustard and crispy onion straws, nestled in a very sturdy pretzel roll.