I love baseball. I love encased meats. But if I’m attending a game, I tend to care about the actual game, not the food and beverage offerings. Whether it’s a big league contest featuring the clubs I love, the Cubs and White Sox (fight me), or a Little League game featuring my kid I love (don’t talk to me or my son ever again), I’m too focused on the action to properly enjoy a hot dog.

Hot dogs are great at baseball games. They’re just not in the top 5 places to enjoy a hot dog (Glizzy? That’s a thing?). The following locales are better for actually enjoying a hot dog. Only some are baseball related. 

Top 5 Places to Eat Hot Dogs 

1. At the hot dog stand/restaurant

If you specialize in one thing, that thing is probably going to be better than a stadium that’s attempting to serve 40,000+ fans or a Little League field with a parent volunteer utilizing a grill. 

Hot dogs are also better when they’re made to order. Hot dogs are better when they’re enjoyed as soon as they’re topped. While this is possible at some stadium concession stands, it’s not if you’re ordering a dog from a vendor. 

2. In the car outside the hot dog stand/restaurant

A Gene and Jude’s hot dog, my favorite hot dog, tastes better in a car, specifically in a car with the heat on when it’s 40 degrees or colder outside, than inside their standing-room only stand/restaurant. 

Portillo’s, the somewhat beloved hot dog chain, tastes better in a car than inside their always busy restaurants. Same with the fries. 

I understand if you don’t want your car to smell like hot dogs. But if you’re that kind of person, you’re probably not serious about hot dogs anyway. 

3. At a bar that takes prides in their hot dogs

The best hot dog I’ve enjoyed in 2026 was at Ivy & Coney, a Chicago and Detroit themed bar in Washington, D.C. They care about their hot dog offerings and deliver a better product than any stadium hot dog. Since their dogs are made to order, they’re served at the perfect temperature. Since the owners are proud former Chicagoans and Michaganders, they make sure to source the appropriate ingredients for their Chicago and Coney dogs, respectively. Oddly, this is the best place I’ve ever had a Chicago Dog, including Chicago proper. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and since leaving Chicago I’ve cared more about enjoying Chicago food the ‘right’ way. It’s the same at this place.

4. At a barbecue/picnic/outdoor party

The hot dog may be the ideal outdoor food. I write this as a former vegetarian. There’s no shortage of very good meatless dogs and a good host will have both options available, prepared on at least two grills, one for meats and one for bullshit that pretends to be meat. The bullshit that pretends to be meat isn’t bad! Anyways, walking around a barbecue/picnic/outdoor party while holding a hot dog and beer just feels right. The dogs are too eh and the beer is too big (STOP SELLING 20+ OZ. CANS, MLB! STICK TO 12 OZ. AND KEEP THE PRICE PER OUNCE THE SAME! MORE PURCHASES AND COLDER BEER!) to do this at a Major League Baseball stadium. 

5. Costco

I have yet to order a hot dog for myself at Costco. My family has been members of the big box store/lifestyle brand for over two years. I’ve ordered my children hot dogs on 90% of our shopping trips. I’ve consumed at least part of a hot dog 100% of the time. I’ve eaten more hot dogs in Costcos than anywhere else since having children. And they’re good. The hype is justified.

A baseball game is not the best place to enjoy a hot dog. A baseball game is the best place to enjoy peanuts. 

This piece is in Recommend If You Like The Baseball Issue Summer 2026. You can find physical copies in bars, cafes and stores in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The newspaper is available for purchase here. 

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