The Best Chain Hot Dog Comes From This Upscale Burger Spot

Although they seem to share equal billing with burgers on the good, old, backyard grill, the humble hot dog is not as broadly represented across the country's great restaurant chains. None of the nation's largest fast-food chains even include hot dogs on permanent menus, for example. Both Burger King and McDonald's have tried to enter the hot dog market, but not even these industry giants could orchestrate enduring tubed meat success. Still, some bold brands do serve America's favorite sausage. And some just do it better than others.

In a ranking of seven fast food chain hot dogs, Chowhound found Shake Shack's wiener was best in show. It has all the qualities you want an ideal hot dog to have: a snappy exterior revealing juicy Vienna beef on a soft, fluffy bun that still manages to maintain its structural integrity. We tested these unadorned, but whether you prefer ketchup on your hot dog or you live in Chicago, Shake Shack's wursts are the best.

In addition to the absence of mustard, relish, and other typical hot dog accoutrement, we made sure to evaluate bites from every part of the hot dog. We also considered how processed each dog was, and how fresh its costar — the bun — came across. Each of those qualities combined to help Shake Shack's tasty, all-beef, griddled hot dog lead the pack.

On the opposite end of the quality spectrum, Dairy Queen's hot dog was the runt of the litter. It actually tasted burnt, with dubious grill marks that somehow seemed, ironically, artificial. The bun came across as day-old, at best. And to add injury to insult, the darn dog was dry. Dairy Queen's hot dog is the kind that gives the handheld food category a bad name. But Shake Shack is a whole genre redeemer. Shake Shack's fine dining origins, of course, might give its simpler fare an edge.

Shake Shack famously started as an offshoot of Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park, which still enjoys its fair share of accolades on the New York City hospitality landscape, even after ownership changes and some pretty disruptive menu adjustments. And those elite beginnings still reflect through Shake Shack's finer items, like its hot dog. Is that history of excellence totally responsible for Shake Shack's supreme wiener? The answer might be as murky as whatever's in the inferior chain hot dog picks. But Shake Shack's hot dog still represents the best of the wurst, in any case.