Aldermen Voted on a Hot Dog: St. Louis’s Official Dog and Where to Get It
Revised November 10, 2026
Is there a St. Louis style hot dog?
Yes. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a resolution naming the St. Louis Dog at Steve’s Hot Dogs the Official Hot Dog of St. Louis. It’s an all-beef dog on a provolone-lined bun with grilled onions, grilled bell peppers, banana peppers, bacon and smoked pepper mustard. Order it at Steve’s, 3145 S. Grand Blvd., or in Chesterfield.
Keep reading ↓“Why don’t we have a hot dog?” Steve Ewing kept asking it from the time he opened his first hot dog stand, he told St. Louis on the Air. His crew had already made specials for the Seattle dog, the Denver dog and the Carolina dog. “All these other places have dogs,” he said, “and we don’t have an official hot dog.” This from a city whose own 1904 World’s Fair, Steve’s likes to point out, played a major role in hot dog history.
Now there is one, and you can taste the answer. Your teeth go through a soft roll and hit provolone first, because the cheese lines the bun before the dog goes in. Then grilled onions and bell peppers, slumped and sweet. Banana peppers snap back with vinegar. Bacon brings the salt. A smoky pepper mustard heads for your wrist, and under all of it sits an all-beef Nathan’s Famous frank that was cold smoked before it ever touched the grill. Hold it with both hands. It drips.
Is there a St. Louis style hot dog?
Yes. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a resolution naming the St. Louis Dog at Steve’s Hot Dogs the Official Hot Dog of St. Louis. It’s an all-beef dog on a provolone-lined bun with grilled onions, grilled bell peppers, banana peppers, bacon and smoked pepper mustard. Order it at Steve’s, 3145 S. Grand Blvd., or in Chesterfield.
And it isn’t a marketing nickname. The city’s record shows Resolution 256, sponsored by Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia and passed en banc, and it resolves to “recognize and proclaim this recipe developed by Steve’s Hot Dogs and chosen by the people to be the Official Hot Dog of St. Louis.” Chosen by the people is literal. According to Steve’s Hot Dogs, hundreds of fans joined a bracket-style competition, tasting and voting their way through its best creations, before the city put its name on the winner.
The recipe tastes like a neighborhood. Ewing told St. Louis on the Air that his main chef, Joe Zeable, drew inspiration from the Italian cooking of the Hill, where Steve’s was first located. “Grilled onions, grilled bell peppers, the banana peppers … that’s in a lot of sandwiches, especially on the Hill,” Ewing said. So the official dog eats less like a ballpark frank and more like a Hill sandwich with a smoked dog down the middle.
Here’s how to get one today. Steve’s is at 3145 S. Grand Blvd., on Grand just south of Tower Grove Park, along the six-block South Grand stretch where, Ewing says, “you can eat around the world.” There’s a second Steve’s at The District in Chesterfield. Call (314) 932-5953 or check the hours on Steve’s site before you drive, then ask for the St. Louis Dog by name. Feeding a crowd? Steve’s books its food truck and catering, which beats standing over your own grill all afternoon with the smoke in your eyes.
Here’s the line to save for the next Chicago transplant who starts in about poppy seeds. St. Louis’s official hot dog begins as a Nathan’s Famous frank, from the brand that calls itself a Coney Island classic. Steve’s cold smokes it, the Hill dresses it, fans picked it in a bracket, and the Board of Aldermen put the city’s name on it. New York meat, Italian toppings, a St. Louis vote. Ewing told St. Louis on the Air his real hope is to get “people outside of St. Louis to recognize that this is our hot dog.” Hand them that line and a napkin.
The counter keeps the city in it, too. Each month Steve’s teams up with another local favorite, the way it has with Strange Donuts, Hi-Pointe Drive-In, Balkan Treat Box and Crown Candy Kitchen, for a limited-time collaboration. Ask what’s on special before you order. The St. Louis Dog isn’t the only thing on that menu with a local accent.
Brats came first, and the backyard still knows it
Ask a St. Louisan to fire up the grill and there’s a fair chance the brats go on before the franks. At a Smithton parish picnic or a summer festival in New Baden, the grill line smells like charred casing and onions, and the plain hot dogs are mostly there for the kids. Brats often get a bath in beer and onions before they finish over the coals. Some cooks boil first, some go straight to the grate, and a few will argue the point until the charcoal goes gray.
Toppings stay simple out there: brown mustard, maybe kraut, maybe a heap of grilled onions. The official dog didn’t change that, and it was never meant to. Put chili on yours. Put slaw on it. Eat it plain with yellow mustard like you did at every Little League game you ever sat through. The city named a dog. It never told your backyard what to do.
How is a Chicago-style hot dog built, step by step?
Time Out Chicago puts the classic build plainly: a boiled or steamed all-beef dog on a poppy-seed bun, topped with mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt. People call it “dragged through the garden,” and one look explains why. It eats almost like a salad on a bun. Crunchy, sour, sharp, a little sweet, a little hot.
Order matters at the stands that care. Mustard goes on the dog first, then the relish, a startling neon green that tastes sweeter than dill. Onions next. Tomatoes tuck along one side, the pickle spear along the other, a couple of sport peppers land on top, and a pinch of celery salt ties it all together. Build it out of order and the tomatoes slide off into the paper. Ask anyone who’s tried.
If you like a burger stacked with pickles and raw onion, there’s a decent chance you’ll like this one too, and our take on what actually makes a good burger is worth a read.
About that ketchup
Ketchup on a Chicago dog is a line in the sand, and it has gone national: the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council’s hot dog etiquette guide says don’t use ketchup on your hot dog after the age of 18. Most St. Louis counters won’t say a word if you reach for it anyway. Kids get a pass everywhere.
Which other hot dog styles show up around St. Louis?
Mostly the big regional standards, bent a little to local appetites. Coney dogs, chili-cheese dogs, slaw dogs and Polish sausage with grilled onions and peppers all turn up on stand menus here. Nobody keeps an official tally of which one wins, so treat this as the lineup you’ll usually see, not a ranking.
Coney dogs
A frank under a loose, finely ground meat sauce, usually with mustard and chopped onions. The sauce runs thinner and spicier than a bowl of chili you’d eat with a spoon, and it soaks into the bun in the best possible way. Some stands add shredded cheese. Some regulars would call that a crime.
Chili-cheese dogs
The one kids point at. A frank buried in chili and cheese, eaten with a fork more often than not, and it’s exactly what a lot of people want after a ballgame or a long Friday shift. If that’s your window, our local’s guide to late-night eats in St. Louis has more ideas.
Slaw dogs
Coleslaw on a hot dog sounds odd until the cold, creamy crunch hits a hot, salty frank. Add chili too and some menus call it a hillbilly dog, though the name and the build change from stand to stand, so ask before you assume.
How do you order a hot dog without sounding like a tourist?
Say the style first, then the changes. “Chicago dog, no peppers” or “chili-cheese, extra onions” tells the window everything it needs. Crews move fast when the line wraps the corner, so know what you want before you reach the glass. At Steve’s, the easy version is the name the city gave it: just say “St. Louis Dog.”
“Everything” and “the works” mean the house build, and the house build changes by counter. At a Chicago-style stand that’s the whole garden. Somewhere else it might be chili, cheese and onions. Same words, different sandwich. A quick question beats a surprise in wax paper.
Hosting the cookout yourself? Make the table look like you meant it: home decor shopping in St. Louis.
A few words help. “Dragged through the garden” means all the Chicago toppings. “Plain” usually means dog and bun. “Char” means grilled instead of steamed, where a stand offers it. “Hold the” anything is understood everywhere. Fries are the default partner, and at a ballpark a cold beer is basically part of the order.
Where do good hot dogs turn up around the metro?
In more places than you’d guess: dedicated stands, ballpark concessions, food trucks, sausage shops, bars with short grill menus and festival booths. Food trucks rotate, so the one you loved outside a brewery in Breese might be parked somewhere else this week. Follow the ones you like. And the church picnics and hometown festivals in places like Trenton and Freeburg nearly always run a grill line, where a plain frank eaten standing up next to the beer tent, with a band tuning up behind you, tastes better than it has any right to.
What to look for at a stand
- Buns that are steamed or toasted, not straight from the bag.
- Toppings that look cold and bright, not wilted under a heat lamp.
- A short menu, so everything on it gets made often.
- Someone at the window who can tell you what’s on the house dog without looking.
- A frank with snap. A natural casing pops when you bite it; a skinless frank is softer end to end. Neither is wrong, but a stand proud of its casing usually says so on the board.
Craving one right now? Browse hot dog restaurants across the St. Louis metro on St Louis Near Me Directory, check the hours before you drive, and order the style you actually want.
If you’re the stand, the food truck or the corner grill with a dog worth its own resolution, hungry customers are asking their phones where to eat tonight. A Gold listing is how a counter like yours shows up when they ask, or start by listing your stand.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a Chicago-style hot dog different?
The toppings and the bun. It’s an all-beef dog on a poppy-seed bun with mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt, and ketchup stays off by tradition. Most regional dogs lean on one or two toppings. This one stacks the whole garden.
What are the seven ingredients on a Chicago hot dog?
Mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt. Those are the toppings Time Out Chicago lists for the classic build, on a boiled or steamed all-beef dog in a poppy-seed bun. When people say seven, they almost always mean the toppings, not the frank and bun.
Why is ketchup not allowed on hotdogs in Chicago?
It’s a line Chicagoans drew in the sand, and Time Out Chicago says it got so notorious that the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council’s etiquette guide says not to use ketchup on your hot dog after the age of 18. Plenty of stands will still hand you a packet, usually with a look.
What are the top 5 hot dog toppings?
Nobody keeps an official ranking. The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council’s etiquette guide calls mustard, relish, onions, cheese and chili acceptable, and ketchup shows up at nearly every backyard cookout anyway. In St. Louis, the official dog adds its own set: provolone, grilled onions, grilled bell peppers, banana peppers, bacon and smoked pepper mustard.
Are there any hot dog restaurants?
Yes. For the city’s official dog, go to Steve’s Hot Dogs at 3145 S. Grand Blvd. or its location at The District in Chesterfield. Around the metro you’ll also find stands, food trucks, ballpark concessions and bars with grill menus. The hot dog restaurant category on St Louis Near Me Directory lists local spots so you can compare locations and hours first.
Where can I get Chicago-style hot dogs?
Look for stands and food trucks that list Chicago-style on the menu, then check for a poppy-seed bun and sport peppers, the two giveaways of a faithful version. Around St. Louis, browse the hot dog restaurant category on a local directory to compare spots by area and hours before you head out.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.