Photos courtesy of Wikimedia commons unless otherwise noted.

Hot dogs are part of this country and its culture. It is often said that there is nothing more American than the eating of a hot dog - It really is no wonder that Nathan's puts on their hot dog eating contest on July Fourth.

This great country is defined by its differences, and hot dogs are no exception, as each region has developed its own type of dogs and toppings. These unique takes on the classic American hot dog have defined certain areas of the country, and created some tasty culinary road trips for ballpark foodies.

Every dog has its day, and in the case of hot dogs that's today. July 23 is National Hot Dog Day. So in honor of this cherished holiday we just found out existed, here are seven regional styles of hot dog you have to get out there and try.

New York Dog

There are really two main types of dogs in New York City, Sabrett's and Nathan's. They are both all-beef, natural casing dogs, but Nathan's does offer a skinless dog, too. New Yorkers typically top their dogs with ketchup, mustard or relish, sauerkraut, chili or onions in sauce. That last item is usually the exclusive territory of street vendors and is a mixture of chopped sweet onions that have been steeped in a tomato-based sauce. The street vendors of New York typically keep their unsold dogs in a warm water bath, which led to the name, "Dirty Dogs."

Chicago Dog

The Chicago dog is a whole meal on a bun. They take an all-beef, natural-casing hot dog and top it with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sliced or chopped tomatoes, a dill pickle, sweet pickle relish dyed bright green, pickled sport peppers and celery salt. Then they serve it up on a steamed poppy seed bun. Chicago dogs never include ketchup, and some places don't even allow it in their establishments.

Coney Island Hot Dog

The origin of the Coney Island is quite interesting. Back in 1913, the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce came through and made all restaurants selling hot dogs take the words "Hot Dog" of their signage. Apparently, there were too many people taking the signs literally and thinking there was dog meat on the menu. So when immigrants passed through the area, they only knew the hot dogs as Coney Islands.

The first Coney Island restaurants opened up in Michigan a year later. The Coney Island dog consists of a natural-casing beef or beef and pork Vienna sausage topped with topped with a beef-based sauce, yellow mustard and diced or chopped white onions. Often the beef is confused with a chili, but it is certainly different being made up of mostly beef heart. There are variations on the Coney as it stretches around through Ohio and up into Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Seattle Dog

Photo courtesy of seattlemag.com.

Seattle has a very different idea of a hot dog. They prefer to grill their dogs as opposed to steaming them and will often slice their dog down the center to let it cook faster. They then top the dog with cream cheese and serve it on a toasted bun. Other popular toppings include grilled onions, jalapenos and other peppers, sauerkraut or grilled cabbage, and scallions. Condiments such as mustard (yellow or spicy brown), barbecue sauce, and Sriracha are typical.

Some of the other lesser common styles:

Half Smoke

In Washington D.C., the hot dogs are like the politicians: Larger, spicier and more coarsely ground. The tube steak is normally half-pork and half-beef, smoked, and served with herbs, onion and a chili sauce.

Carolina Style

Hot dogs are typically redder in the Carolinas, and it is very common to find chili, slaw, onions and mustard on top of them.

Connecticut style

In Connecticut, it is all about the bun. Connecticut dogs are served on New England Rolls. These buns are sometimes called lobster rolls and are top loading. This totally solves the problem of your hot dog rolling over on its side.

There are a few other varieties out there, but we will leave it up to you to tell us what you like the best in the comments below.

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