CHARLOTTE – If you’re planning on having a hot dog this Fourth of July, one of North Carolina’s most celebrated hot dog joints wants you to know that, frank-ly, it knows best.
Days after serving its millionth hot dog, JJ’s Red Hots in Charlotte released its fifth annual list of the Top Ten Hot Dog Toppings just in time for National Hot Dog Month. The list is based on six years of the brands’ sales data.
While JJ’s has featured more than 350 toppings on its dogs and has mastered nearly 300 unique creations thanks to its Dog of the Week program, here’s what they say Americans love to put on their frankfurters most:
- Mustard – the most popular topping five years running
- Chili
- Relish – up two spots from last year
- Sauerkraut
- Onions – down one spot from last year
- Cheese
- Bacon – up two spots from last year
- Tomatoes – new entry
- Salsa – new entry
- Ketchup
“Every month is National Hot Dog Month at JJ’s. We do the classics better than anyone and everything on this list you’ll find in our restaurants,” said JJ’s founder and proprietor Jonathan Luther. “Yet where we really shine is when we push the envelope and introduce guests to things they’ve never tried before. If you think you’ve tried it all, come back next week and we’ll prove you wrong.”
JJ’s opened its first location in 2012 and has won the title of Charlotte’s Best Hot Dog for the past six years. As one of the few hot dog-centric restaurants to be featured on the popular Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” JJ’s will celebrate its sixth anniversary on July 4, the most popular Hot Dog Day of the Year.
The restaurant was also named One of the 10 Most Unique Hotdog Joints in America by Tabelog, as The 50 Best Foods to Eat in Charlotte Before You Die and as one of the 10 Best Hot Dog Joints Across the State by the Tar Heel State’s Our State magazine.
