Alabama has great hot dogs. Don’t ever let anybody tell you differently.

The AL.com Life & Culture team set out to prove that last summer, counting down the best in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and the entire state.

There’s really never a bad time for a good dog, but they seem to taste even better during football season. So when you leave the stadium, head to one of these iconic hot dog spots in Alabama. Frankly, they’re the best.

AL’S HOT DOGS AND OTHER FINE FOODS

4701 Airport Blvd.

Another Mobile institution, another worthy No. 1, another personal favorite. 25 years ago, Al’s occupied a spot off Bienville Square, where it was one of the few reliable lunch spots a slowly rebounding downtown had to offer. “If you are what you eat,” said the sign by the counter, “we’re fast, cheap and easy.” And they were: You always left feeling you’d gotten a little more than your money’s worth. The no-nonsense Chicago wit and wisdom of the owner, Al Kay, was another big attraction. Somewhere along the way, Kay relocated the sign and the rest of the business to an Airport Boulevard shopping center, and Al’s has continued to operate on a takeout-only basis since the beginning of the pandemic. But the magic is still there, and you’ll still come away feeling like you got more than your money’s worth.

Order this: You can get an authentic Chicago Dog here, a treat virtually unknown in the South, with toppings that include tomato slices and a dash of celery salt. But it also pays to explore the non-hot-dog treats on the menu, which includes burgers, gyros and chicken-and-sausage gumbo. — Lawrence Specker

BIG SPRING CAFE

3507 Governors Drive S.W., Huntsville, bigspringcafe.com,

As Huntsville’s recent growth evolves food culture here to wider hues, the city’s vintage favorites’ charm grows too. For example, Big Spring Cafe, which dates back to the 1920s and said to be Huntsville’s oldest surviving restaurant. Even though BSC has been at its latest location for fewer years than Gen Z pop-singer Billie Eilish has been alive, the restaurant’s Governors Drive digs already exude classic diner vibes. In an era when Huntsville hot dogs frequently costs as much or more than matinee movie tickets, Big Spring Café’s hot dogs are budget friendly. Their menu is heavy on burgers and breakfast.

Order this: They’re both under three bucks, so get both the chili dog and slaw dog. The latter is slathered with ketchup-slaw, a tangy-sweet concoction which is actually more like slaw-ketchup in terms of ratio. Big City Café’s clientele is blue collar, and these are blue collar ‘dogs in the best way. — Matt Wake

BUNYAN’S BAR-B-Q

901 West College St., Florence. www.bunyansbarbeque.com

A Florence favorite that the late John Bunyan Cole opened in 1972 — and that his son Malcolm Cole continues today — Bunyan’s Bar-B-Q is almost as well known for its hot dogs as it is its ribs and pulled pork. The Bunyan’s dog features a fire-engine-red wiener that’s split down the middle, served on a toasted bun and topped with Bunyan’s signature hot slaw — a mustard-based coleslaw that packs just the right amount of heat. Muscle Shoals musician Mac McAnally is a huge fan, and over the years, he has turned many a visiting musician on to the wonders of the Bunyan’s dog. “It’s not like anybody else’s hot dog,” McAnally told AL.com in 2020. “It’s the reddest hot dog in the world — you can’t make it any redder than that. With that little bun that they use and their mixture of that barbecue slaw, it’s perfect, just perfect.”

Order this: Bunyan’s Hot Dog — Bob Carlton

CHRIS’ FAMOUS HOTDOGS

138 Dexter Ave., Montgomery. chrishotdogs.com

Montgomery’s oldest eatery, Chris’ Famous Hotdogs has been serving its “world famous” grilled dogs on historic Dexter Avenue since Greek immigrant Christopher Anastasios “Mr. Chris” Katechis opened his place in 1917, and legend has it that Hank Williams used to drop in Chris’ for a late-night dog and a pop (not necessarily a soda pop) after a show. So, if these century-old walls could talk, they’d probably sing “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” The chili sauce (a combination of chili powder, hot sauce, mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce and some other ingredients they’ll never reveal) is what makes a Chris’ hot dog worth coming back for year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation.

Order this: Chris’ Famous Hotdog — Amber Sutton

THE DEW DROP INN

2407 Old Shell road; www.facebook.com/DewDropInn.Mobile.AL.

Is this Mobile’s most iconic hot dog? Absolutely. Does it literally have generations of fans, with grandparents introducing grandkids to “Mobile’s oldest restaurant” on a daily basis? Again, absolutely. It’ll win the people’s choice voting hands-down. And I’ll say that when you order a Dew Drop Dog you know exactly what you’re going to get: A smallish dog loaded up with chili, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup and pickle, for the agreeable price of $4.25. And you know that if you look, you’ll find the meat has imparted a pinkish tint to the bread it touches. To order and eat a Dew Drop Inn hot dog is to be reassured of the pleasant fiction that there are some constants in this life.

Order this: If you want to mix it up, order it “upside down” to get the wiener on top of the toppings, or “female” to get the toppings with no wiener. Lighten up, culture warriors, they’ve been doing that for eons. — Lawrence Specker

THE DRUNK AT 1 A.M. ON DAUPHIN STREET DOG

Location varies, but Cathedral Square is a good starting place

It’s after midnight on a weekend and kitchens are closed throughout the Dauphin Street entertainment district. Meanwhile, you’ve been on a liquid diet for the last five hours and you’re in need of ballast. Fortunately, professionals are ready to help. On a recent Friday night I found two of them: Nazear Williams at King Dogs on Cathedral Square, and Wendy Clanton, who was operating out of her Lil Red’s Cart trailer at 22 N. Jackson St., where there’s a small food truck food court with seating. King Dogs has been a fixture on Cathedral Square for at least a decade. Clanton is a newer addition: A couple of years she decided to make a jump after 23 years with the Mobile County Public School System. She went from assistant principal to chief cook and bottle washer, and clearly enjoys the change. “These are my people now,” she says of her wildly eclectic clientele. As she said it, a crew of partiers were piling out a heavily customized pickup truck to see her, and just behind them was an older couple dressed for a square dance convention being held in town. That’s Dauphin Street for you.

Order this: My mission was hot dogs, but Clanton nearly sold me on her Conecuh nachos, which she says are her most popular item. I’ll try that next time. King Dogs has some innovative hot dog presentations and I tried the Frito Pie dog, topped with chili, cheese, Fritos, fried onions and a drizzle of barbecue sauce. It was crazy good. — Lawrence Specker

GUS’S HOT DOGS

1915 Fourth Ave. North, Birmingham. https://gusshotdogs.com

It doesn’t get any more Birmingham than what we lovingly call the “Birmingham Trifecta” – a couple of Gus’s special dogs, all the way, with a cold Grapico and a bag of Golden Flake chips. It is the essential Birmingham lunch. The last of the old-school downtown hot dog joints, Gus’s Hot Dogs has been around since Greek immigrant Gus Alexander opened shop on Fourth Avenue North in 1947. Now, Lee Pantazis, who bought Gus’s from longtime proprietor George Nasiakos in 2017, continues that legacy in the same building where it began. Upon handing over the keys to the shop, Nasiakos also entrusted Pantazis with Gus’s distinctive hot dog sauce — a tart, sweet and spicy concoction that originated with Gus Alexander and that Nasiakos later tweaked and made his own. There are more than 75 years of secrets in that sauce. “Mr. George sat and watched me like a hawk while I made it by myself the first time,” Pantazis said not long after he bought Gus’s. “Did not say a word. And that’s one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten. Because I know, as a Greek man, not complaining about it is the same as praising it.”

Order this: A couple of Gus’s special dogs, all the way. — Bob Carlton

NEW SOUTH HOT DOG & SUSHI

Mobile vendor, Huntsville, newsouthhotdogandsushi.com

Like Adam Sandler in a dramatic lead or Miley Cyrus singing Led Zeppelin, hot dogs and sushi are a surprisingly effective juxtaposition – at least in the hands of Albert Toh. By modulating sushi panache to hot dogs, plus offering ace sushi rolls too, Toh’s New South food trailer has become a new-generation HSV food standout. For example. New South’s Crunchy Dog makes use of pork rinds, eel sauce, spicy mayo, avocado and cream cheese.

Order this: The Volcano Dog has a big bark and bigger flavors. Avocado, bacon, cheddar, fresh jalapeno, sesame seeds, wasabi mayo and sriracha. Balance, texture, originality and oomph. They’re all there to spare. — Matt Wake

NOMADS ROAD DOGS

Mobile vendor, Huntsville, nomadsroaddogs.com

If you frequent local breweries, farmers markets, music festivals, pool parties and parking lots, you may’ve noticed a silver food cart underneath a red umbrella. That would be Nomads Road Dogs. Operated by Johnson High School product Brett Byrom, formerly a cook at Huntsville Westin hotel, Nomads (no apostrophe) brings Southern swagger to their ‘dogs. And their hot dogs are delish. The menu items have Huntsville-centric names, like “The Monte Sano Dog,” “Whitesburg Dog” and “South Parkway Dog.” It’s easy to root for the friendly folks behind Nomads. It’s a family venture, with Brett’s wife Jill Byrom taking orders and the kids sometimes lending a hand during food service too.

Order this: Even if you use a fork (which you kinda have to), the 565 Dog requires a heavy investment in napkins. Messy as a divorce but much tastier, this all-beef hot dog is covered in mac-and-cheese, collards, jalapenos and more. — Matt Wake

THE NOOK

3305 Bob Wallace Ave. S.W., Huntsville, thenooktavern.com

During the nascent days of the city’s craft-beer scene, The Nook was a hub for both brewers and enthusiasts. Although craft-beer has since broken big here, The Nook’s just as awesome as it ever was and remains a true-blue locals haunt. This tavern’s space goes back to the 1960′s when it was known as Napoleon’s Nook. After several other incarnations (Putt’s Place, anyone?), it was rebooted in 2007 as simply The Nook, founded by retired engineer Connell Allen. Today, the beer list remains prodigious, with suds from local to Kentucky to Denmark to Belgium. The Nook’s food menu’s bona fides include Louisiana fare and their epic German food night on Tuesdays.

Order this: The Nook’s Chicago Dog is an all-beef beauty on a poppy seed bun, electrified by puckered-pickle sweet green relish. Sport peppers add sass. The tomato wedges are garden fresh. Mustard, onions, celery salt. A Ditka-Jordan-Oprah-Belushi flavor bomb. — Matt Wake

PARAMOUNT

200 20th St. North, Birmingham. paramountbirmingham.com.

We typically go to Paramount for The Standard cheeseburger or The Three Hander sandwich, but we’ve learned not to sleep on those dogs. Paramount offers something different than your traditional mustard-kraut-onions-sauce Birmingham hot dog — including one with blue cheese and caramelized onions and another with Swiss and sauteed mushrooms. Our new favorite is The Southern, a beast of a dog that features a four-ounce, all-natural Niman Ranch frank that’s sliced down the middle and served with a couple of strips of bacon, pimento cheese, fried pickles, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing on a hoagie-style bun. You won’t need but just one, but we do recommend you pair it with a side of crispy onion rings.

Order this: The Southern. — Bob Carlton

PAYNE’S SANDWICH SHOP & SODA FOUNTAIN

101 East Laurel St., Scottsboro. www.facebook.com/PaynesontheSquare

Come to this 154-year-old soda fountain for the handspun milkshakes, hot fudge sundaes and “Happy Days” vibe, but don’t leave without ordering one (or two) of Payne’s famed red slaw dogs. Something of a Scottsboro delicacy, the grilled dogs are generously dressed with a tangy, ketchup-based coleslaw, the recipe for which is a closely guarded secret that has been passed down through the decades but the origins of which remain a mystery.

Order this: Red slaw dogs. — Bob Carlton

POP’S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL

1207 20th St. South, Birmingham. popsneighborhoodgrill.com.

Heather Guarino grew up working alongside her father, Sammy Guarino, at his Sammy’s Old Fashion Hot Dogs shops on Green Springs Highway and near Eastwood Mall. “I knew what I wanted to do when I was 8 years old,” she says. “I grew up in it, and I just wanted to keep the hot dog dream going.” In 2010, she did just that, opening a place of her own in Birmingham’s Five Points South and naming it Pop’s Neighborhood Grill in honor of her father, who still helps her with food deliveries. “It’s hard to keep him still,” she says.

Order this: Along with burgers, sandwiches and salads, the Pop’s menu features chili dogs, slaw dogs and a Chicago dog, as well as the signature Pop’s Famous Dog with mustard, onions, kraut and a house-made hot dog sauce that Heather’s pop started making in 1978. The Pop’s Special Dog (above) comes with everything that’s on the Famous Dog and piles on hot beef. We recommend one of each. — Bob Carlton

REDD’S HOTDOGS

21925 S. Milwaukee St., Robertsdale; www.facebook.com/reddshotdogs28

Let’s face it, the essence of the hot dog experience always has and always will involve a hot dog cart. In 1989 Chris Redd’s dad threw off the grind of his career as a boilermaker, moved his family from Connecticut to Baldwin County and opened a roadside hot dog stand. “From that point on,” Redd says of his father, “he always had a huge smile on his face, I’m gonna tell you.” Chris took over the business in 2009 and usually seems to have a smile on his face too, as he serves a line of customers from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. If you’re passing down Ala. 59 on the way to or from the beach, bear in mind this isn’t just an opportunity to grab a quick roadside snack – it’s an institution.

Order this: Whatever dog you choose, get the chow. A variant of the relish more commonly known as chow chow, the proprietary recipe is so tasty that Redd has to cook up something like 50 quarts a week. — Lawrence Specker

THE RIVER SHACK

6120 S. Marine Drive, under the Dog River Bridge; www.facebook.com/RiverShackRestaurant

The only reason this place comes in at No. 5 is that it’s not really a hot dog place. It’s a funky waterfront hangout that offers burgers, seafood and tantalizing specials. But that’s not to say that hot dogs are an afterthought. In fact, The River Shack menu features the nuclear option. Named “The Homewrecker,” it’s a footlong dog with the payload wrapped in a spiral of thick-cut bacon, topped with jalapenos and other goodness. This may be the first time in your life you order a hot dog and have to take half of it home for later.

Order this: The Homewrecker. That’s it. And don’t say you weren’t warned. — Lawrence Specker

SAM’S SUPER SAMWICHES

1830 29th Ave. South, Suite 155, Homewood. samssupersamwiches.com.

The late, legendary Sammy Graphos started selling hot dogs in his cozy, little hole-in-the-wall shop on 18th Street South in downtown Homewood in the early 1970s. Now, his son, Ted Graphos — with the help of Sammy’s widow, Sue — carries on the Graphos family tradition at the new, more spacious location of Sam’s Super Samwiches just around the corner in Homewood’s SoHo Square.

Order this: A couple of grilled dogs with mustard, diced onions, kraut and Sammy’s secret sauce. There’s a little bit of Birmingham hot dog history in every bite. — Bob Carlton

TONY’S HOT DOGS

1922 Montgomery Hwy South, Pelham. www.facebook.com/Tonys1922.

Now in its 30th year in business, Tony’s Hot Dogs in Pelham’s Southgate Shopping Center has been serving classic Birmingham dogs south of town since 1993. The signature Tony’s Hot Dog is a traditional grilled dog with mustard, onions, kraut and sauce, and the Beef Sauce Dog adds a chunky meat sauce to the mix. If you want to venture out and try something different, Tony’s also offers a taco dog, a Chicago dog, a chili dog, a slaw dog and the “everything in the house” Junk Yard Dog. And by all means, order a side of fries, which may be the crispiest crinkle-cut fries we’ve ever tasted.

Order this: Tony’s Hot Dog, the Beef Sauce Dog, or the Junk Yard Dog. — Bob Carlton

TOYBOX BISTRO

511 Jordan Lane N.W., Huntsville, toyboxbistro.com

Toybox Bistro doubles as a nerd-culture mini-museum. A fleet of Star Wars spaceship toys hang from the ceiling. There’s a covet-worthy AT-AT Walker toy on display as well as various action figures and collectibles from across copious geek-universes. This place isn’t for hot normies whose extent of nerd-dom is dressing up as sexy superheroes for Halloween or watching blockbuster movies. This place is for real-deal got-bullied-for-it-as-a-kid nerds.

Order this: Toybox serves half-pound, Michael Fassbender-worthy wieners. The Sonic Gut-Buster is the move. Drenched in a family-recipe chili (made with local beer from Yellowhammer Brewing), queso and diced onion. The menu accurately quips “antacids sold separately.” But the pain’s worth the gain. — Matt Wake