By Mandu-Krishnamurthy - Daily Herald Staff Writer

It isn’t rocket science, but whipping up a Chicago-style hot dog quickly is like an art, says Ron Lee, owner of Chicago’s Beef-N-Dogs in Lake Zurich.

Lee is along eight suburban hot dog makers competing with 20 others from Chicago today in Vienna Beef’s Great Chicago-style Hot Dog Rally at Chicago’s Thompson Center. They will be vying for the title of fastest hot dog maker.

Aside from the seven basic ingredients that constitute a Chicago-style hot dog, Lee says making one requires two traits: quick hands and good hand-eye coordination.

“You got to get it right the first time, otherwise you’ll hear about it,”said Lee, who has 20 years’ experience in the hot dog business. “It is called fast food for a reason. You have to get the food out and get it done right.”

Lee knows exactly how fast he is. He timed himself. “I should be able to dish up a hot dog from start to finish in 10 seconds, or it cold be quicker,” he said.

He recently catered for Harris Bank’s customer appreciation day dishing out more than 850 hot dogs in about 2 ½ hours.

Other suburban contenders include Fradillio’s Hot Dog in Algonquin, Start’s Drive-In in Franklin Park, Scooter’s in Barrington, and Photo’s Drive-In in Palatine.

Today’s rally is motivated by a touch of jealousy and pride, said Peter Sload, director of marketing for Vienna Beef in Chicago, which supplies more than 90 percent of the hot dog stands in the city and suburbs.

Last summer, the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council released the results of a poll in which many Americans voted New York hot dogs best in the nation, beating Chicago by 2 percentage points.

“Nobody tells Chicagoans that,” Sload said. “We are the hot dog capital of the world. We take out hot dogs very seriously here.”

The rally was organized by Vienna as a dare to New York hot dog makers, Sload said.
“We’ve challenged every New York hot dog maker out there that we’ll do a taste test with them, anytime, anywhere,” he said.