Baseball season in Chicago means the start of the great debate. I’m not talking about Cubs versus White Sox. I’m referring to ketchup on hot dogs.

In Chicago tradition, ketchup does not belong on hot dogs. Consensus states a true Chicago dog is an all-beef wiener in a steamed poppy seed bun topped with seven condiments: yellow mustard, chopped onions, sweet pickle relish, two tomato slices, two sport peppers, a dill pickle spear and a sprinkling of celery salt. The theory is ketchup’s sweet and tangy flavor overpowers the taste of the dog and other condiments.

Photo 33073828 © Bhofack2 | Dreamstime.com

The debate is so intense, the Chicago Dogs minor league baseball team’s mascots get involved. Squeeze (mustard) gets cheered, while Ketchup often gets booed. Of course, Squeeze loves it, playing to the crowd, much to Ketchup’s chagrin.

The newest wrinkle in the debate is Heinz, who put up billboards that dispense ketchup packets. One of these is in front of Wiener’s Circle, a legendary Chicago joint known for refusing to offer ketchup. “Smack for Heinz” billboards have QR codes leading folks to report restaurants for not offering ketchup. Billboards will soon appear in other cities.

Because I don’t use ketchup on anything, I sought better sources for opinions. I turned to Chicago media personality Dan Levy, whose Barguments podcast is the perfect forum for this debate. Levy stated, “I stopped keeping kosher because they told me what I could or couldn’t do with food. I know it goes against Chicago standards, but if you drag a dog through the garden, ketchup should be okay to ride along, too.”

Levy’s wife Jill Urchak-Levy, also a Chicago radio legend and host of In Check with Urchak, offered the counterpoint. “I cannot stand ketchup on anything; so putting it on a hot dog makes no difference in my life.”

A few of us discussed the debate while waiting in a food line at the Cubs home opener. The overwhelming majority were anti-ketchup for hot dogs. For the record, I opted for a Chicago-style veggie dog with no ketchup.

— John Wroblewski, online writer