A steamed hot dog on a soft bun topped with chili, mustard and chopped raw onions. The Varsity has served the same version since 1928 at North Avenue downtown.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Frank Gordy founded The Varsity at North Avenue and Spring Street in downtown Atlanta in 1928. The chili dog, fried onion rings and Frosted Orange became Atlanta soda-fountain canon. Curb service was a fixture into the 2010s. The Varsity is among the largest drive-in restaurants in the world by daily volume; the chili dog is the canonical Atlanta sports-game pre-meal. Multiple satellite locations across the metro since the 1980s.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. The bun matters; use a soft, white, no-character supermarket bun. Crusty bread fights the chili.
The Varsity at North Avenue in downtown Atlanta since 1928 runs chili dogs, onion rings and Frosted Orange at a drive-in counter format. Located in Midtown.
Try: Chili dog with onion rings
Tip: Order in Varsity slang: 'two dogs walking' = two hot dogs to go. The onion rings and Frosted Orange are the standard upsell.
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