Where’s the Best Hot Dog?

ANCHORAGE - You can't have a Fourth of July without a barbecue and you can't have a Fourth of July barbecue without a hot dog, which is one of the holiday's most popular foods. But who has the best version in town? We sent our resident hot dog lover KTVA CBS 11's Corey Allen-Young out on the streets to find out.

There's nothing better than eating a good dog on the Fourth of July, and as the unofficial hot dog taste tester for the day, my tummy and I easily found plenty of people willing to show off their grilling skills.

What's a Fourth of July without a hot dog – the all-American treat that we all love. And even though we don't always rush to eat them, one thing is certain on Independence Day, we do enjoy cooking them in a variety of tasty ways.

“We are doing an all-American thing,” said Barry Selby who was preparing to barbecue. “Me and my boy talked it over last night and here we are.” Using everything from reindeer to polish, it’s grilling at its finest.

When we asked who had the best hot dogs in town, most people were pretty confident to say it was them. “Well, we will find out in a minute,” said barbecuer Frederick Hill.

There's no joking about Ale Fonoti's cooking. He gave us a sample of his island pork and spicy and regular links that melt in your mouth. “Yes this is the place to have this wonderful Fourth of July barbecue,” said Fonoti.

It’s a feast Pio Tyrell and his family know all about. They have their hot dogs but are adding other foods to their meal like turkey meat and turkey tails. “That’s our delicacies,” said Tyrell.

But what's a dog without a little culture. We tried out a version from Sonora, Mexico. A beef sausage wrapped in bacon topped with onions, pico de gallo and a chipotle sauce that will awaken your taste buds. “This is actually my mother's recipe,” said Rodolfo Portillo, who is the owner of Doggy Style, which makes the Mexican hot dog.

Creative creations that no matter what version you try, all of them taste good. The Fourth of July is the biggest hot dog eating holiday of the year. 155 million of them are consumed across the country. On average each person eats about 60 of them a year.