JJ's Red Hots
1514 East Blvd., Charlotte, NC
980-225-8880
Category: Food
Award: Best Hot Dog - 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018. Best Southern-Style Hot Dog, The Char-Heel - 2016
Year Won: 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Pick: Voters' Pick
In a red plastic basket, oval-shaped and lined with crinkly paper, a pillow-soft bun arrives with one expertly charred hot dog layered with oozy chili (the kind made for topping, like gravy), bright Eastern Carolina slaw (the white kind, not the red), diced white onions, and a switchback squiggle of yellow mustard. Or, spoken like a Carolinian: mustard, slaw, chili, ’n’ onions.