Dixie Dog

The Dixie dog is a North Carolina hot-dog variant from the Western North Carolina mountains, particularly Asheville and the surrounding Piedmont and Foothills counties. It is an all-beef red hot dog (often produced by the Jesse Jones or Carolina Hot Dog company) tinted bright red from paprika and food colouring, served split and griddled in a soft steamed bun.

The standard dressing is chili (a thin, beanless ground-beef chili), yellow mustard and finely chopped white onion. Coleslaw may be added in some shops but is the contested exception rather than the rule, distinguishing it from the closely related South Carolina "red slaw dog" of the Midlands. The dog's red colour is the visual signature — almost cartoonishly bright against the soft white bun.

Asheville's classic drive-in counters (Hot Dog King, Varsity Hot Dogs, the former Chris's), the Hendersonville and Brevard diner scene, and the broader WNC cookout culture all keep the Dixie dog on the menu. It is sold at minor-league baseball games in Asheville and at every gas-station barbecue stand along I-40 from the Tennessee line to Winston-Salem.