Hot Diggedy Dog

Here in NYC, the hot dog is practically a cultural icon. Oh sure, other cities like Chicago have their dogs, but from my research on the web, the first hot dogs were sold in 1867, by one Charles Feltman, a German butcher, from a stand in Coney Island; he is also credited with the idea of the warm bun. And then, wouldn't you know it, one of Feltman's ex-employees went into competition, undercutting his former employer by 50% - that's right, charging a nickel to Feltman's dime - his name was Nathan Handwerker, and thus was born Nathan's Famous; the rest is history. (By the way folks, you're not really having a Nathan's hot dog when you buy one at a rest stop on the NJ Turnpike - it's gotta be in Coney, honey.)

Hot dogs are available everywhere in this town. Of course, there are dirty-water dogs, lukewarm and at a corner near you...usually Sabrett's, but other varieties abound. I haven't had one of those in a long mother effing time - I just don't trust 'em, not because they're Sabrett's but because of the dirty water. There are the dogs at Shake Shack - with all sorts of toppings, etc. Feh (meh?). I mean really, once you've taken the plunge for a hot dog, do you really want a salad on it? Shake Shack's for burgers, dude. There are dogs from vendors at the stadiums (although this year they'll probably cost $10 a pop) - usually warmed only by the residual heat of the surrounding air. Pass on those.

Don't get me wrong - there are some damn good dogs too. For instance, Crif Dogs, on St. Mark's Place, rocks. But to really enjoy the hot dog, you gotta enter the inner sanctum, that of PDT, where you can enjoy a deep-fried beauty with one of Don 's, John's, Jim's or Johnny's great cocktails. And who can forget Katz's, where the dogs are griddled - perhaps my favorite method.

Back when I was driving a cab, there was a great bar on the corner of Main and Roosevelt, in Flushing. Hot dogs and draft beers (Schmidt's, iirc) were a quarter each - and when you ordered a hot dog with mustard and kraut, the barman would call out - 1 Frank Sinatra, fully dressed. Those were the days.

Fast forward to today (well, yesterday) and one of the best bargain dogs to be had in the city. Yes, it's...

at Broadway and 72nd St. There are at least 3 Gray's Papayas listed on Menupages, and another 2 Papaya Kings, and I'm sure there are many more. I don't know if Gray's is a spinoff of Papaya King, or vice-versa, but this location is my favorite. If you're wondering about the name(s), they offer a papaya "drink" with many purported health qualities (rich in Vitamin A) . I love Gray's, and not because it's soothing and calming inside...

because it's not. But where else can you get a deal like this...

The recession special = 2 hot dogs + 1 drink ( not including pineapple or orange juices, freshly squeezed, or so we're told). But seriously, 2 dogs and a drink is $4.45...and that's after a raise in the base price of the dog from $1.25 to $1.50. And what a dog it is - griddled, as I like them, and just check out the griddle in action...

That's some serious dog action folks (from my count, about 100 dogs at any one time), along with steaming vats of some sort of onion product and sauerkraut. And when you can't decide how to have your hot dog, you gotta go both ways. Or, as I like to say, 1 Frank Sinatra fully dressed and 1 with mustard and onion. Half naked, or something like that. Bon Appétit.


Addendum: Some (one) commenter wonders why I like Gray's (well, other than the reason I stated in the comment immediately following Miami Danny's, i.e. the price). Basically, my favorite dog is a natural casing griddled dog - Katz's, Nathan's, Gray's and many of the older delis all cooked their dogs like this (let's leave kosher dogs out of this for now). It's snappy and it's crunchy and it's garlicky - and gets some flavor from the browning process, as opposed to the poached or boiled dog, i.e. the dirty water dog.

But it's often hard to tell the difference between Katz's, the various "papaya" places, Sabrett's, etc. and there's a reason...

They're all the same dog, manufactured by Marathon Enterprises, of East Rutherford, N.J., the parent company of Sabrett. They may vary in size, preparation and condiment selection (and Papaya King has Marathon add a secret spice to its mixture), but they're the same ol' dog. In fact, until a few years ago, Marathon made Nathan's hot dogs.

Read the whole story in this NY Times article, by that great Serious Eater, Ed Levine.