The Hot Dog Post

Well, after a brief hiatus I'm back. Certainly, I wanted my first post to be about my new home in Manhattan. After a brief time here I knew that it would have to focus on food. While Chicago is certainly known for its food, NYC is generally regarded as the best of the best. While 2 weeks in the Big Apple is certainly not enough time to make a final judgement, I'd like to make a few early observances.

First of all, we moved to the Upper West Side which has rendered watching reruns of Seinfeld a whole new experience. So far, our cuinary experience has been less than satisfactory. Let's remove the whole price issue (not an easy aspect to ignore) because that would be unfair. Clearly, New York is super expensive, even in comparison to Chicago. It is hard to not get angry when you pay $20 for you and your fiancee to each get a sandwich and something to drink and the sandwich couldn't hold a Potbelly's Wreck's jock. I used to get a Wreck, chips, and a chocolate shake for $8. Surprisingly, for that same price in NYC you can get a really crappy panini and that's it.

Let's move on. Perhaps the problem is the restaurants that the UWS has to offer. That may be. We went to Taboon in Hell's Kitchen last Monday and each had an excellent Halibut (although expensive). So, again, way too early to make a final judgement on NY dining. But...

What's the ultimate test? Not the pricey, top of the line restaurants in my opinion. I'm sure Nobu is great as are all the famous super-expensive restaurants. But what about the ultimate average guy's meal? The hot dog? Well, we are "lucky" in that we live just a few blocks away from what the majority of New Yorkers vote as the "#1 hot dog in NYC". Gray's Papaya.

Today I had the "Recession Special" which is 2 dogs and a drink for $3.50. If you, like me, are from Chicago, you may want to make sure you're sitting down for this next part. Their hot dogs come topped with brown mustard (ok), sauerkraut (umm...), and cooked onions covered in BBQ sauce (WTF?)!!! Seriously, I know I'm biased but who are the ad wizards that came up with this campaign? The dog itself tasted okay. It was certainly edible, way better than an Oscar Mayer dog or the pork crap you get at a baseball game if you don't get them from the one Hebrew National stand in the corner. But compared to a real Chicago dog? Not even close.

I know there will be those that disagree. If you put ketchup on your hot dog then I am wasting your time anyway with this post as we clearly come from 2 different worlds, yours being the one where an opinion on food carries no merit.

So far, I have concluded that while New Yorkers may indeed have their finger on the pulse of fine dining, that when it comes to real food, the food of the common man, New Yorkers simply have no clue.

More to come...