Though there are scores of food trucks in New York offering a wide array of top-quality food from around the globe, the Sabrett “dirty water” hot dog still flourishes. Are they good? No. They are boiled and float in salty hot water. When still wet, they are plunked on a mediocre roll. However, when this soggy mess is topped with mustard, sauerkraut and the concoction known as “pushcart onions” it appeases hunger. A culinary mystery. The best NYC hot dogs exist off the street. Papaya King (various locations) still rules. And, happily they are available online. So are the very good hot dogs served at Katz’s old-time deli on Houston Street. Schaller and Weber, the great German sausage and pork store, ships wieners (and knockwurst) so that true hot dog (or choucroute) feasts are now available for HG to enjoy in New Mexico and PEI. (BSK is ambivalent about these enticements). Strange fact: Best New York hot dog and kraut was served at a long-gone fast food counter in the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Eighth Avenue. With memory clouded by nostalgia, HG longs for the “specials” (bigger than a frank, smaller than a knockwurst) that were served many decades ago at the Tower Delicatessen and Restaurant on Kingsbridge Road in The Bronx. Long replaced in the neighborhood by Leche y Miel Dominican restaurant and other ethnic eateries (as HG has noted in a previous post). Hey, a Shrimp Mofonguito (lush) at Leche y Miel is a tasty sign of cultural and culinary diversity, says HG.
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