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Survey
Hot dogs
Also see: Cheesecake | Burgers | Potato knishes
The fan: Michael Monfre, 23, retail store manager. “I ate two dogs daily for four months. Finally I realized I had to have a salad.”
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| Gray’s Papaya (402 Sixth Ave at 8th St, 212-260-3532; 539 Eighth Ave at 37th St, 212-904-1588; 2090 Broadway at 72nd St, 212-799-0243) This muscular Queens native knows his beef: Monfre spent his teen years working in a butcher shop. He’s been avidly downing Gray’s hot dogs since discovering them two years ago, and grins when he recalls the day coworkers alerted him to the two-dogs-and-a-drink special. When Monfre sinks his teeth into the all-beef Sabrett—he takes his with ketchup, mustard and onions—he declares, “I like the way the natural casing breaks in my mouth.” | Westville (210 W 10th St at Bleecker St, 212-741-7971; 173 Ave A at 11th St, 212-677-2033) We ask Monfre to consider the Niman Ranch Fearless Frank, known for its juiciness, girth (twice Sabrett’s) and grass-fed beef filling. Westville grills its dogs, imparting an attractive char, and tops them with lightly caramelized onions. But the meat maven calls out the Niman instantly for its lack of snap: “Without that natural casing,” he says, “it’s very soft and chewy.” As for the taste, Monfre notes that the “big guy” is “too spicy.” He prefers Gray’s, hands down. |
