The main event up close ?-- note the taut, snappy exterior. (Photo: Larry Olmsted for USA TODAY)
The scene: The annual July Fourth hot dog-eating contest at the original Nathan's in New York City's Coney Island has become such a big deal that it is televised nationally. At the 98th edition last week, both the reigning men's and women's champs, Joey Chestnut and Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas successfully defended their titles. Their names will go up on the wall of champions over the entrance to the original Nathan's on Surf & Stillwell Avenues, opened in 1916, two blocks from the beach, and just reopened in late May following severe damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Despite the notoriety and history of the Coney Island location, which is well worth a visit, you do not have to go there, or even to New York, to experience the most famous hot dog in America - the ones FDR served the King and Queen of England in 1939. Nathan's franks are sold in supermarkets in all 50 states, there are 263 franchise locations, including many in airports, casinos and stadiums, as well as overseas, plus five larger company-owned stores in the greater New York area (including the large Yonkers location which was demolished and is being rebuilt for the end of 2013). Last year Nathan's sold 425 million hot dogs.
However, you do have to trek to Coney Island if you want some of the more esoteric menu items such as frogs legs (really), sold only at the original. It is a huge place, with a sort of enclosed wrap-around awning or porch which you enter and then order at the counter, and certain registers serve only certain items. A newer location, affectionately known as 'Little Nathans,' though still quite large, sits two blocks away, right on the famous Coney Island boardwalk. Overlooking the sea, it is a nicer experience, with picnic tables on the wood planking for taking in the salt air and carnivalesque Boardwalk Empire setting. Both are very convenient to the aquarium, the minor league ballpark and the Luna Park amusement park containing the famous Cyclone rollercoaster.
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Though less historic and gritty, the Boardwalk location still has a much larger menu than most franchise locations, featuring corn dogs, pretzel dogs, buffalo wings, grilled- and fried-chicken sandwiches, fried clam rolls, fried shrimp, fish and chips, lobster rolls, beer and many other things you won't find at most Nathans. There is something special about going to one of these Brooklyn spots, with a frenetic New York atmosphere that makes it as much an experience as a meal. A small subset of the franchises offer a larger 'branded' menu similar to the Boardwalk location, but most, such as the airport counters, focus on the chain's two most famous products, all-beef hot dogs and crinkle-cut fries, served with the signature red plastic two-pronged French fry 'pitchfork.' While these may lack the ambiance, they serve some pretty good fast food.
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Reason to visit: Hot dog, hot dog variations, corn dog, fries
MORE: Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a BBQ contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com. Some of the venues reviewed by this column provided complimentary services. Read previous columns
The food: Whether at a big-menu or small-menu location, the heart and soul of Nathan's Famous is the hot dog, pre-cooked and heated to serve on flat-top grills. Originally sold for a nickel, founder Nathan Handwerker, whose wife Ida came up with the recipe for the hot dogs, famously pulled off one of the all-time marketing coups when he offered free hot dogs to doctors and nurses from nearby hospitals - as long as they ate in their uniforms. With a line visible from the street, Nathan's hot dogs quickly gained a reputation as a health food, a trait they probably lose when you eat dozens of them in one sitting as in the July Fourth contest. They have remained popular since, and are now widely available for making at home.
'Little Nathan's' is in the heart of the famous boardwalk, with plenty of outdoor seating.(Photo: Larry Olmsted for USA TODAY)
There are better hot dogs and there are better hot-dog preparations ( Connecticut and New Jersey's fried versions, profiled in this column, come to mind) but the all-beef Nathan's version is a very good hot dog and probably the best that is widely available, consistent and reliable nationwide. They are skinny and folks from some part of the country might find them slight, but they have nice snap to the exterior and a pure, beefy, natural taste, reliant more on the meat than spices. It is the prototypical New York City-style hot dog, and since you will probably want to get two, the size isn't as much of an issue. Old-time Nathan's loyalists (like my mother) insist that the dogs taste better at the original Stillwell Avenue location than elsewhere and swear they are cooked differently, but I've had them there and many other places and I think this is just a romantic myth.
The hot dogs come with a choice of sauerkraut or fried onions, the latter being the red, tangy, saucy variety unique to Big Apple street carts, while the kraut is bland - I'd go onions. Beyond this there are myriad hot-dog options, including chili, chili and cheese, cheese and bacon, and so on. The corn dog, served on a stick, is the big menu surprise and a real standout, with a pronounced cornmeal taste that screams actual corn, not just breading or batter, and complements rather than overwhelms the hot dog inside. I don't know if there is such a thing as a 'great' corn dog, but this is pretty close, the best I've had.
The fries are the other must-have item. They are not as crunchy as they look, since they run towards the dark side of the color spectrum, and are tender and very hearty. These are more like crinkle nuggets than crinkle fries, short and squat, only about an inch and a half long. If you like steak fries, you'll probably love these, but if your taste is more towards the shoestring/crispy variety you might be ambivalent. I'm usually in the latter camp, but as crinkle cuts go, these are excellent and hard to stop eating,
The rest of the menu is simply adequate, and if nothing else, delivers good value. The fried clams are certainly not the whole belly fresh versions found at New England clam shacks, but they are reasonably tasty, especially for the price. Ditto for the lobster salad roll, with chopped lobster - no chunks - and too much celery on a lettuce base. It's not up to Maine standards, but it's still good value. The fried shrimp also taste frozen, but Nathan's does a good job with the deep fryer.
If you want a hot dog and fries, Nathan's delivers in a tasty way all across the country. If you want a hot dog and fries with a whole lot of nostalgic atmosphere, the two Coney Island locations deliver in a big way. And don't forget the corn dog.
What regulars say: 'My brother and I used to sneak out of our room, climb down the fire escape, and walk to the original for hot dogs with change in our pockets,' said my mother, who grew up in Coney Island and has been eating at Nathan's for eight decades.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes, but more as part of the revived and nostalgic Coney Island experience than just for the food.
Rating: Mmmm (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $-$$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: Original, 1310 Surf Avenue, Coney Island, NYC; 718-946-2202; http://www.nathansfamous.com
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