Eleven Madison Park Hot Dog Stand
Do I have to say this? I almost hate to do it. I was passing through Madison Square Park at lunchtime today, so I stopped by the hot dog stand to try their New York hot dog. I had tried the Chicago dog a little more than a week ago.
I think it's kind of overrated. I know, it's a hot dog, so how great can it be? But with all that stuff on top, you can hardly taste the dog. The New York dog comes with a big gooey mess of onions, sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup, which kind of hides the hot dog taste and texture (maybe that's the point, but if you don't like hot dogs, you just shouldn't eat them).
The Chicago hot dog is kind of nice. It also has a little too much stuff, but it's fresh, clean-tasting stuff, like lettuce, tomatoes and hot peppers, neon green relish and atomic yellow mustard. The crunchiness of the toppings is a nice contrast to the snap and bite of the meat (am I allowed to call it meat?).
That's not to say I wouldn't be there often if I worked in the area. And the price is really right for both. I'm just finding that I might be a bit of a hot-dog purist. (That's quite a contradiction in terms, isn't it?)
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I'm with you on the hotdog thing. Gray's Papaya, one or two plain dogs, let me add my own mustard/catsup (which a dear friend and I call catsturd, gross but still funny!). Good, better, just as cheap.
And thanks for your comments on my wineblog the other day. Sorry I've been too out of it to respond before!
oh, and not to be an obsessive commentator, after all, but as far as too much fresh pasta goes you can put cut fresh pasta in the freezer, let it dry there for a bit, then wrap it tightly (try making "nests" of fettucine and then putting them into ziplock freezer bags once frozen enough not to stick. And take the term "nests" literally loosely!! As long as it is in managable bundles, fine). It keeps reasonably well for two weeks. Just cook it longer after. I learned this from a friend who learned it from her (very modern) Italian mother.
I just love the hot dogs at this stand. They are a real treat!!
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