Culinary Masterpieces

The weird thing about New York is that all of its well-known, well-loved foods are so agonizingly and stupidly simple. Bagels — they’re just bread! Pizza — just cheese and bread! Pickles — brined cucumbers! And who can forget hot dogs? Fortunately, The Times’ Ed Levine bursts at least one myth right off the bat:

You know those hot dogs that you know and love, and can’t wait to eat this time of year? The ones served at Katz’s Delicatessen, Gray’s Papaya, Papaya King, the legendary Dominick’s truck in Queens and the best “dirty water dog” carts?

They’re all the same dog, manufactured by Marathon Enterprises, of East Rutherford, N.J., the parent company of Sabrett. They may vary in size, preparation and condiment selection (and Papaya King has Marathon add a secret spice to its mixture), but they’re the same ol’ dog. In fact, until a few years ago, Marathon made Nathan’s hot dogs.

Still, he can’t help himself from waxing poetic about yet another totally pedestrian item. No wonder Europeans think we’re weird:

So what constitutes a great hot dog? To me, it’s a grilled, kosher-style frank served on a lightly toasted bun with slightly spicy mustard and a homemade onion or pickle relish that is neither too sweet nor too hot. The Old Town Bar on East 18th Street not only toasts the bun that encases its grilled natural-casing all-beef Sabrett dog, it butters it as well. Sublime! Sauerkraut is also fine atop my dogs, though every once in a while I crave one prepared Southern style, with cole slaw. My ideal dog should fit neatly into its bun, sticking out by at most an inch on each end.

The key is context, and if you’ve ever traipsed out to Coney Island to wait in line for a hot dog — a hot dog! — you probably understand what he means:

But when you are surrounded by screaming Mets fans at Shea or Cyclones fans at KeySpan Park in Coney Island, and the score is tied, and you bite into one of those less than exemplary franks slathered with mustard, you just might be having the peak hot dog experience of all.