OVERVIEW: CULTURE & COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES:
Today. the Nathan's Famous is the cultural institution not only of Coney Island area of Brooklyn but also New York City. Its July the 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest is aired by the TV news worldwide. Its stalls for selling its signature hot dogs are seen everywhere in this city, even at the court houses district in the downtown Brooklyn (by the Jay Street - Metro Tech subway station). Its signature vacuum packed hot dogs are also commonly found at any grocery stores in NYC and beyond. Packaging, marketing and making money. They know what they are doing for promoting their commercial products and advancing the sale VERY effectively. This is one of the great American commercial success stories. On this single issue, I gave it 3 stars here for the review. But the quality of the foods they serve there is a completely different story, sadly.
FOODS:
The art of foods and the trend of the favorite flavors changed dramatically since the first "Hot Dog" was invented in Coney Island. Eating foods openly at the beach and amusement park became fashionable. It was a new way of eating then. Unlike any previous centuries, going to this beach & the newly built grand scale amusement parks here in Coney Island Beach became the new, fancy, upscale, sophisticated, and highly fashionable cultural trend then. (And this is why you see people in the formal, fancy, and elegant outfits in the historical monochrome photos of the Coney Island beach and the amusement park here in the turn of the century.)
The Hot Dog as a newly invented mysterious fast food in Coney Island came with new excitements (just as the live human freak shows & side shows proudly entertained people behind the tents of "Ten-In-One" and "Single-O" here then). Many people did not even know what was it made of, according to the historical records of the time. It lost mysteries today. Also, we can eat their signature hot dog all over the city unlike 100 years ago. It lost the location value, too; we do not have to visit Coney Island to enjoy it any longer.
Regarding to the Nathan' s Hot Dog (and other foods served at their chain of establishments), their taste (and the prices) are all the same at its chain eateries spread around this five boroughs of New York City. Nevertheless, for many people (including my out of town friends visiting Coney Island) always have the hot dog at the Nathan's Famous at the Surf Avenue (the original location) and at the Boardwalk location here. (Many call it "Tourist Trap" but their business is doing excellently well. They always have a long line of customers lining up for their foods unlike any other competitors in the immediate area. The single hot dog (several varieties) is about $5 (rather pricey) but people never get tired of them. For me, who barely eat at any American restaurants/eateries at all, this is a big mystery itself.
SERVICES:
The wait at this specific location is not too long, even though it was really packed most of the day. The cashier also kindly give you suggestions of foods if you can not decide what to order when you visit here for the first time. They seem all very well-trained and professional for their jobs despite their crazy busy and stressful jobs.
There is a small condiment station right in front of this establishment. It is where you can load up on the ketchup, mustard and relish AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. In fact, some kids playfully piled them up like a MOUNTAIN on their hot dogs and French fried. LOL The counter and the immediate area of the crazy busy Boardwalk is constantly wiped and swept by the staffs - very impressive.
FINAL NOTE 1:
Personally, I had the Nathan's Hot Dogs and their other foods on the occasions of the social gatherings, parties, and my video shootings by the TV stations & video companies, as an internationally active artist & the famous street art performer. Unfortunately, I was not so thrilled eating hot dogs from the beginning; I am not a fan of artificially mixed meat (hot dog style sausages called "franks") and their breads (hot dog bun). Nevertheless, if you enjoy those American fast foods, God bless you!
FINAL NOTE 2:
I wrote a detailed review of the original Nathan's Famous. Please read it here in yelp :-)
FINAL NOTE 3: A hot dog, also known as a frankfurter, dog, or wiener, is a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed and served in a partially sliced bun. The different food with the same name, "hot dog" is a type of sausage sandwich, and comes with the "hot dog bun". These two different foods are commonly mixed up by the mass. Thankfully, at the grocery stores, the word "Nathan's Franks" is officially used for their vacuum-packed hot dogs.
Dr. Takeshi Yamada & Seara (Coney Island sea rabbit)
Photos were added. read more