Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs: Simply the Best
Written: Jan 04 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: the best non-kosher hot dogs on the planet, good soups when they have them
Cons: somewhat expensive, different locations have vastly different menus, breakfast portions small
The Bottom Line: If you want good, quality fast food go to Nathan's. Particularly if you want hot dogs.
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| quasar's Full Review: Nathan's Famous |
My family doesn't keep kosher, but much of the time we eat kosher meat. It's generally much higher quality meat and better cuts than the non-kosher alternatives. There are certain types of meats that I wouldn't touch with a ten feet pole unless they're kosher because the difference in quality is so startling. Corned beef, for instance, and at one point in my life hot dogs. Except for Nathan's hot dogs that is, which are top quality beef only hot dogs that taste much like their kosher counterparts. I'm a little less picky about hot dogs now, but I still prefer either kosher or Nathan's to the alternatives.
When I moved to Boston there was a Nathan's in the Cambridge Galleria food court, a large mall conveniently located near stops on three different subway lines. I always ate there whenever I was in the area, choosing Nathan's over not only everything else in the food court, but also over the three sit-down restaurants in the mall. Unfortunately the rents in the food court drove out several of my favorite stores including the Nathan's so I can no longer get a fix whenever it pleases me.
I do make a point of visiting Nathan's whenever I visit New York City, and if I see one elsewhere I will generally partake. The hot dogs are that much better than the alternatives.
Unlike many fast food chains, Nathan's doesn't have the same set menu in every location nor do their stores look like cookie cutter mass produced buildings that could be transplanted from one location to another without anyone being the wiser. The stores vary widely in size as well. I've seen Nathan's that are little more than hot dog stands shoved into a parking lot and some that are large spacious buildings with multiple counters and lots of seating and everything in between.
Many of the larger stores have, unfortunately, gone out of business, particularly in Manhattan. Almost all of the Nathan's in Manhattan are now part of the ubiquitous food courts that line the major avenues. Long gone, but never forgotten, is the Nathan's that used to sit between Broadway and 7th Avenues just below Times Square. A wierd trapezoidal store that opened on both sides with six or more different counters and an amazingly large seating capacity for its location, this was my favorite Nathan's. The counters were enough to fascinate me as a child - rather than just having multiple lines to handle all of the customers, each counter sold different food. This was fun as a kid - one line for the hot dogs, another for the fries. One for pizza. One for seafood. A few others that sold other things I don't remember anymore. This was before most malls had food courts but it really was like a food court under a single management. The first time I went there and it wasn't anywhere to be found I cried. There was another, much smaller Nathan's a few blocks away where I actually ate but it wasn't the same.
Very few Nathan's sell pizza and seafood. I've only seen them in the largest stores and I've not been in one of those for years. For all I know, they've stopped selling them even in those branches. I do know that various stores do have some autonomy over which menu items to carry. Every single one sells hot dogs. All but the very smallest also have hamburgers, french fries, and fried chicken. Most have chili, hot dog nuggets, and chicken sandwiches. Less than half of the stores I've frequented also sell soups. A much smaller percentage, mostly located in Manhattan, open for breakfast and provide a small sampling of breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, coffee, and juice.
Their portions are generally large. The hot dogs are a bit larger than the standard normal hot dogs, although most definitely not giant quarter pound dogs. The burgers are quarter pound burgers but somehow seem a bit larger. Their small fries are fairly equivalent to the large fries at most fast food spots. Although on the large side, I wouldn't classify the portions as huge though, and if you normally need two burgers to feel full you probably will here as well.
I've only had breakfast at a Nathan's once. It was good, but the portions were a bit on the small side. They use biscuits for their sandwiches and they're not "sandwich size" biscuits but rather ordinary buttermilk biscuits. The breakfast staved off hunger for a few hours, so it served its purpose, but I wouldn't call it filling.
Although the menu items may vary from location to location, the quality of the food does not. It's very good. I almost always get at least one hot dog, and these days I usually stick solely to hot dogs and fries, but their hamburgers are also very good. Also made with high quality meat, their burgers are definitely better than most other fast food options. The few times I've tried the soups I was also impressed. They're hearty and filled with vegetables and pasta. The fries are the fat crinkly kind. They're very well made for that type, but I prefer thin crunchy fries. If you prefer steak fries or crinkle cut, then I'm sure you'll like Nathan's fries. The only thing I've tried I haven't liked is the fried chicken. It's not terrible, just not particularly good. It doesn't have much flavor and the skin generally isn't as crunchy as I'd like.
Unfortunately if you want quality food, you usually have to pay for it. Nathan's is definitely on the expensive side for fast food. Hot dogs generally run between $2.25 and $2.99, a small fries between $1.49 and $1.99, and hamburgers between $3.49 and $3.99. They offer meal specials consisting of a specified sandwich (or two), a small fries, and a medium soft drink. A meal consisting of two hot dogs, fries, and a drink generally runs between $5.99 and $6.99 depending on the location. A similar meal with a hamburger instead of the hot dogs runs around $5.49 at most locations.
If you have a craving for hot dogs and are fortunate enough have a Nathan's nearby, then definitely go there over other options. If you're hungry and in a hurry but don't generally like fast food, you might try Nathan's because the quality of the food, particularly the meat, is better than those other places you don't like.
Recommended:
Yes
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