WHO: #melmunch (and #shaochow & #annoms)
WHAT: Nathan’s Famous: chili-cheese dog, fries, and fried shrimp platter
WHERE: Nathan’s Famous (the Original!) at Coney Island- Brooklyn, NYC, NY
WHEN: lunch/snack-time
Please note the evident glee on my face. I finally tried the infamous Nathan’s Hot Dog during the equally infamous Coney Island Mermaid Parade. On June 20, #annoms and I headed over to Coney Island, despite the horrible weather. #annoms was excited about the Mermaid Parade, a bizarre Coney Island summer tradition in which hundreds of bejeweled, semi-nude New Yorkers parade wearing their mermaid/man best. I was excited about my hot dog.***
Nathan’s Famous was a hot dog stand founded by a Polish immigrant in 1916. Fast forward 100 years, and the original location is still standing strong. He he (shoot me). The fries were crunchy, yet had the substantial amount of potato any steak-fries fan would appreciate. The famous Nathan’s all-beef hot dog was slathered with chili and that mystery orange-yellow cheese, the ingredients of which one would (wisely) choose not to mull over. I’m not sure if it was the taste of warm, fried food in a chilly, rainy, roughly-500-umbrellas-swatting-my-face day, or the relevance of my meal in Coney Island, the capital of kitschy Americana, but it was wonderful. My indulgent meal sat like a rock in my stomach for hours on end, but it’s all part of the experience, no?
Pictured above is my first meal at Nathan’s Famous, the not so famous fried shrimp platter. But I just couldn’t resist. On my first trip to Coney Island, #shaochow and I took the same long F-line ride, with full intention to spend the day on the beach, riding a few amusement park rides, and eating the infamous Nathan’s hotdog. When we arrived, though, it was freezing. We went there in MAY, but okay NY, whatever. People were wearing UNIQLO puffer coats– but I digress. The smell of fried seafood wafted in the air, the seafood entrees were obnoxiously large and, in preparation for an indulgent meal, #shaochow and I had arrived hungry. Even the calories for the meal, displayed for all to see on the menu, was not enough to tide me over. Don’t worry; it satisfied, and was completely worth it. It was overpriced and not particularly delicious, but I ordered fast food fried seafood, and that’s exactly what I received. It can’t get any more Coney Island than that.
***correction: I had also been waiting perhaps my entire life to experience THE Nathan’s Famous hot dog. I’ve been an avid watcher of the 4th of July hot dog eating contest at Coney for years, and have often talked about this dog with my dad. Coming here was a dream for me–I simply used the Mermaid Parade as a lure to get #melmunch to come back to Coney a second time since she had already been! -#Annoms out
chowwithme 