Iconic Food #2: Nathan's Hot Dog
No trip to Coney Island would be complete without a stop at Nathan's Famous. If you've never had a Nathan's hot dog, you're simply not a New Yorker. Now a worldwide chain, Nathan's started out as a simple hot dog stand near the beach in Brooklyn's Coney Island, owned and operated by Nathan Handwerker. Originally from Poland, Handwerker immigrated to New York in 1916 looking for the American dream. He sure found it.
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Buddy, Can You Spare a Nickel?
Handwerker worked at Feltman's German beer garden which some say may be the birthplace of the humble dog on a bun. Feltman was a good guy, but he charged 10 cents for his frankfurters -- much to the consternation of some of the locals. He soon had a competitor on his hands.
Handwerker, with the encouragement of local singing waiter Eddie Cantor and piano player Jimmy Durante, went into business for himself, undercutting his former boss and only charging a nickel for his franks. A natural businessman, he even threw in a pickle for free with each purchase. Handwerker's business was so successful that he needed to hire help to keep it running. He found it in the lovely Ida Greenwald. A savvy businesswoman as well as a looker, Handwerker didn't just hire her, he married her!
The lovely Mrs. Handwerker brought a unique American-style dowry into the marriage — her grandma's secret special sauce recipe, which soon adorned each hot dog, giving Nathan's franks a leg up on the competition. However, the competition didn't take Handwerker's success lightly and started spreading rumors about the cleanliness of Nathan's kitchen. To fight back, the Handwerkers had some of their friends dress up like doctors from nearby Coney Island Hospital and belly up to the hot dog bar. When the locals saw the good doctors ordering up dog after dog, the rumors ceased.
Handwerker's luck continued. By 1923 the local subway line was extended by the city into Coney Island, bringing with it massive, hungry crowds that needed to pass by Nathan's Famous to get to the local amusements.
Of Criminals, (Actors) and Kings
Nathan's was an astonishing success, and the Handwerkers were soon able to upgrade to a brick and mortar store on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues (where it still stands to this day). The unique taste and quality of the hot dog continued to captivate New Yorkers from all five boroughs, and became the cornerstone of many a family's trip to the beach. News quickly spread around the country. Legendary Chicago gangster, Al Capone, couldn't get enough. Even Hollywood wasn't immune. Cary Grant became a Nathan's regular, along with old pal Jimmy Durante. Nathan's hot dogs knew no borders, reaching international fame when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt served them to the King and Queen of England in 1939, and then later shipped them off as a token of good will to heads of state, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.
Years later, Walter Matthau would leave a request that Nathan's hot dogs be served at his funeral.
Everybody's Favorite Contest
It wouldn't be the Fourth of July without the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. A crowd-pleaser since the 1970s, thousands of people gather at Coney Island, and hundreds of thousands more watch on TV as men and women compete to see who can eat the most hot dogs and buns within a 10 minute time frame. The current record holders are Joey Chestnut with 69 hot dogs, and Sonya Thomas with 45.
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Corey Whelan is a freelance writer in New York. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
