Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs

Nathan’s at Coney Island. Photos courtesy of Nathan's Famous, Inc.

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs on Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York represented another one of my parent’s favorite spots to bring us children. Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker, started Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs in 1916 on the board walk in Coney Island, New York. My mom had a summer job on Coney Island that she still mentions from time to time. She told me that people came to Coney Island principally to enjoy its amusement park and to stroll up and down the board walk trying the various eateries such as Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs. Nathan Handwerker’s wife Ida developed a hot dog recipe that quickly became a hit with common folk, gangsters, actors, and politicians. FDR enjoyed the hot dogs so much that he had them served to dignitaries at White House events and sent them to the Yalta summit to share with Britain’s Winston Churchill and the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin. New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller supposedly said in the 1960s that no one could successfully run for public office in the state without being photographed eating a Nathan’s Famous hot dog. I’m not sure when the restaurant opened in Yonkers but I remember that in the 1960s and 70s my brothers and I loved those long skinny and shinny hot dogs. We each had preferred toppings. I ate my beef hot dog smothered with grilled onions topped with spicy mustard. An order of Nathan’s distinctly ridged cut thick French fries with ketchup and an ice cold root beer complemented the hot dog perfectly. Recently I took my 4 and 6 year olds to the Yonkers location to enjoy the experience. The restaurant to my surprise looked relatively the same with some renovations and many additions to the menu. Today Nathan’s hot dogs are sold in supermarkets in all 50 states. But to get the real experience you have to have at a Nathan’s in Yonkers or even better Coney Island.

More photos of Nathan’s restaurants: http://www.nathansfamous.com/PageFetch/getpage.php?pgid=39