Revisiting the Hot Dog

Early last week when I was starving but pressed for time, I looked around me on Sixth Avenue in Midtown to see a hot dog cart at every corner. It had been a while since I’d eaten one and seemed like the best plan at the time, but I sorely regretted my decision after just one bite. The meat was soggy and tasteless, and the only things that made it edible were the ketchup and mustard.

Fast-forward to Friday night: frankfurter redemption. I was looking to celebrate the end of the work week with an early martini and noticed that Allswell, one of my regular neighborhood martini joints, had just added a mini hot dog to the happy hour menu.

Half the size of a regular hot dog, the mini came in a potato roll made by my favorite baker and co-owner of Allswell, Sophie Kamin. The hot dog (chicken with some pork fat) was firm and tasty with a bit of kick from a squiggle of hot mustard. It was topped off with house-made relish sprinkled with a few spicy red pepper bits. This time, I had a grin on my face after just one bite.

The mini hot dog is only available during happy hour (from 4 to 7 p.m.) and late night (Wednesday through Saturday, from midnight to 3 a.m.). Personally, I know it will become a regular part of my 5 o’clock martini ritual!