Five hot dogs, one man, infinite toppings
There’s one month left in (unofficial) summer — and I’m grossly behind on my hot dog quota this year. As if he’d read my mind, my friend Gabe texted me the other week, suggesting we head to Jackson Heights for one of his favorite childhood dishes: the Colombian hot dog. What goes onto them? More like what doesn’t? Alongside puréed pineapple and salsa rosada (“pink sauce” made with ketchup and mayonnaise) you’ll see hard-boiled quail eggs and crushed, bottom-of-the-bag potato chips. These perros calientes are Colombia’s gift to the world. And as any Spanish speaker can tell you, they’re only the start when it comes to the hot dogs found across Latin America. I won’t hear any slander about the quality of the hot dogs or their buns. It’s about the contrasting textures, the bun’s unlikely endurance and of course, the excess of the toppings, balanced in strategic heaps over the top until you have to wonder: Is there really a hot dog under there? Together, we can find out.
Hot dogs or eggs?I started my spree in Jackson Heights, Queens, at La Perrada de Chalo, known for Colombian perros calientes con todo — “with everything,” and they mean it. The perro Hawaiano is a simple hot dog that gets a quick boil in water (some Colombians use Coca-Cola) before disappearing under not one or two but four sauces, including ketchup, mayonnaise and smooth pineapple salsa. If you like the Hawaiano, you’ll love the perro en salsa mora. It deploys many of the same spreads with the key addition of tart blackberry jam that cuts right through the layers of salt, sugar, potato chips and curly costeño cheese. You can find another take on the Colombian hot dog a few blocks south at Prontito in Elmhurst, open since 2006. I ordered three hot dogs — what was I thinking? — and was instantly humbled by the landslide of toppings. The perro Mexicano is buried under chipotle salsa, pico de gallo and bacon. The perro Hawaiano is slathered in pulpy pineapple sauce as thick as chutney. All of the dogs, I should add, come with a little quail egg skewered on the ends of the bun, like the tail of a toy balloon. Wash them down with one of the house juices infused with native Colombian fruits, like tangy tamarillo and delightfully sour lulo. La Perrada de Chalo, 83-12 Northern Boulevard (83rd Street), Jackson Heights, Queens Prontito, 40-25 Forley Street (Roosevelt Avenue), Elmhurst, Queens
No beans, no bolillo, no problemaThe bacon-wrapped hot dogs of Sonora, Mexico, are an architectural feat, built in a sturdy bolillo roll with pinto beans, chunky tomato and a kitchen sink of toppings. Sounds perfect. But in New York, the Sonoran hot dog has become our culinary cryptid. Every few years, someone on Reddit claims to have seen one, but by the time you arrive, it’s already slipped back into hiding. This summer, I finally tracked one down at Harlem Shake, the last place I’d ever think to look. The burger chain introduced a Sonoran hot dog when it opened in 2013, but these days, it returns as a seasonal special. (Find it at both locations through September.) It’s not exactly the genuine article — the bolillo is a garden-variety hot dog bun and the jalapeño salsa, another archetypal topping, is replaced with chipotle mayonnaise. Still, the essential ideas are there: The hot dog is swaddled in crunchy fried bacon and piled with smoky cherry pepper relish. Loving the Sonoran dog is easy. Wrestling it into your mouth? Not so much. 119 Fifth Avenue (Sterling Place), Park Slope, Brooklyn 100 West 124th Street (Malcolm X Boulevard), Harlem, Manhattan
Call them haute dogsThe chef Anderson Díaz has spent much of his life selling hot dogs. In Barquisimeto in central Venezuela, he pedaled around town selling perros calientes with crushed chips. After moving to New York, he brought his hot dogs to Jackson Heights at Hot Dog Maracay, a food cart that holds court in a Rite Aid parking lot until at least 2 a.m. every night. His experience shows: When I was there, Mr. Díaz prepared my hot dogs one at a time, insisting I finish one before he made another, so the bun wouldn’t collapse. It all made sense as soon as he handed over one of his classic dogs, buried under corn, cabbage and a blizzard of grated Cheddar. Are Venezuelan hot dogs nocturnal by nature? I started to think so after a recent visit to the dive bar Santa Salsa in Bushwick. From noon to 4 a.m. daily, you’ll find skaters and DJs struggling to fit their jaws around boiled hot dogs heaped with black beans, plantains and chopped steak. I usually visit during witching hour, but I also loved my lunch there the other week. From the heavily stickered front window, I paused to admire the mustard, ketchup, green guasacaca and cubes of fried cheese, all glistening in the sunlight. Rookie move: When I raised the dog to my lips, the bun sagged under their collective weight like a hammock. Hot Dog Maracay New York, 85-18 Northern Boulevard (85th Street), Jackson Heights, Queens Santa Salsa, 234 Starr Street (Wyckoff Avenue), Bushwick, Brooklyn
THE OTHER SECTIONS In Rome, it’s a pizza renaissance
It’s no secret that Italians are strict when it comes to their traditional foods. But even the Roman Empire eventually had to fall. The culinary writer Anya von Bremzen writes this week about the transformation of pizza al taglio in the Italian capital, where chefs are bucking tradition with toppings like wine-braised meatballs and cumin-scented lamb. Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note here. Need to know where to eat across the United States? Check out our guides to Atlanta, Austin Boston, Chicago, D.C., Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Seattle.
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