Stan Horwitz said:In article <[email hidden]>,
Margaret Suran <[email hidden]> wrote:
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:I have never heard of Papaya Dog or Papaya King either, but the hot dogs
at Gray's Papaya are awesome!Stan, If you have never eaten a Papaya King hot dog, you are in for a
treat the next time we get together. I will treat you to a couple of
them. There is a Papaya King near where I live, on Third Avenue and
86th Street. :o)I am looking forward to it. How do the hot dogs at Papaya King differ
from those at Gray's Papaya, and why do both these hot dog eateries have
the word "papaya" in their name? 🙂
The hot dogs in both probably come from the same source. They are the
old fashioned kind, with casings, not skinless. They are grilled and
you can specify whether you want them well done or less so. At Papaya
King, you can even ask to have the roll toasted, for the extra crunch.
Probably at Gray's, too, but I don't really know. The nearest on
is on the Upper West Side and I have not had a frankfurter there in
many years.
Papaya Dog seems to be a fairly new venture.
It is my guess that Papaya in their names come from a time when the
exotic drinks that are available in those places were the attraction,
not the hot dogs. At the time Papaya King started in business in the
1930's, great hot dogs could be found in so many places, nobody went
out of his/her way to go to a special deli for one. In 1940, when I
came to New York City, there were Jewish delis all over the city and
there were many hot dog vendors, who sold them from carts and in
restaurants and they only cost either a nickel or a dime, depending
where one bought it. With sauerkraut or onions or relish, mustard and
in some places, with a small glass of orange or grape drink.
There were a couple of huge Hot Dog Emporiums on Times Square, but I
do not remember their names. Drinks made with Papayas, Mangos,
Pineapples, coconuts and other fruit and with fancy names for these
drinks, all unusual at that time, were rarely found in these places.
I remember the first Pina Colada I ever had at a Papaya place. I
didn't like it very much. Still don't.
http://www.hollyeats.com/PapayaKingNY.htm