Katz’s Deli – Hot Dog Edition

One of the iconic restaurants in NYC is Katz’s Delicatessen. Started in the 1880’s, when the area was teeming with Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Katz’s have remained the anchor of the holy trinity of NYC’s immigrant Jewish cuisine on East houston Street, with Russ and Daughters and Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery. When Rob Reiner chose to film a pivotal scene in Katz’s for his classic film “When Harry Met Sally”, tourists to NYC added another location to their “must stop” spots. Now, Katz’s is famous for it’s house-cured pastrami and equally wonderful corned beef, but that’s not why I stopped in. See, the real unsung hero of Katz’s is their hot dog. A kosher beef frank, cooked on a griddle, the way the good lord intended, smothered with spicy brown mustard and sauerkraut, it’s one of the best in the city. And for $6, the same price as a hot dog at Nathan’s in Coney Island, a bit easier to swallow than the $29 Pastrami sandwich. (Note to those going to Katz’s, you can have a half pastrami, half corned beef for $1 more). Pair it with a knish, they heat the fried, square knishes on the same griddle, or better yet, eat the hot dog while you walk over to Yonah for their far superior baked knish. OK, I’m hungry now.