I’ll admit, I had my doubts – is this creation simply a Danny Meyer gimmick? Or would this juxtaposition of smoked brisket and hot dog bring honor to both Midtown and classic New York flavors? And why is this egg cream so darn expensive? I case the encased meat offerings after the jump.

Before we delve into the mysteries of Shake Shack’s deli dog, their “Shack-cago Dog” ($4.25) deserves mention. The Chicago style hotdog, an ode to crunchy, boldly flavored pickled vegetables, is my favorite fare out of Chicago’s many contributions to the world of gastronomy. Here, it’s admirably recreated with conspicuous attention to detail, right down to the poppy seed bun and distinctive notes of celery salt. Had I been sipping on an Old Style beer instead of an egg cream, I could have easily mistaken my locale for Lincoln Park, instead of Midtown Manhattan.

Speaking of egg creams, I should mention that I’m severely lactose intolerant, but these egg creams needed to be sampled and assessed. I managed a few tentative sips (the things I do for Midtown Lunch), and was pleased with the delicate chocolate flavor, fortified with the creaminess of Shake Shack custard- which they use in lieu of milk (hence the increased price). I am not an expert in egg creams, but this version is unmistakably delicious. Had I possessed the genetic propensity to properly dispose of milk sugars, I’d have finished this with gusto, and perhaps grabbed another cup to go.

Man cannot survive on hot dogs and egg creams alone, so I also decided to supplement with Shake Shack’s controversial fries ($2.75). Yes, they’re frozen and produced en masse, however these contentious fries arrive steaming hot, satisfyingly crispy, and pleasantly potato-y. Frozen or not, they’re nearly unparalleled in quality for the price paid.

And finally the main event… the Deli Dog special. Atop of the all natural beef hotdog sits a restrained but juicy portion of pastrami. Despite the meager smattering of deli meat, there was enough to get that distinctive, salty, smoky, tender, beefiness that makes Katz’s one of the best delis in New York. For curious lovers of Katz’s stuck in Midtown, the Deli Dog is worthy of investigation. However, the purist in me would prefer to stick with Shake Shack’s excellent burgers, post scripted with a dinnertime visit to the original Katz’s Deli in the LES. Some things are just better left alone.

Shake Shack, 691 8th Ave. (on 44th Street), 646-435-0135

It’s a great price for sure. For toppings, you can get some diced onions with some mystery red sauce, or sauerkraut or neither. The counter has self-help mustard and ketchup if you feel so inclined. The guy behind the counter wouldn’t say how long the deal would last. I feel like they’ll keep it going if customers keep coming in the door. As a comparison, the Papaya Dog (a completely different chain on 5th and 33rd) sells their hot dog for $1.50. Uh… yea, I’ll take mine at a third of the price please. The hot dogs are grilled nicely and are as close to heaven as you can get for 50 cents. It’s not gourmet but it hits the spot. I hope the recession ends sooner than later, but hopefully this deal sticks around for a while.

Gray’s Papaya, 539 8th Ave (btw 37+38th), 212-904-1588

Mr Pink in the study with the candlestick. Actually there was no Mr. Pink in the game of Clue, but there is a Mr. Pink’s hot dog in Beacon’s new Sidedoor that we brought to you yesterday. The Side Door has a burger and hot dog on the menu. You’ve already seen the burger (it’s one that’s been approved by Mamacita), so I went by to check out what this hot dog thing was all about.

The menu said it’s “2 grilled beef hot dogs, with parmesan, grilled onions, and sweet pepper relish in a po-boy roll”. First thing you gotta know is that all of this is pre-made. They had some sort of temperature controlled container where they had a bunch of pre-wrapped hot dogs. It was actually a bit of a let down at the beginning because ready-made food feels less like a deal than freshly cooked food for $10. Some of you voiced concerns that the double dog with chips and coke doesn’t feel like much of a deal, but I can tell you that it’s a good amount of food.

They grilled the bun for the hot dogs, which was a nice touch. But when it basically sits there, wrapped in aluminum, there’s some steaming action that softens any enhancements the grilling had imparted. On one side of the bun was the sweet onion relish, and the other side was this parmesan spread or something.

The two hot dogs in one bun means that you’re really pigging out and stuffing your face. The pepper relish and parmesan helped to kick up the flavors a bit, but I still thought the hot dog needed some additional help from the mustard packet. I had no idea that two hot dogs could be this filling (putting down a couple at a barbecue is usually no big thing) but this meal ended up stuffing me.

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re not getting made to order meals for $10 from Beacon.  But the Side Door thing does give us a nice opportunity to get an affordable lunch from a nice restaurant.  And we all know the burger is damn good…

Beacon, 25 W 56th St (btw. 5th and 6th), 212-332-0500

Related:
Is the Hallo Berlin Cart Returning This Fall?

So it looks like Eliana, the $1 hot dog lady on the NW corner of 43rd and 6th, has survived the onslaught. You might remember that she was part of the crew of carts that got kicked out of that spot by the cops awhile back for parking on a sidewalk that was supposedly too narrow to be a legal vending spot for carts. She even had her cart confiscated, despite the fact that later measurements clearly showed that the sidewalk was the proper width. The other two carts (which included the 3rd El Rey del Sabor cart) decided to cut their losses and set up on the NE corner of 43rd and 6th. Eliana tried that for a bit but, after working the opposite corner for many years without issue, she was eager to return. Thankfully the Street Vendor Project (which hosts the Vendy Awards every year) stepped in and not only helped her get her cart back but also helped deflect any other obstacles to her returning to her original corner.

It looks like she’s there for good again (on the NW corner of 43rd and 6th), and last week I decided to swing by and actually try one of these $1 hot dogs.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a hot dog I didn’t like. Sure, grilled is preferred to boiled, and I’m a big fan of the hot dog/sausage topped with crazy ingredients. But it’s hard to screw up a regular old hot dog in my book. It’s just a mysteriously delicious food (emphasis on the mysterious), and Eliana’s $1 hot dog cart is no exception. You have your choice between “sausage” or “hot dog”, and I went with sausage- because it just looked like a plumper, redder hot dog. I’m a big fan of the grilled onions, so I went with those plus ketchup (but she has sauerkraut and mustard if your prefer either of those.) Bun was typical, and the thing just tasted like a boiled hot dog. The grilled onions were way to watery (too much tomato sauce, and not enough onions) but the thing cost $1 so no real complaints. Truthfully, what do you expect for $1? It’s obviously not going to be a high quality dog, or a high quality bun for that price. The only important thing is survival, and I can say I came out of the hot dog experience unscathed. These $1 hot dogs are completely safe to eat, and easily the cheapest lunch in Midtown. (Or snack, if you so choose to think of them that way.)

I’m sure there are better hot dogs to be had in Midtown (and feel free to suggest some in the comments) but none as cheap as a $1, and I doubt they’re served as somebody as friendly as Eliana.

Eliana’s $1 Hot Dogs, NE Corner of 43rd and 6th.

A quick update on Eliana, the hot dog lady who had her cart seized by police last month when they kicked all the vendors off the NW corner of 43rd St. and 6th Ave. With the help of the Street Vendor Project, she got her cart back and returned to her regular spot last Monday. Sadly, on Tuesday a building manager from the Bank of American Tower (on 6th Ave. btw. 42+43rd) called and complained to the cops- who forced Eliana to move. She is now parked across 6th Ave., on the NE Corner of 43rd St., along with the other vendors who were forced to move (El Rey del Sabor and the halal cart), but is hoping at some point to return to the regular spot that she vended from with no issues for 15 years.

Related:
Street Vendor Project Going to Court Today to Fight For The 43rd St. Hot Dog Lady
BREAKING: Cops Seize Two Carts on 43rd… El Rey Del Sabor is Next

Just got this email from Ali Issa, one of the organizers from the Street Vendor Project: “I thought I would inform you that Ms. Jaramillo, the hot dog vendor at 43rd and 6th, has gotten her cart back and will be returning to her spot today at noon (accompanied by one of our intern Josh, because she fears intimidation by building management.)” This could be the perfect day for a $1 hot dog…

Related:
BREAKING: Cops Seize Two Carts on 43rd… El Rey Del Sabor is Next
The Sad State of 43rd Street Between 6th and Broadway
Street Vendor Project Going to Court Today to Fight For The 43rd St. Hot Dog Lady

So for now, it looks like these guys are going to be around.  The question is, how is their new bulgogi dog and short rib tacos!?! (The answer, plus photos of the craziness, is after the jump.)

Every since the Kogi BBQ truck hit the streets of Los Angeles at the end of last year, Korean tacos have been all the rage.  It’s not a tough idea to grasp, and it’s not hard to understand how the city of L.A. gave birth to the concept (big Korean population + lots of Mexican taco trucks = Korean tacos!)  Since then, a few of us have been begging for Kogi to come to NYC- and even more recently at least one Kogi imitator has surfaced in the big apple. But this new cart is the first to bring them to Midtown.

I don’t think I was ever deluded into thinking these tacos would come close to equaling Kogi (and I was right), but they weren’t all that bad.  $6 for two, the “short ribs” (aka boneless galbi) get stirred up with chopped veggies and kochujang, the slightly sweet and spicy red sauce that usually gets poured on top of bi bim bap.  The mixture then gets put into two real deal Mexican corn tortillas that have been heated up on the flat top.  It’s not fine dining, but ends up tasting exactly how you would expect.  The red sauce gives it a good bit of heat, but the flavor of the meat is mostly masked by the “salsa”. Even so it was a tasty treat, and something different if you’re looking for a fun Korean taco lunch to tie you over until Kogi makes its debut in New York City at the end of the summer.

The Bulgogi Dog is another weird fusion food that has been popping up lately, although this one I think New York can take credit for (naturally.)  The first place I ever saw them at was New York Hot Dog & Coffee in the West Village, and once again the concept is a no brainer.  If the sound of chopped up Korean BBQ beef on top of a hot dog sounds good to you, you’ll like a bulgogi dog.  If it doesn’t, you probably won’t.  The Korean BBQ cart’s version gets topped with what looks like mustard and ketchup, but is actually mustard and (once again) kochujang.  The red sauce makes it pretty damn spicy, and like the taco the subtle flavor of the bulgogi is lost between the hot dog and sauces.  But overall it tasted exactly like you would expect.  (So, if you’re me, that’s to say “good”.)

Like I said last week, I don’t know if their bulgogi and kalbi is good enough alone to compete in Midtown (especially with the Bulgogi Cart just one block away serving practically the same thing.)  But the bulgogi dog and Korean tacos should be enough to distinguish them from the pack… at least until the Kogi truck gets here!

THE + (What somebody who does like this place would say.)

• I like bulgogi.  I like hot dogs.  Genius!!!
• I like galbi.  I like tacos.  Genius!!!
• They use the right kind of tortillas (corn)
• Really spicy from the delicious kochujang sauce
• Hot dog was nice and fat- and cooked on the flat top.  Not your average dirty water dog.

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place is going to say.)

• Not the best bulgogi or kalbi you’re ever going to have
• The flavor of the meat is kind of lost under the strong flavors of the sauce (on the hot dog) and the salsa (in the tacos)
• The taco is just a cheap Kogi imitation, and not nearly as tasty
• Too spicy for me!
• $5 for the hot is fine, and $6 for tacos is ok- but they already raised the prices of their platters from $6 to $7!

Korean BBQ Cart, 50th btw. 6+7th

Related:
New Korean BBQ Truck to Serve Bulgogi Dogs & Korean Tacos

Crif Dogs isn’t the only hot dog place celebrating Tuesday’s election results. Yesterday, the Gray’s Papaya on 8th Ave. and 37th St. started selling “Obama Dogs” for 99 Cents. I guess the President-elect is already having a positive effect on the economy- it was less than a month ago that Gray’s announced that they were raising the price of their recession special.  No word on how long the $1 hot dog deal will last, but if they keep it up for as long as people are giddy about Obama’s victory, it may be awhile.