Papaya King Going HollywoodNazarian is a fairly flashy owner for such an everyday spot, making us cringe that this could be another import that doesn’t quite live up to the original.
Wafflegänger Haunts Wafels & Dinges TruckYesterday, ‘Time Out’ brought news that a second truck, Dot, would be joining one-year-old Sugar in the Treat Truck fleet, and now Eater informs us that another waffle truck is on the prowl, near Astor Place.
Neighborhood Watch
Ramen Rivalry About to Boil Over in the East Village?Astoria: All pints of Lagunitas beer will be $4 tonight at Sunswick on 35th Avenue at 35th Street. The bar food is supposedly pretty good, too. [Joey in Astoria]
Clinton Hill: Don’t get too excited over that fancy new organic market going up on Lexington Avenue near Grand Avenue; it’s part of a set for a Steve Martin flick. [Clinton Hill Blog]
East Village: Momofuku responds to Setagaya’s claims that its ramen is more authentic… [Eater] And the Tokyo-based chain has already lured crowds of diners — and impressed them. [Eat for Victory/VV] The Sunday Greenmarket now has a Hamptons-based fishmonger. [Gothamist]
Harlem: Fishers of Men has expanded to 125th Street, and rather than oust Papaya King from the space, the seafood restaurant has opted to share it. [Uptown Flavor]
McCarren Park: JellyNYC’s summer pool parties kicked off the series this weekend with dodgeball, Slip ‘n Slide, Brooklyn Beer, and grilled grub (and we have video). [Down by the Hipster]
Midwood: DiFara is once again up and running. [Slice]
Park Slope: Union Market will bring its fresh produce to a long-empty storefront on Seventh Avenue, but there’s concern over nearby mom-and-pop grocers. [The Brooklyn Paper]
Ridgewood: Butcher Karl Ehmer inspired such love of meat in a young girl that she now sells meat-inspired pillows to “hipsters, artists and Western Europeans.” [The Food Section]
Mediavore
Were You Aware That Chinese Takeout Is High in Salt and Fat?Shocking health news of the day: Chinese food, at least the kind we eat in New York, is outrageously salty and fatty. [NYP]
Meanwhile, Chinese buns are only getting more popular in the city’s better restaurants. [NYDN]
Bret Thorn, Nation’s Restaurant News’ restaurant blogger and a longtime observer of the scene, gives his Beard Award picks. [Foodservice Blog/Nation’s Restaurant News]
Ask a Waiter
Papaya King’s Alexander Poulus Serves Franks to Martha Stewart, Referees FightsAlexander Poulus was working as an engineer five years after graduating from NYU, but when his uncle Gus, the founder of Papaya King, offered to bring him into the company, he couldn’t refuse. For 35 years, he has seen the Upper East Side location (which is about to celebrate its 75th anniversary) through stolen tip jars, windows shattered by brawling drunks, and of course the snappy service of countless hot dogs that are “Tastier Than Filet Mignon.”
Openings
Papaya King Plots Hot-Dog Imperialism
The recent price hike at Gray’s isn’t the only change afoot in the papaya world: Gray’s predecessor Papaya King, which recently opened locations in La Guardia and JFK, is poised to open two more stands — the first next month in Clifton, New Jersey, in the Corrado’s shopping center, and another one in the middle of the year near the Sears store at Fordham Road and Webster Avenue in the Bronx. President and CEO Dan Horan says he thinks the city can absorb 35 to 40 Papaya Kings and has already earmarked fifteen potential locations. Not only that, he’s opening another stand in Baltimore’s BWI airport in early 2007 and looking at opportunities as far west as Los Angeles. So why are there currently just three Manhattan locations? Apparently, rising rents and competition from banks eyeing the same 500-square-foot corner spaces are to blame. We’d much rather blow $1.79 on a Papaya dog (handmade from bull’s beef, unlike those of his competitors, Horan points out) than on unsavory ATM fees. — Daniel Maurer
Earlier: Bummer Indeed: Gray’s Papaya Finally Raises Prices
NewsFeed
Bummer Indeed: Gray’s Papaya Finally Raises PricesWhen Gray’s Papaya announced in September that the price of its Al Franken–endorsed frank was to go up from 95 cents, founder Nicholas A. B. Gray was keeping mum about the math. We visited the Sixth Avenue location this weekend and can now report that as of the beginning of the month, the price is $1.25. This exceeds even the 25-cent jump (from 50 cents to 75 cents) of 1999. Still more devastating, the Recession Special — two dogs and a small drink — has gone from $2.75 to $3.50. Not that we would forsake Gray’s for an inferior imitator, but when we called every other listed Papaya stand in the city, we made an all-too-sobering discovery: These days you’ll have to go out to Queens to get a 95-cent frank. Here’s how much fourteen different dogs will set you back.
