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Hot dog in a bun with mustard beside a tall beef glass.
At Rudy’s, what could be better than a (free) grilled hot dog and a beer?
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

27 Snappy, Standout Hot Dogs Around NYC

Whether deep fried, griddled, boiled, or baked in a pastry, franks rule the cheap dining landscape

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At Rudy’s, what could be better than a (free) grilled hot dog and a beer?
| Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Frankfurters, wieners, red hots, floaters, tube steaks, or hot dogs — call them what you will, weenies are perfect convenience fare, readily portable, and relatively inexpensive — even in their more effete evocations. And vegetarians can enjoy them, too, since meatless versions don’t always taste that different, especially when heaped with luscious toppings.

After a lull in popularity that happened in the years right before the pandemic, hot dogs are back and stronger than ever, as more cuisines make use of them in innovative ways, and new places are beginning to open up. Korean corn dogs (really, rice dogs) are a fad that won’t quit, and Chicago dogs continue to appear with regularity, both welcome recent additions to New York’s hot dog landscape.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it also poses a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

Seeming small hot dogs with buns and mustard on sticks — really cake.
At Rebecca’s Cake Pops in the Market Line, you can enjoy cake hot dogs.

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Liebman's Kosher Deli

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According to the website, when this Liebman’s opened in 1953, there were 100 Jewish delis in the Bronx. Today, it’s the last one remaining. The franks are some of the best in town. Sit in the retro dining room and feel like your own grandparent. Even when cole slaw or potato salad top the wiener, the salty and beefy flavor still shines. Current owner of Liebman’s Yuval Dekel was once the drummer in a hardcore band called Irate.

Liebman’s Deli Bronx hot dog frankfurter with potato salad
Frankfurter with potato salad.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Hiram's

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Hiram’s in Ft. Lee, NJ is 90 years old, a real roadhouse like out of a movie, with an order counter flanking a dive bar, where men sit watching football games and nibbling on franks and disco fries. Those franks, in the northern Jersey style, are deep-fried until the skin rips, making it more crunchy. The dogs are sublime, whether eaten with mustard or chili and cheese.

Two hot dogs and one paper boat of cheese drenched fries.
Dogs and fries at Hiram’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Rutt's Hut

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Yes, this rustic tavern overlooking the Passaic River deserves to be mentioned because it tenders some of the most spectacular wieners in New York City and environs. In the northern New Jersey style, the mixed-meat sausage is deep-fried until it splits. You can request other levels of doneness, and the unique mustardy relish (a secret ingredient is shredded cabbage) made on the premises is a further delight.

Three hot dogs in buns, with mustardy relish and mustard on two of them.
Relish, grainy mustard, or plain?
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Harlem Shake

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Harlem Shake — there are two branches, another on Fifth Avenue — is the neighborhood’s most notable purveyor of greasy spoon hamburgers in a nostalgic setting that catapults you back to the 1960s. But the hot dogs are similarly distinguished — try the chili-cheese dog (the Snoop Dog), a long all-beef frank with beanless homemade chili con carne topped with American cheese.

A hot dog glowing with a yellow cheese topping in a bun.
Harlem Shake’s chili-cheese dog.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Gray's Papaya

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You can’t get any more fundamental than Gray’s Papaya when it comes to New York hot dogs: slender, natural-skinned, all-beef franks on a puffy white bun, with your choice of sauerkraut, mustard, and stewed onions, washed down with chalky fruit drinks. A bonafide landmark late into the evening at the prime Upper West Side corner of Broadway and 72nd Street.

A pair of hot dogs on a red counter with an orange drink.
Two franks with signature papaya drink at Gray’s Papaya.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Pastrami Queen

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Pastrami Queen recently hopped across Central Park and established a larger branch on the Upper West Side. The pastrami is distinguished, and so is the classic Jewish-deli frank. With a mustard smear, the all-beef frank has heft, length, and natural skin, which more than fills the rather less-distinguished bun. The epitome of the deli frank.

Hot dog on a long bun slathered with yellow mustard.
Mustard-slathered frankfurter at Pastrami Queen.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Schaller's Stube Sausage Bar

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Among the bravura display of sausages at the Schaller & Weber German market, this weenie deposited in a pretzel bun is distinctive for its quality and sheer length. Garnished with stewed onions and barbecue sauce in an attempt to conjure American barbecue. Despite failing to do so in a fundamental way, it matters not, since this hot dog is delicious, and the sweet oniony flavor is a welcome addition to the salty and savory frank.

A hot dog smothered in onions so long it sticks out of both ends of the bun.
The Pitmaster at Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Kings of Kobe

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Made from wagyu beef, the hot dogs here are giant and juicy, and expensive. You should really just buy one and eat it by itself to fully appreciate the flavor, rather than ordering one of the featured configurations. The relatively simple king’s classic is the one to get, accessorized with sauerkraut, pickled purple onions, and mustard.

A bulbous dark reddish brown frank in a yellowish bun with purple onion and white sauerkraut smothering it.
King’s classic at Kings of Kobe.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs

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This stall in the midst of downtown Flushing’s transportation hub was one of the first to peddle Korean corn dogs along with doughnuts that look like misshapen bows. Options abound: You can have part of the hot dog replaced with mozzarella, a coating laden with Korean umami powder, or an embedding of the rice batter with potato cubes. A meal consisting of a hot dog on a stick and a powdered sugar doughnut is killer. Further locations in Bushwick, Jackson Heights, and Forest HIlls.

A pair of coated franks, one squiggled with yellow mustard, held aloft in a V against a very sunny background.
Korean corn dogs from Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Rudy's Bar & Grill

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This durable Hell’s Kitchen dive bar is deep and musty — just what you want in a dive bar. But its most notable feature is not the sawdust and temperature of the tap beer, but the fact that the place gives away free hot dogs, and the price is right. The franks are grilled and offered with nothing but mustard and nothing’s better on a hot afternoon than a hot dog washed down with lager or pilsner.

A pig waves at passersby from a darkened doorway.
A giant pig beckons you into Rudy’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Frankly by Snap-O-Razzo at GO by Citizens Marketplace

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This counter at the new GO by Citizens Marketplace isn’t easy to find, either inside the food court or on its Hell’s Kitchen block. Never you mind, this may be the first appearance of Snap-O-Razzo hot dogs, an old-fashioned slender kind of frank, either all beef or pork and beef. The smoked all beef with a natural skin are best; keep them as simple as possible, avoiding the Chicago-style frank, which doesn’t taste enough like its prototype.

Three hot dogs in a pink box with lots of crap on top of them.
Three of the elaborately dressed dogs at Frankly — keep it simple, instead.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Prontito

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We envy Los Angeles for its under-the-highway, bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dogs with a shifting roster of toppings, and this Colombian snack shop in Elmhurst comes close to emulating them. Ask for “super perro a la Mexicana,” which comes with a strip of bacon on top, guacamole, coleslaw, jalapeños, cheese, potato chips, Russian dressing, pico de gallo, and — as a seeming afterthought — a quail egg impaled on a toothpick.

A giant heap of a hot dog smeared with sauces and a small boiled egg on the end.
Los Angeles-style bacon-wrapped dog at Prontito.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

New York Burger Co.

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I can’t tell you how many reputed foot-long hot dogs I’ve tried, only to whip out my ruler and find they’re eight inches or less. So, when I stepped into Chelsea’s New York Burger Co. and saw a foot long on the menu I immediately ordered it. Well, imagine my surprise to discover exactly 12 inches of weenie, succulent and salty and every bit as good as the best examples of regular dogs in town, too. Chili and grated cheddar are part of the package, making a meal one can barely finish.

A long hot dog in a short bun on a checked paper with french fries in the background.
New York Burger Co.’s foot long.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Chelsea Papaya

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This brightly tiled space — open 24 hours, rare in a hot-dog counter today — channels old-time joints perfectly, with its grab-and-go demeanor and no-nonsense uniformed personnel. The menu goes way beyond just franks and fries, but the chili cheese dog is still the thing to get. And yes, the chili con carne has beans — this ain’t Texas! Take a couple of extra napkins.

A hot dog in a bun smothered in yellow and with beans sticking out.
Chili cheese dog at Chelsea Papaya.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Yi Mei Fung Bakery

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When looking for a hot dog in any neighborhood, keep the Chinese bakery in mind. These wonderful places don’t only sell pastries and coffee, but a range of savory snacks that run to inexpensive sandwiches and pastries containing frankfurters — often cut up to distribute them over the face of the roll, as in this case at this busy Elmhurst spot, where the frankfurter pastry resembles a flower with a sweetish dough and a bit of crumbled cheese on top.

A pastry with five petals, with a hot dog segment in the middle of each one.
Hot dog flower at Yi Mei Fung Bakery.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Dickson's Farmstand Meats

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This boutique butcher in Chelsea Market puts its weenies right in the window, with two sizes available. We recommend the Big Fred, the larger of the two, even though it qualifies as one of the more expensive in town. The garlicky tang of the stuffing mixed with the pungent raw onions and sharp grainy mustard really puts the thing across. One’s a full meal.

A thick frank in a bun with grainy yellow mustard and coarsely chopped white onions.
The Big Fred at Dickson’s Farmstand Meats.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Cowgirl

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This West Village favorite grew out of the theme-restaurant movement of late last century; its original name was Cowgirl Hall of Fame and it featured Patsy Cline memorabilia and displays of barbed wire. It also served the city’s best corn dogs, evenly battered and expertly fried till they’re done to a turn.

Two corndogs in a red plastic basket.
Cowgirl’s perfect corn dogs.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Boulevard Drinks

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Jersey City institution Boulevard Drinks — showing every one of its years since 1962 — is a narrow stall just south of Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Journal Square. All it serves are hot dogs and the sorts of drinks seen at Gray’s Papaya. In addition to mustard, ketchup, and “cheese,” the preferred topping is a chili-like Greek sauce incorporating finely minced onions.

A hot dog in a bun with ground meat topping on a yellow counter.
Jersey chili dog at Boulevard Drinks.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Crif Dogs

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A petulant old-timer — which also spawned cocktail lounge PDT next door— Crif Dogs is famous for deep-frying its franks, Jersey-style, sometimes after wrapping them in bacon. One favorite is the Good Morning, featuring a fried egg and melted cheese in addition to its snuggly blanket of bacon. Tater tots are another plus.

Morning Jersey hot dog at Crif Dogs
Bacon-wrapped frankfurter at Crif Dogs.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Frankel's Delicatessen

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While Jewish deli franks are generally a predictable commodity — great but unfussy — this Greenpoint joint (counter seating only) offers a designer frank more juicy than usual, though with the predictably spare toppings. Plus, the mirrored sleeve it comes in is an added delight. Spoon on the kraut.

A hot dog with heaped kraut sticking out of a metallic sleeve.
Frankfurter with sauerkraut at Frankel’s Delicatessen.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Katz's Delicatessen

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Most people probably go to Katz’s prepared to stand in long lines for pastrami or corned beef, but you can usually step right up to the hot dog counter and acquire your tube steaks right away. These are all beef, natural-skinned franks with a nice salty forcemeat inside and juicy enough so they ooze after you bite into them. One of our favorite unfussy hot dogs in town.

Katz’s hot dog counter Lower East Side, a man in a white paper campaign hat looking at you across the glass counterl.
The hot dog counter at Katz’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Glizzy’s NYC

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This newcomer stays up late on a busy stretch of Metropolitan Avenue. The hot dogs are boiled Sabrett’s — not particularly distinguished but they get the job done. Perhaps too many toppings are offered, running to dozens, but if you like to ultra-customize your frank late at night, this could be your favorite hot doggery.

Three hot dogs diagonally lined up on a metallic surface.
The hot dogs offered at Glizzy’s, the chili cheese frank made with brisket chili is our favorite.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Fulton Hot Dog King

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Skip the pizza and hamburgers here, but the slender, old-fashioned franks with conventional toppings are just fine at this downtown Brooklyn stand right in the middle of big-box stores on the Fulton Street Mall. It’s been there since 1914, making it one of the oldest establishments of this type in town. There is no seating to speak of, so go to nearby Albee Square to get comfortable with your bargain-priced hot dogs.

Fulton Hot Dog King Brooklyn, with a giant sign that says Frankfurters and open sides on the corner.
Fulton Hot Dog King is located right on the downtown Fulton Mall in Brooklyn.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bobbi’s Italian beef

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Cobble Hill’s Bobbi’s Italian Beef is not the first place to attempt cloning the fast food of Chicago — and succeeding admirably. One notable triumph is a Second City dog with the proper combination of toppings. Tater tots are the perfect accompaniment. Poppy seed coated bagel dogs are also available.

A Chicago-style hot dog appears in a red basket next to a side of tater tots.
Chicago-style hot dog at Bobbi’s.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Dog Day Afternoon

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The Chicago dog has the strictest set of dressing rules in all of frankdom: kosher pickles spear, dash of celery salt, yellow mustard, sport peppers, green “neon” relish, chopped raw onions, and tomatoes on a poppy seed bun. Most NYC frank stands — including Shake Shack — have tried and failed. But this narrow shop, named after a movie shot on the same Brooklyn block, does it up right. A vegan version is also available, too (shown here).

A hot dog with the prescribed toppings held in front of a green bush in Prospect Park.
A true Chicago dog from Dog Day Afternoon.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Dragon Bay Bakery

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This combination bakery, lunch counter, and coffee shop in Sunset Park’s Chinatown bakes hot dogs in puff pastries, including the gloppy and wonderful “golden hot dog.” The melted topping is slightly sweet, and one of these gut bombs constitutes a full meal — well, almost.

A hot dog in a bun smothered in baked-on cheese.
Cheese dog at Dragon Bay Bakery.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Nathan's Famous

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What culinary experience at a New York beach can best Nathan’s franks? Smeared with mustard and heaped with sauerkraut, the skins pop when you bite into them. This institution’s pedigree extends to the early days of Brooklyn frankfurter history over a century ago.

Aa hand holds two hot dogs in buns in paper containers about to apply mustard.
A pair of franks at Nathan’s Famous.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Liebman's Kosher Deli

According to the website, when this Liebman’s opened in 1953, there were 100 Jewish delis in the Bronx. Today, it’s the last one remaining. The franks are some of the best in town. Sit in the retro dining room and feel like your own grandparent. Even when cole slaw or potato salad top the wiener, the salty and beefy flavor still shines. Current owner of Liebman’s Yuval Dekel was once the drummer in a hardcore band called Irate.

Liebman’s Deli Bronx hot dog frankfurter with potato salad
Frankfurter with potato salad.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Hiram's

Hiram’s in Ft. Lee, NJ is 90 years old, a real roadhouse like out of a movie, with an order counter flanking a dive bar, where men sit watching football games and nibbling on franks and disco fries. Those franks, in the northern Jersey style, are deep-fried until the skin rips, making it more crunchy. The dogs are sublime, whether eaten with mustard or chili and cheese.

Two hot dogs and one paper boat of cheese drenched fries.
Dogs and fries at Hiram’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Rutt's Hut

Yes, this rustic tavern overlooking the Passaic River deserves to be mentioned because it tenders some of the most spectacular wieners in New York City and environs. In the northern New Jersey style, the mixed-meat sausage is deep-fried until it splits. You can request other levels of doneness, and the unique mustardy relish (a secret ingredient is shredded cabbage) made on the premises is a further delight.

Three hot dogs in buns, with mustardy relish and mustard on two of them.
Relish, grainy mustard, or plain?
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Harlem Shake

Harlem Shake — there are two branches, another on Fifth Avenue — is the neighborhood’s most notable purveyor of greasy spoon hamburgers in a nostalgic setting that catapults you back to the 1960s. But the hot dogs are similarly distinguished — try the chili-cheese dog (the Snoop Dog), a long all-beef frank with beanless homemade chili con carne topped with American cheese.

A hot dog glowing with a yellow cheese topping in a bun.
Harlem Shake’s chili-cheese dog.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Gray's Papaya

You can’t get any more fundamental than Gray’s Papaya when it comes to New York hot dogs: slender, natural-skinned, all-beef franks on a puffy white bun, with your choice of sauerkraut, mustard, and stewed onions, washed down with chalky fruit drinks. A bonafide landmark late into the evening at the prime Upper West Side corner of Broadway and 72nd Street.

A pair of hot dogs on a red counter with an orange drink.
Two franks with signature papaya drink at Gray’s Papaya.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Pastrami Queen

Pastrami Queen recently hopped across Central Park and established a larger branch on the Upper West Side. The pastrami is distinguished, and so is the classic Jewish-deli frank. With a mustard smear, the all-beef frank has heft, length, and natural skin, which more than fills the rather less-distinguished bun. The epitome of the deli frank.

Hot dog on a long bun slathered with yellow mustard.
Mustard-slathered frankfurter at Pastrami Queen.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Schaller's Stube Sausage Bar

Among the bravura display of sausages at the Schaller & Weber German market, this weenie deposited in a pretzel bun is distinctive for its quality and sheer length. Garnished with stewed onions and barbecue sauce in an attempt to conjure American barbecue. Despite failing to do so in a fundamental way, it matters not, since this hot dog is delicious, and the sweet oniony flavor is a welcome addition to the salty and savory frank.

A hot dog smothered in onions so long it sticks out of both ends of the bun.
The Pitmaster at Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Kings of Kobe

Made from wagyu beef, the hot dogs here are giant and juicy, and expensive. You should really just buy one and eat it by itself to fully appreciate the flavor, rather than ordering one of the featured configurations. The relatively simple king’s classic is the one to get, accessorized with sauerkraut, pickled purple onions, and mustard.

A bulbous dark reddish brown frank in a yellowish bun with purple onion and white sauerkraut smothering it.
King’s classic at Kings of Kobe.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs

This stall in the midst of downtown Flushing’s transportation hub was one of the first to peddle Korean corn dogs along with doughnuts that look like misshapen bows. Options abound: You can have part of the hot dog replaced with mozzarella, a coating laden with Korean umami powder, or an embedding of the rice batter with potato cubes. A meal consisting of a hot dog on a stick and a powdered sugar doughnut is killer. Further locations in Bushwick, Jackson Heights, and Forest HIlls.

A pair of coated franks, one squiggled with yellow mustard, held aloft in a V against a very sunny background.
Korean corn dogs from Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Rudy's Bar & Grill

This durable Hell’s Kitchen dive bar is deep and musty — just what you want in a dive bar. But its most notable feature is not the sawdust and temperature of the tap beer, but the fact that the place gives away free hot dogs, and the price is right. The franks are grilled and offered with nothing but mustard and nothing’s better on a hot afternoon than a hot dog washed down with lager or pilsner.

A pig waves at passersby from a darkened doorway.
A giant pig beckons you into Rudy’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Frankly by Snap-O-Razzo at GO by Citizens Marketplace

This counter at the new GO by Citizens Marketplace isn’t easy to find, either inside the food court or on its Hell’s Kitchen block. Never you mind, this may be the first appearance of Snap-O-Razzo hot dogs, an old-fashioned slender kind of frank, either all beef or pork and beef. The smoked all beef with a natural skin are best; keep them as simple as possible, avoiding the Chicago-style frank, which doesn’t taste enough like its prototype.

Three hot dogs in a pink box with lots of crap on top of them.
Three of the elaborately dressed dogs at Frankly — keep it simple, instead.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Prontito

We envy Los Angeles for its under-the-highway, bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dogs with a shifting roster of toppings, and this Colombian snack shop in Elmhurst comes close to emulating them. Ask for “super perro a la Mexicana,” which comes with a strip of bacon on top, guacamole, coleslaw, jalapeños, cheese, potato chips, Russian dressing, pico de gallo, and — as a seeming afterthought — a quail egg impaled on a toothpick.

A giant heap of a hot dog smeared with sauces and a small boiled egg on the end.
Los Angeles-style bacon-wrapped dog at Prontito.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

New York Burger Co.

I can’t tell you how many reputed foot-long hot dogs I’ve tried, only to whip out my ruler and find they’re eight inches or less. So, when I stepped into Chelsea’s New York Burger Co. and saw a foot long on the menu I immediately ordered it. Well, imagine my surprise to discover exactly 12 inches of weenie, succulent and salty and every bit as good as the best examples of regular dogs in town, too. Chili and grated cheddar are part of the package, making a meal one can barely finish.