i'm no new yorker but i was a great big fan of papaya king for years. they're a fast food chain in new york city that serves hot dogs and this papaya drink. the server asks "with or without?" meaning with or without sauerkraut. the dogs were about a buck in 1986. seemed to me that people who loved the place REALLY LOVED IT!!! (kramer was licking his chops). i recalled they used to advertise the hot dogs as "good as porterhouse steak."
last year i heard they were opening up shop in san francisco, but i lost track of the project. anyone know of a papaya king outside nyc???
thanks, young
ps. actually the advertisement was "as good as filet mignon" but i wanted to see if anyone would correct me before reading the end of this message. fast...
A few notes regarding Papaya King. Much as the name "Ray" is ubiquitous in New York Pizza shop names, "Papaya" is used by dozens of hot dog stands in New York, whether or not they're part of the same chain. It's now a generic name for a hot dog stand where you have a counter with grill and cash register and a stand-up counter against the window with mustard dispensers. They serve cheapo, skinny hot dogs and sugar-water tropical fruit drinks. The dogs are 50 or 60 cents each; and you can get 2 dogs and a large drink for about $1.90. The cheap dogs are the attraction; the sugar-water drinks are how they make money.
(If you've seen the movie "Crossing Delancy", Amy Irving is in one of these joints when the painted woman comes in and sings "Some Enchanted Evening".)
When the mood is right, there's nothing like a 60 cent junk food fix: one of those skinny little dogs burned to the proper degree of crispness, with sauer kraut and good mustard!
Just saw the beginning of _sea of love_ on tv and it looked like there was a "papaya king" shown in the opening street scene. It looked a lot cheaper than the one on _Seinfeld_. There were large "60 cent" signs on the windows.
As a life-long New Yorker, I'll take issue with this. While "Papaya" is indeed used by many stands, there's only one true "Papaya King" -- the original, with locations on 59th and on 86th Streets. I grew up near the one on 86th and Third, and for my money there's no comparison between their product and those of the many imitators.
But I'm not alone in this view. Bryan Miller, food critic for the New York Times, reviewed the various papaya/frank joints on 8/21/91. An excerpt follows:
"PAPAYA KING'S original shop, 59th Street and Third Avenue. At the frenetic corner across from Bloomingdale's, this papaya vendor is always buzzing. It has a clean, efficient demeanor and a festive appearance, with paper bananas and pineapples dangling overhead, signs promoting the health benefits of papaya juice, and a courteous staff. The hot dogs, a sign overhead proclaims, are "tastier than filet mignon." Well, suffice to say that they are good, beefy franks, fresh and well cooked, and are served on warm rolls. The hot dogs have a nice juicy "pop" when you bite into them.
"There is no comparison between the juices here and at the imitators. At Papaya King the papaya drink, which is cut with milk and sugar, actually tastes like papaya (although it is still too sweet to my taste). The decent pina colada has little shards of coconut in it.
"PAPAYA KING, Third Avenue and 86th Street. It's clear you are in another original, not an imitation. Not only are the premises clean and festive, with more paper fruit decoration overhead, but the stand serves fruit drinks that taste somewhat like fruit. I liked the Tropical Breeze, a blender concoction of papaya drink (they add milk and sugar to the basic blend) and fresh strawberries. The regular papaya drink is good, too, as is the mango. Skip the syrupy, one-dimensional passion fruit. Like its sister establishment, Papaya King serves hot dogs on toasted rolls. The hot dogs are fresh, beefy flavored and well cooked."
For anybody who's interested, there was an accompanying article on that day tracing the history of melding franks and papaya, and there were also reviews of the other "resataurants."
aah, 86th & 3rd... reminds me of after school going to the express bus stop for the Bronx (went to Hunter College HS, had to commute).. My favorite drink was the Pina Colada..
Thanks for the tip. My apologies for slandering the good name of Papaya King. I've lived in NYC for 5 years and have eaten many a "Papaya" dog, but I guess I've never eaten at "Papaya King" (which is strange, since I live on the Upper East Side.) I assume their dogs must cost more than 60 cents, but I'm sure they're worth it.
Does the article list all of the different "Papayas"? The only names I could come up with were Gray's Papaya and Papaya Prince? Is Papaya King the originator of this style of hot doggery, and everyone else a pretender? I may have to run out and get a copy of that article!
Oh, hey. Wait a minute. Is the Papaya King at 59th on the southeast corner? I think I may have eaten there, but I don't recall the specifics of the dog.