The Reopening of Papaya King Refuels a Grand New York Rivalry

Rivalries have helped define the New York City hot dog: a slender, all-beef frank with a natural skin, served with a choice of mustard, sauerkraut, and, later, stewed onions. Charles Feltman supposedly put hot dogs in a bun for the first time, sold them from a cart, and called them Coney Island red hots beginning in 1867. Rogue employee, Nathan Handwerker, founded competing Nathan’s, charging five cents instead of 10 cents, in 1916.

Nearly 20 years later, Constantine “Gus” Poulos opened Papaya King on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and 86th Street. In 1973, one of Poulos’ partners, Nicholas Gray, broke away to establish Gray’s Papaya at 72nd and Broadway, cementing a fierce hot dog rivalry between the Upper East and Upper West sides.

Both places launched additional branches in Manhattan, keeping to their sides of town, yet over the last few years, both mini-chains have retracted, closing their downtown branches and becoming single-store operators. Then — a disaster of disasters — the original Papaya King closed to make way for a condo.

Papaya King was dark for over a year before it reopened about a week ago near the opposite corner at 206 East 86th Street. The new place doesn’t quite have the openness of the original. Black-and-white life-size pictures detail the history of Papaya King around the restaurant. The menu remains intact — but more about that later.

I decided to check out Papaya King hot dogs at the new storefront to see if they had changed. Then, I rode the M86 bus across the park to compare them to Gray’s Papaya.

Papaya King

The sausages are dark, narrow, and of varying lengths. I ordered four, and they ran slightly under six inches to six-and-one-quarter inches (this irregularity is a good sign). The meat was more salty than I remembered, and the forcemeat was smoothly textured, with a slightly smoky flavor from the griddle.

As expected, the bun was squishy. The sparsely applied mustard was slightly grainy with dots of actual mustard seed — I added more — and the generous heap of sauerkraut was rinsed and drained, so it was less tart than usual, making it easier to eat. $5 each.

I also tried a chili cheese dog, described as a “foot long” which, in this case, actually means it’s eight-and-a-half inches. A single dog was stuffed into two buns slathered in chili that resembles a Greek meat sauce. It’s finished with liquid cheese, $7.

Gray’s Papaya

Gray’s sausages are lighter, but often have a little more char and taste a little smokier. They are more uniformly six inches in length. They are pinker, softer, and a little coarser inside — whether this is a bad or a good thing is up to you. The buns and mustard are about the same in both places, but the kraut is more sour and a little juicier (i.e., they don’t drain it as well). $4 each.

Gray’s chili dog is of average size, with chili that tastes like it has a trace of cumin and maybe a little cinnamon, but again, there are no beans. The liquid cheese is the same, but I’ve got to admit, the double bun gimmick is an asset at Papaya King. $5.50 each.

And the winner is…

If you like a hard hot dog, Papaya King is your place. I prefer Gray’s Papaya sausage for its bounciness, graininess, and mildly funky quality. In both places, the hot dog flavor shines through the condiments.

In short, I’d get a pair with kraut and mustard at Gray’s or a chili cheese footlong at Papaya King.

One more thing

Over the years, Papaya King has added over a dozen variations to its basic hot dog featuring incongruous toppings like pastrami, pineapple, jalapenos, grated cheddar, onion rings, hot honey, and mushrooms, generally priced at $7 each. You should ignore these: They’re a diversion from the flavor that defines the New York City frank.