(Almost) FREE Wieners: 5-cent Dogs at Nathan’s Famous (NYC)
Looking for a classy way to kick off your Memorial Day Weekend? How about a plump, juicy and, most importantly, cheap-as-fuck hot dog? This Saturday Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island is celebrating its 100th birthday by going back to its original prices. They want to put their wieners in your mouth – for only five cents!
(Sausage) Links to History
A Coney Island staple, Nathan’s has been in the meat stuffing business since 1916. Nathan’s was, in fact, open every single day since 1916 until it had to close in October of 2012 because of Hurricane Sandy (at least according to this article on the History Channel.com which cites absolutely no sources. You’re doing great work, History Channel).
There’s quite a meaty controversy over where and when the hot dog was invented. If you’d like to learn more about this hotly contested issue there is an actual website called hot-dog.org sponsored by the, you guessed it, National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, who’s actual email server is, wait for it…meatinstitute.org. They even have a Sausage Glossary where you can learn what hot dogs are called around the world.
The Frank Truth
The five-cent prices only last from 11:00am to 2:00pm.
There’s a limit of two per customer. I mean, one for each hand is plenty, am I right ladies? Men?
Each hot dog comes with a commemorative certificate. We’re not sure what it says but we’re hoping it’s something like: “I went to Coney Island and all I got was a 100-year old wiener in my mouth.”
You can find Nathan’s at 1310 Surf Ave in Brooklyn. Take the D, N or F train to Stillwell Avenue (you can also take the Q, but because of FastTrack there are no trains between Atlantic Ave & Kings Hwy, so you could take the shuttle bus. But seriously just don’t take the fucking Q).
So this Saturday head out to Coney Island and wrap your lips around a historically cheap wiener. And buy yourself a five-cent hot-dog.
Images of Nathan’s courtesy of Allyson Herbst