Hot Dog Kids

The Ongoing Conquest of the City by Hot Dogs: Gulluoglu

By Robert Sietsema in Featured, Sietsema

Tuesday, Sep. 29 2009 @ 8:00AM

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In case you haven't noticed, frankfurters are rolling over the city like newly forested logs. They are a snack, a meal, and the new filet mignon. Everywhere you go, you'll see hot dogs, many duded up like a boy on his first date, currying favor on all sides, with a brioche bun for a limousine. Can you guess where I found the above example?

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The frank is from Gulluoglu (the name sounds like someone gargling with soda pop), the 139-year-old Turkish baklava chain that offers an almost ubelievable 14 varieties of baklava alone, not to mention other assorted filo-based pastries. There's been a branch on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn for five years, but Manhattan has just gotten its own Gulluoglu. A series of luncheon dishes, including several salads, has been added to the menu, and the Manhattan branch also offers egg breakfasts, too.

The entree was called "sausage sandwich Istanbul style," which got me salivating in anticipation. When it turned out to be a gussied-up hot dog, I was at first slightly disappointed, but gradually my anthropological interests got the better of me. The sausage is a bland, German-style weiner, the kind that America adapted and made much better. It's been cross-hatched to facilitate boiling, and comes sided with mayo and ketchup. The pickle spears make it all worthwhile.
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