by Krista Jansen

Created on: January 22, 2009

When I hear the words "hot dog" I instantly picture a warm summer day and a big picnic barbecue with hot dogs and hamburgers cooking on the grill. Hot dogs are something that I love to eat, but don't often make for myself. As a three-year old kid, my mom used to boil me a hot dog for lunch each day, and I'd happily dip each cut-up piece into the ketchup on my plate while I watched reruns of "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Bewitched." Now I mostly consider hot dogs a summer party food, and I look forward to the first big cookout of the year on Memorial Day.

The best hot dogs of my adult life haven't just been at home parties thoughin fact, the more I thought about this topic, I could recall some truly fabulous hot dog experiences.

I live in New York City, and I have indulged in a street dog or two; these street dogs are also known as "Dirty Water Dogs" to city dwellers and tourists alike. There really is something so delicious and fulfilling about the instant gratification of being able to buy a hot dog for $1 on almost any corner of Manhattan. If you're out shopping or sight-seeing and you get hungry, you don't have to go into a restaurantyou can just buy a fast and hot snack on the street. I know there is some controversy about how sanitary these street dogs are, but the carts haven't been shut down yet and people are still buying the hot dogs. They're just so tasty!

Also in New York City, the BEST hot dog in the world can be found at Gray's Papaya, not to be confused with Papaya King. I don't know how they do it, or why these incredibly inexpensive hot dogs are so amazing, but they really are the best. You just have to go to one of the few locations in New York City (I highly recommend the Greenwich Village location at 6th Avenue and W. 8th Street), wait in the very long but fast-moving line, and try two of these hot dogs for yourself. I say two dogs because you have to take advantage of the Recession Special, which includes two hot dogs and a drink for around $3. Gray's Papaya didn't used to sell name-brand soda, just fresh fruit juices, but now they do provide soft drinks. At Gray's Payaya the buns are grilled right along with the hot dogs, and everything is very fresh and HOT in your mouth. Gray's Papaya is so famous that their hot dogs were even featured in the 1997 movie "Fools Rush In," starring Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek.

Hot dogs are a staple of professional baseball games, and the best stadium hot dogs can be found at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Dodger Dogs are famous and for good reason; they're very large and juicy, and when coupled with some stadium garlic fries, you have the perfect baseball snack.

In any hot dog discussion, I can't ignore the famed Nathan's Coney Island hot dog. The hot dog eating contest is a Fourth of July tradition, and is even broadcast on ESPN. In 2008 there was a tie of 59 hot dogs eaten by two participants; the tie was broken when the winner, Joey Chestnut, ate five more dogs on top of that. If you can't make it to Coney Island, at least you can make some Nathan's Famous dogs ate your next barbecue!

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