The Fulton Hot Dog King used to be located about a block away from its current location. That corner eatery was very retro with silver paneling and white walls, it looked like something out of an old noir film set in New York City. When Fulton Hot Dog King announced its closure I was very sad (the location is now a place with pizza, fried chicken etc.)
Much to my delight, about five months ago Fulton Hot Dog King returned! This time they're located in a smaller location less than a block away. Sadly they are currently covered under scaffolding but they've hung up signage on the scaffolding and put out a sandwich board to get attention.
The new location takes design cues from the original. It uses mostly white and silver colors. When you come in there is a huge menu behind the counter with photos and prices, just like at the original location. Along the counter and across from it are several prepackaged goods including chips, cookies and candy. There is a small counter to eat at. The day I went about five of us squeezed in to use it. Mind you, one person had graciously put two of her shopping bags on the counter and did not bother to take them off even as she saw me squishing into a corner to eat, but hey, welcome to New York City amiright?
I wound up ordering one of my favorites: hot sausage on a bun with onions and relish. This is what I used to get so I wanted to see how well it held up. First, I was happy to see they still cut it open in the middle and grill it. It had some nice caramelization on the edges and it was hot all the way through. They were very generous with the relish and onion. The flavor was *perfect*. Exactly what I remembered. Some fantastic spice balanced by the relish. The bun was fresh too and not dried out or falling apart. Even better, the sausage still had a nice snap to it (very important for hot doggers). I was very happy.
I normally would have given this 5 stars but it loses one for service. When I walked in there were two people behind the counter. For some reason, the dude taking orders took orders from one party, skipped over me and went to the people behind me. I'm not exactly hard to notice so I was annoyed by this, but the other guy who DID take my order was super nice so I didn't make a thing of it at the time.
If you dig hot dogs, definitely give this place a visit. They also do breakfast sandwiches, knishes, beef patties and other foods (but I have yet to try them). read more