In summer 2023, the people ate hot dogs
I wrote this a month ago and forgot to send it and then forgot I had a newsletter entirely. Oops
This summer, a meme artist called Sunday Nobody boiled 1000 hot dogs, and used the discarded hot dog water to make frozen hot dog sculptures. They then sold the ice sculptures at $44 a pop, and shipped each one without insulation to keep it cold — as the artist explains, “When it arrives the ice sculpture will just be a puddle of melted hot dog water in a sealed container.”
I saw this bizarre art experiment as I scrolled on Instagram late one night, and it made me think about all the recent hot-dog-related news I’d consumed recently. Joey Chestnut took home his 16th win in Nathan’s annual hot-dog-eating contest; the Times ran a massive feature by J. J. Goode exploring the differences between regional hot dogs a few weeks ago; even I was assigned to review a new type of ketchup infused with Pepsi. And once I really started pondering the prevalence of the dogs, I realized I had seen many more out and about recently, offered at bars like Diane’s and Rudy’s as a cheap (or free) add-on. I recalled that even my sister’s Bostonian boyfriend arrived in Brooklyn with only one desire in mind: A New York hot dog.
Of course, a collective bum rush for hot dogs isn’t the whole story of summer 2023 in NYC. The masses also seemed to be yearning for other good ol’ American foods. Burgers had a tight hold on menus this summer: Superiority Burger reopened at the start of the summer with (minuscule) veggie burgers, and everyone was talking about the burger at Red Hook Tavern. The Jew-ish burger at new Prospect Heights spot Gertrude’s stole my heart, personally.
Then, of course, there’s all this overpriced soft serve. You could get a fancy soft serve on every corner of the East Village this August. Rachel Brotman (aka @thecarboholic) recently posted her list of the top ten soft serves of the summer, and trend spotter Mia Risher has been talking about the overwhelming amount of soft serve available in the city for months.
With hot dogs, burgers, and soft serve running rampant, it certainly felt like New York’s food scene embraced a baseball stadium aesthetic this summer. (Be real with me: Did you really think you were the only one who randomly decided to go to a baseball game for the first time in your life?)
It’s definitely possible that this summer’s stadium-ification of restaurants is just an effect of the season. Still, this volume of soft serve is not an annual occurrence, so the trend can’t be entirely weather-based.
In fact, the popularization of baseball fare feels borderline political. After all, we associate these nostalgic, quintessentially-lowbrow American foods with American pride, which we associate in turn with the political right — making the trend an interesting choice for a thoroughly-lefty New York.
Yet maybe that vaguely-right-wing aura is exactly why classic American cookout food was selected as the food of the summer. Three years have passed since the beginning of the pandemic and George Floyd’s murder, and this summer was the first since 2020 that didn’t feel frantically politicized. Still, on the Fourth of July (perhaps the most historically baseball-game-core day of them all), a generalized uneasiness clouded the air. People posted photos of family gatherings — which they hadn’t done the past few summers — with added disclaimers like “Food was good but fuck America still.” They wanted to celebrate, but felt like they couldn’t.
Perhaps New Yorkers are yearning for stadium foods because they want to return to the time when you could post a picture of fireworks without thinking about what message it might send about your political leanings. None of us want to celebrate America, but there’s still a nostalgia to the act of eating that hot dog — because that’s what we used to do when life was less fraught, when a hot dog was just a hot dog, not a teabag for an elaborate ice sculpture that we’ll never get to see.
While you’re here, check out some of my recent pubs:
Nonprofit delivers books – and access to information – to those in prison – Fresh off the presses as of this morning! One of my favorite stories of the past few months.
Two of my paintings are featured in Steph Aquino’s new community magazine.
The restaurants Jacques Pépin loves near his home in Madison, CT – This is my last piece for Tasting Table! Bye Tasting Table :/
Brooklyn-Based Comedian Releases Full Version of Viral Eurodance Parody Song 'Planet of the Bass' – Kyle Gordon actually put out a new Bossa Nova parody yesterday that is just as delightful as his DJ Crazy Times act.
Pillar of Carroll Gardens Business Community, Francis D’Amico, Dies at 62
Wonder, a New Fine Dining Concept in Downtown Brooklyn, May be The Future of Good Eating – My original title for this piece was something like “Venture-Capital-Backed, Vertically-Integrated Restaurant Concept Invades Downtown Brooklyn” but sadly I do not control titles.
Pandan is the Flavor of the Season at Carroll Gardens' Swoon-Worthy Vietnamese American Bakery
¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana! Here's Where to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in Brooklyn – I am not the most natural pick for this coverage but I am now a verifiable expert in how to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in Brooklyn nevertheless.
Beloved Crown Heights Cafe, Daughter, Gets a Makeover: ‘We’re Fine-Tuning’
See Barbra Streisand's Yearbook, First-Ever Nets Jerseys and More at New BK History Center – If you need a new work from home spot, they’ve renovated the former Brooklyn Historical Society and merged it with BPL and it’s kind of epic.
I’m never waiting this long to send a newsletter out again. WAY too many links. Sorry.
Hannah