One of the things my cousin Sandrine wanted to do was to go to Coney Island, so we hopped on a train on a Saturday morning, our food destination already decided...
After 45 minutes of train from Port Authority, here we are, in a place totally different from Manhattan. And outside of the train station, here it is: Nathan's, the hot dog institution, home of the July 4th Hot Dog Eating contest. Know that this location is the original Nathan's that opened in 1916.
Yes, you guessed well: it was out first destination. You cannot go to Coney Island and not go to Nathan's to eat a hot dog or two...It is truly American.
The place was crowded, so we had to organize ourselves: Sandrine and I were to order the food and, while we waited for it, Jodi took care of the ketchup and mustard, but most importantly, to find us a spot outside (there are no tables inside).
I should mention before describing the food, that we had breakfast in an Italian joint right before taking the train, so the girls were not that hungry. Sandrine got a hot dog with sauerkraut, as well as fries.
First, we got drinks: the homemade orangeade (I did not really like it):
And the homemade lemonade (decent):
Then, I got two hotdogs that I shared with Jodi (let's say that the sharing part was more a 90%-10% in my favor):
The first one was a chili dog:
The second one was a hotdog with onions and sauerkraut:
I also got some fries:
I'll start with the latter: Jodi and I disagree on Nathan's fries. She thinks that they are the best and I disagree; I prefer thinner and crispier fries, similar to the ones served at Mac Donald's or...Minetta Tavern (I know, I went from fast food to Michelin star...).
Concerning the hotdogs, I liked them, although I admit that a hotdog is a hotdog and you rarely find the same diversity you would find with burgers. Anyway, we had a good time there and were glad to go there and get some of Coney Island's typical experience at Nathan's.
So, after our meal, we walked around Luna Park, that is a magic place, some of the attractions being very old, giving the impression we travelled back to the past.
Then we had a walk on the boardwalk:
Then, we saw this:
As soon as we say Coney's Cones, an ice cream parlor that opened in 2011, we could not resist (we also had to rehydrate anyway and ice cream is always my preferred choice for that!).
They have plenty of flavors there and if you are not into ice cream, you can go for cotton candy, marshmallow sticks or popcorn. I decided to order a vanilla milkshake, my favorite.
That was not my best choice: although I could see the vanilla beans, they should have added some vanilla syrup to get more vanilla taste.
The girls went for: Soft served ice cream.
And vanilla ice cream:
I should have gone for that instead of my milkshake...
This was a great day and we really had a good time. Coney Island is definitely a nice spot, not too far from the city to enjoy the sea and some casual food.
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
