- My name is Prez, and I work at Thrillist.
Around these parts, I'm known as The "5 Dollar Lunch Guy.”
Every episode, I'm gonna put you guys
onto the very finest New York grub for $5 or less.
Well, always making delicious things.
This looks good.
I don't know what that is.
This also looks kind of good.
What's this blue thing?
Oh, OK cool, did you make this?
No, it's not good, because there's a mission in it.
Well done, that was pretty clever, well done.
I'm just gonna still eat this, though.
Hey, what's going on guys?
How you doing?
Now, hot dogs.
To the New York native,
they're a delicacy when done right.
But, to some tourists,
they're an overlooked and often underappreciated
New York staple food.
Now, it's not all dirty water dogs here.
We have some real hot dog institutions.
Whether it's Nathan's or it's Gray's or it's Crif's.
But, there's also Papaya King.
Now, these guys have been co-signed by Martha Stewart,
and Anthony Bourdain, and Julia Child.
So, there's a reason that they've been grilling up dogs
for over 80 years. Let's go find out why.
So, these are the rules of Operation: 5 Buck Lunch.
It's gotta be good, 'cause nobody wants bad food for lunch.
No big chains, 'cause that's just too easy.
It's gotta be $5 or less, and whatever I don't use today
rolls over into the next episode.
(funky music)
- [Prez] What do you like about hot dogs?
- I do not like hot dogs.
- [Prez] You don't like hot dogs at all?
- At all.
- The best is honestly Nathan's.
- [Prez] Nathan's?
- Yeah, Nathan's? You can't top Nathan's.
- What's the craziest thing you've ever had on a hot dog?
- Mayonnaise.
I like Michigan sauce. - Michigan sauce?
- I like a hot sauce that is made by the
individual restaurant, and then onions,
peppers, and ketchup, mustard.
- What is this Michigan sauce you're telling me about?
- Well, it's a sauce made out of ground beef,
and it's got tomatoes in it, it's got spicy hot sauce.
It's more like a sloppy joe with spice.
- That sounds amazing.
Hey!
(camera shutter clicking)
(funky music)
Fun fact!
So, the three most popular ways to prepare a hot dog are:
fried, grilled, and dirty water.
But don't let the word put you off.
Dirty water isn't actually dirty water.
Most dirty water dogs are cooked in seasoned water,
which is filled with onions, red peppers, and cumin,
which gives it its cloudy look.
Now, Papaya King is down the street, I'm starving, let's go.
Hey, we are here at Papaya King
at a major intersection, 86th and 3rd.
Now, there's a lot of stuff going on around here.
Huge stores, big chains, but you can't miss this place.
I mean, look at these crazy neon lights,
and this yellow and red stuff going on.
Let's find out if their food is as crazy as their look.
Come on!
(funky music)
How many hot dogs do you eat here on any given day?
- I usually have a couple of hot dogs a day,
and that's my norm.
- That's your norm?
What is the craziest thing you've seen or heard anybody
ask you to put on their hot dog?
- The kitchen sink, the whole 18 toppings.
- Wait, you can do that? - You can do that.
- You can put—
- Put all 18 toppings.
Bacon, peppers, jalapeno, raw onions, homerun.
- That sounds amazing.
What could I get for like, five bucks?
Could I get like, a dog and maybe a drink?
How much would that come out to?
- It would be $5.99.
- $5.99! Guys, that's perfect, I think that's the move.
Can I get a Classic dog with onion, and the papaya drink?
- Yes, sir. One onion, please?
- Yes!
$5.99, here you go. - Thank you.
- Thank you so much, 'preciate it.
Hey, it's a beautiful day to be Prez today,
'cause I got me a Classic Papaya King dog,
and their world-famous papaya drink.
It's simple ingredients, you know?
You've got your bun, you have your delicious dog,
and you have onions, I went a little adventurous today.
And of course, the classic ketchup.
Smells like a dog.
Mmm, tastes like a dog.
You gotta give it a little bit extra, look, hold on.
Mmmm.
You can see that the skin is just, like, a little bit,
it's cooked a little bit more,
it's given that little bit more attention,
so that it's not like, a sloppy dog.
You know sometimes when you make dogs at home,
and you cook it for too long, and it's just kinda mush?
This is not that.
It's like a pig in a blanket on steroids.
Paired with a perfect papaya drink, you got a nice
one-two punch that will satisfy you on any given day.
This was perfect.
I can see why they've been open for 85 years.
I wonder why they call these "dogs,” I mean,
if I had to be a betting man,
I would say they're called "dogs"
'cause they kinda look like
the dash-hund?
Or the dash-hound? Or whatever?
The little squeaky, long dog,
that's close to the ground.
Listen, man;
a lot of people do a lot of weird stuff to their hot dogs.
Peanut butter and jelly,
what, sour cream?
You know, I've probably heard some stuff like
people putting like, egg on their thing.
While that sounds delicious,
you don't really need to mess this up, man.
It's a perfect meal.
It's ground meat, in a tube, with bread.
And onions.
Sometimes, simple is best.
Last bite, guys.
This is the saddest part of my day.
(slowed-down eating)
Hey, I'm gonna go get a napkin, wait for me?
See you in a sec.
Hey!
Guys, today, our mission was hot dogs!
Quintessential New York food, a little bit underrated,
in my opinion, so we jumped on the train, and then,
we came up to Papaya King,
to have one of their Classic hot dogs
with their namesake papaya drink. I enjoyed it.
We hit every single one of our points.
It's in budget, it's not a big chain, and it was damn good!
Let us know where you want us to go next time,
on the show where I eat food for five bucks,
for you, on the internet, I'll see you guys later.
Tell your mom I said hi.
(mellow music) (camera shutter clicks)
Oh, hey guys.
I was just checking inventory.
If you have a suggestion of where we should go next time,
let us know in the comments below.
I'm just gonna put these back, it's definitely two bourbons.
Anyways, follow, like, comment, share, subscribe.
I'm gonna go.