When last we left our intrepid eaters, they were munching at Nathan's and mulling the career opportunities in Coney Island. We took the N train back to Manhattan and it flew by quick. We talked the whole way and I can't say enough how much I enjoyed getting to know everyone. Before we knew it, we were at the 14th Street-Union Square station and we got off and walked down to St. Mark's Place and Avenue A to grab a few from Crif Dogs. They have a real attitude all their own!
Tony and Margaret's Spicy Redneck (a deep fried dog, wrapped in bacon and topped with chili, jalapenos and coleslaw) and the BLT dog (a house dog wrapped in bacon, with lettuce tomatoes and mayo). I think it was deep fried, but not sure. The BLT was a real winner with Tony. He and Margaret went halves on the two dogs so they could sample each. Chris and Amy had the Spicy Redneck as well and I think everybody really loved it. The Redneck... it's not just for hangovers anymore!
Some of the unique artwork on the wall inside.
I love the specials board, especially the on on the bottom.
Check out the little notes on the menu board.
Outside Crif Dogs. Pretty easy to give someone directions by telling them to look for the hot dog that says "eat me".
My chili dog (with mustard and onions) and a side of baked beans. This was a really good meal. I might do without the mustard on this dog next time as it didn't seem to pair well with the chili on this day. The side of beans was perfection. Somewhat sweet and exactly how I like them. A taste of my childhood and a nice counterbalance to the hot dog. Highly recommended!!
After Crif, we went next door to Australian Homemade, a chocolate and ice cream shop. Not cheap, but then, what chocolate shop is? I've been here before and always like the chocolates. I haven't tried the ice cream yet. A shot outside the shop.
Some of the delicious chocolates in the store. I ended up getting a milk chocolate "snapper" bar flavored with honey. It was really good and had a pleasant, assertive honey taste right at the beginning. I think Chris and Amy picked up a dark chocolate snapper.
The ice cream prices board. Sorry I didn't get some better pics.
My milk chocolate snapper block.
We decided to walk down Avenue A back the Lower East Side as we were just minutes away from the Doughnut Plant, Kossar's Bialys, The Pickle Guys, Economy Candy and the train that would take us to our next hot dog stop, Gray's Papaya. I know, I know, it's a hot dog tour, but being this close to all these places was too hard to resist!! We did find a mini-greenmarket on the street and I found some nice Empire apples and some cider from Red Jacket Orchards, one of my favorites (I used some of their wares in my apple pie for the Social back in September).
Outside the Doughnut Plant
A selection of their unbelievable doughnuts. There was a pretty substantial line on this day. I picked up a strawberry filled covered in vanilla bean glaze, a Blackout and a Tres Leches. They didn't last long. Everybody got something for the road. One of my favorite places in the city.
Mark Isreal, the founder and owner of the Doughnut Plant was kind enough to let me take his photo.
We moved on to Kossar's Bialys (I forgot to take a photo while in my doughnut lust, sorry) and the rest of the gang picked up some provisions to take home. Then we moved a few more storefronts to The Pickle Guys.
Outside the store/ The briny aroma of this place really wakes up the senses when you walk in. I don't think they do samples at all. Too bad. But the staff were incredibly nice and joked around with us a lot. We told them we were doing a hot dog tour and one of the guys asked us if we had tried the $21 hot dog at the Old Homestead restaurant or the $1000 omelette. We said no, but he said he could sell us a $1000 pickle (said with a big grin) and yelled back for one of his guys to get the $1000 pickle for us! I think we saw Marisa Tomei's (the actress from "My Cousin Vinny") mom giving a food tour to a group of people when we were there. She gives her own culinary tours of many of the different neighborhoods of NYC. Her website is
www.savorysojourns.com. 
Chili pepper stuffed olives.
Pickled green beans and garlic.
The spicy vegetable mix known as giardiniera.
The menu of items.
We stopped at the respective cars to drop off some items, and the headed to Economy Candy, which was packed as usual. I think the gang liked it ands it;s just not like any candy store I've ever been in before. A huge selection of hard to find candies.
Here are a couple of shots of the boxes of candies stacked in the front windows.
On to the F train again, but this time to West 4th Street and Gray's Papaya.
Sadly, this sign seems all too appropriate these days, but I'm glad to take advantage of the special. It used to be $2.75 for the longest time and when they raised the price, they put up a sign apologizing for it and it said "Don't hate us!".
The tanks of ice cold drinks.
Get yer hot dogs here.
Dogs and buns on the flattop waiting to be topped. Gray's is very bare bones. No seating, just standing by the windows eating your dogs on the small shelf there and they don't do sides of chips or anything else, just dogs (only four toppings available-ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut and slow cooked onions in sauce) and drinks.
Me and the mascot.
My orange drink. Very cold and very refreshing. Complements the dogs quite nicely.
My dogs with kraut (pre-ketchup and mustard). I gathered a few looks when Tony saw I had put ketchup on them. I just love the sweetness it brings to them.
Outside.
I think it was a real toss-up for most everyone to declare a winner out of the four places we tried today. If had to rank them:
#1. Nathans
#2. Crif Dogs
#3. Katz's
#4. Gray's Papaya
WE stopped at Peanut Butter & Co. which was just a couple of minutes from Gray's and Chris and Amy picked up some PB to go. They just introduced two new flavors: The Bee's Knees (flavored with honey) and a maple flavored PB the name of which I cannot remember. They both sound fantastic! Here is a shot of the storefront.
We decided to head back towards the cars as it was close to 6 pm and everyone had to get back on the road. We thought about stopping at Rice To Riches for some rice pudding, but the constraints of time and our stomachs said to save it for the next tour. We did however, stop at Yonah Schimmels for some knishes to take home. They were nice enough to let me take some pics (just no shots of the staff please).
My cherry cheese knish. I wasn't crazy about this. The filling was okay, but the dough really tasted like it wanted to be paired with something savory and it wasn't fooled by the sweet filling. It was like an Upper East Sider trying to wear a vintage East Village hipster's Ramones t-shirt. I think I'd go back though to try a traditional potato knish for comparison.
The knish cases.
One of the signs inside.
The menu.
Outside
We parted ways after that and said our goodbyes and looking forward to the next time we would break bread and share stories. Chris, Amy, Tony and Margaret, many thanks again for such a wonderful day!!
