Nick's Original Coney Island Hotdogs

"A signature of Fall River cheap-eats diners: chourico sausage and French fries, the latter cut and fried to order for each sandwich."
Michael Stern






"There is enough sauce to eclipse the little hot dog that is the foundation of this classic gaggah. (Gaggah = local patois for gagger, which is what Coney Island hot dogs are called on New England's South Coast.)"
Michael Stern



"The melted cheddar sandwich, a little-known specialty of Fall River hot dog shops. Sauce atop the cheese is optional but highly recommended."
Michael Stern



"A close view of Nick's melted cheddar sandwich shows how the sauce seeps into the absorbent bun and flavors it."
Michael Stern



"A Spartan bean dog. We probably would have liked it more if we had some optional cheddar and hot sauce, too."
Michael Stern



"Fall River is close enough to Rhode Island that coffee milk seems a natural weenie companion. Chef Fred Beaudry shows how it comes in old-fashioned dairy milk cans."
Michael Stern



"You want French fries? Upon receiving the order, a member of the staff steps to the back of the open kitchen and slices a potato in half so it can fit in the French fry cutter."
Michael Stern



"There are two Autofry machines behind Nick's counter. All you need to do is put in the food and set the timer and presto, the finished fried food emerges perfectly cooked."
Michael Stern



"An alternative to coffee milk: birch soda, bottled in a small plant outside Boston. Chris, Amy and I all agreed that it did NOT taste like chewing gum (the downfall of so many birch sodas). It is rather brut, a respectable thirst-quencher."
Michael Stern



"These school-desk seats actually are older than Nick's, dating back 100 years."
Michael Stern



"A humble place, source of many distinctly local specialties, the most obscure of which is the melted cheddar sandwich."
Michael Stern