I’ve been saving myself for the past three years for that one auspicious moment, that one moment in time when I just know it’s time. When I know it’s Gray’s Papaya time and no other. And that time came last night.
Jim and I were on the upper Westside to catch a showing of “Frost/Nixon” and decided to do the dog after the movie. Unfortunately, the movie was sold out before we got there, so we decided to get a bite to eat before we headed back to midtown.
My first Gray’s Papaya. Recession Special: 2 hot dogs and a papaya drink = $4.50. Whatta deal! Okay, granted the dogs were only about 6″ long (if that..sometimes, size DOESN’T matter) but they snapped when you bit into them (always a crowd pleaser) and the papaya drink quenched my parched body like no other.
So after years of talking up Gray’s Papaya without ever having been, I can now honestly say, I’m a fan.
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Gray’s Papaya may be more famous thru it’s mention in movies like “Fool’s Rush In” where Matthew Perry declares it the best Hotdog in the world. But I’d match and surpass it any day with a Carolina Trolley Stop Dog. Only found in and around Wilmington, NC where they started. My favorite, The Carolina Dog, Pork hotdog, mustard, chili, yellow slaw, on a steamed bun. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I send pictures of myself eating them to my family when I go there to torture them…