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Top Dog
Even for unapologetic Papaya King junkies, eating a frank is an act of blind faith. As for how it's made and what's in it, ignorance is bliss. But Niman Ranch is out to change all that. The Bay Area producer of boutique beef and pork has recently started distributing its Fearless Franks to East Coast gourmet stores like Citarella and Eli's Manhattan, where they no doubt appeal to smart consumers who care about how animals are raised (free-range, on sustainable family farms, on a diet of hormone-and-antibiotic-free feed that could pass for gourmet granola) before they become dinner. City Bakery's Ilene Rosen uses them for her tasty deep-fried corn dogs, served with peanuts and pretzels; miniaturized and wrapped in puff pastry, they become name-brand pigs-in-blankets at Grace in Tribeca; and next week, the hickory-smoked, all-beef dogs make their steamed Brooklyn debut at Sparky's American Food, a fast-food joint opening in a converted Williamsburg warehouse. Owner and reformed dot-commer Brian Benavidez sourced the best ingredients he could find for everything (Ronnybrook ice cream for milkshakes, organic Cheddar for cheese fries, custom-baked buns). But the dog's the thing, and he serves it a dozen or so ways, with toppings ranging from chili-pickle relish to homemade ketchup. And the name? "Sparky's my dog," he says. We suspected as much. —ROB PATRONITE
Sparky's American Food
135-A North 5th Street, Williamsburg
718-302-5151

the underground gourmet
Coffee-Shop Confidential
It's one thing for a bar or restaurant seeking a certain exclusive cachet not to hang a sign out front; it's another thing for one to completely hide behind a floor-to-ceiling Wizard of Oz velvet curtain in a hotel lobby. That's where you'll find the unnamed coffee shop unofficially known as The Burger Joint. Enter Le Parker Meridien hotel, breeze past the reception desk, take a sharp left at the curtain, and look for the unmarked door. The idea behind the month-old spot— a windowless nook that deceptively gives the impression of having always been there, with its brown vinyl booths, wood paneling, and industrial-size cans of Heinz ketchup on the shelves— was to give overwhelmed tourists a cheap, kid-friendly, no-nonsense alternative to room service, and stressed-out natives a place to decompress from the overheated, often exhausting restaurant scene. To that end, the menu is brief: crisp and salty fries, $2.50 Sam Adams in a plastic cup, fudgy homemade brownies, and juicy $4.50 burgers on plain old soft buns that hit the spot, whether you've just flown in from Tokyo or trudged over from your office across the street.
The Burger Joint (at Le Parker Meridien Hotel)
119 West 56th Street
212-245-5000