Artie’s Hot Dog Is Wonderful

Artie’s Delicatessen – a (relatively modern) attempt at an old Jewish deli on the Upper West Side, is part of the Alicart family of restaurants. Alicart has a strong roster: Carmine’s, Virgil’s and Gabriela’s (all solid spots, some moreso than others). Artie’s is about to mark its 11th anniversary, so it has managed to endure where many other restaurants in the neighborhood have come and gone.

Being a Jewish delicatessen, Artie’s attempts to plant its flag in traditional favorites: pastrami, corned beef, reubens, pierogies, potato pancakes and so forth. I’ve sampled pretty much all of those items over the years, but I think the clear standout of their menu is the hot dog – it’s excellent.

Look at ’em. Longer than usual, grilling happily away.

Yes, I will have kraut on mine.

This is gonna be good. The Artie’s dog is salty (without being too much so), has a great snap when you bite into it, and is vaguely unwieldly due to it tipping over the sides of the bun and the kraut pretty much causing the bread to dissolve on contact. That may not sound too promising, but trust me, it’s delightful. It makes the eating experience fun.

The onions are sweet (rather than hot), and taste reminiscent of baked beans. On giving the matter further thought, I think the straight dog with mustard and kraut is the way to go.

One of the best thing about getting a dog at Artie’s is you can plop down at a small counter to eat it without going through all the fuss (and potential additional expense) of getting an actual table. The view from the counter is good for people-watching, be it your fellow diners or the pedestrians ambling past with their families.

All in all, it’s delightful, particularly if you just want to pop in for a quick nosh. Two dogs and a soda is a delightful weekend snack,  if vaguely decadent.

Artie’s Delicatessen