An unbelievable hot dog coincidence!, by R.J. Cirillo

On Prospect Park West, just south of Prospect Avenue sits a small outpost of flavor and coolness Dog Day Afternoon.

The shop, opened by Joe Boyle, a Chicago native, and his partner Jay Kerr, serves up a top-shelf version of America’s national food, the hot dog.

I started eating hot dogs at Nathan’s in Coney Island when they were 25 cents. Driving a cab in the 70’s I would stop at Gray’s Papaya in the middle of the night for a dog or two.  I ate them at Katz’s and backyard barbecues throughout the years and they always tasted good.  When I bit into the dog at Dog Day Afternoon, this afternoon, it was a new level of taste for this old hot dog eater.

First, there was the snap of the natural casing on the first bite. Then the juiciness of the mildly spiced all beef on a soft Martin’s potato roll. Joe told me the hot dogs are shipped in from Chicago, and steamed to them juicy but absent of any watery influence which is common in some offerings around town.

Amazingly, Joe Boyle named the place the shop after a hot dog stand back home he used to frequent as a kid. Only after opening on Prospect Park West, did he find out that the Pacino film “Dog Day Afternoon” was shot across the street.

Besides the food offerings they also have racks of vintage vinyl records for sale and a free multi-video game console you and your kids can play for free while your order is being prepared. Not to mention you can also get a copy of this paper.

There is a long list of homemade toppings available (a chili dog being put together while I was there looked incredible) and even a vegetarian hot dog.

Dog Day Afternoon  266 Prospect Park West (718) 264-1835 Open every day 12 – 7