Five Guys is cool because after filling your Styrofoam cup with fries they’ll pour in a heaping pile of extra fries for free. Dip your fries in malt vinegar, then ketchup. Trust me. All together it will cost you around $11 with a regular drink (free refills) and will make your stomach happy (for a little while).

Five Guys Burgers & Fries Multiple Locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens & New Jersey

Above you’re looking at the Good Morning ($4.50), a bacon wrapped deep fried dog resting on top of a slice of American cheese and a fried egg and a bacon wrapped deep fried dog covered in melted cheddar, chili and jalapenos ($6.23), a creation of Lil’ NYC Food Guy aka my brother.

The Good Morning is awesome although the Chihuahua is still my favorite. Read on for more madness.

Temptee Dog

If you’ve ever dreamed of combining cream cheese with a hot dog, you’re in luck. The Temptee Dog, a hot dog schmeared with cream cheese ($4.15), is a regular on the menu. Unfortunately not even adding bacon for $1 made this a truly delicious dog. It was a mediocre combination.

Tater Tots

Crif Dogs is like a grown up kid’s basement playroom. Action figures on the wall, a standup AND a sitdown Miss PacMan machine and an Arkinoid/Centipide machine. It’s only fitting that their side orders are served from the elmentary school lunch line as well: Tater tots ($2.71 small, $3.79 large), perfectly crisp, wafer-like gobs of fried potato goodness. If you hate your arteries, get them chili cheese style ($3.79 small, $4.88 large).

Stoner Packs & P.D.T. (The secret bar)

If you’re lazy or just plain crazy, you can order a Stoner Pack customized for 1 to 4 people. It’s a mystery grab bag of Crif Dog eats. They won’t tell you what you’re getting but how bad can it really be?

No one likes secrets but secret bars are a whole ‘nother story. In this case, P.D.T. (short for Please Don’t Tell) is a unique cocktail bar which can only be reached by passing through a phone booth inside Crif Dogs. I’ve never been, I’m a beer guy, but I’ve heard about two off-menu dogs inspired by David Chang (Momofuku) and Wylie Dufresne (WD-50) Dog, one of which has fried mayo on it.

Conclusion

I love this place and you will too. It gets better everytime though the occasional fatty piece of bacon can spoil the party. This is just the first of many posts which will chronicle everything on Crif Dogs maniacal menu.

Crif Dogs

If you haven’t been to Coney Island recently, get out there.  You can take a ride on the Cyclone, eat pizza at the legendary Totonno’s (just a block away from Nathan’s), grab some hot dogs, and go see the Mets future stars playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones.  Read on to find out if the bacon cheese dog was better than it looked plus some delicious fry photos.

At first I asked for bacon on my chili cheese dog but the look of sheer amazement on the cashier’s face dissipated when she couldn’t find a button for this on the register.  Unfortunately, the bacon cheese dog ($3.65) was nothing like the Crif Dogs bacon-wrapped version I hoped for. It was really salty and just made me feel sorry for my arteries.  I’ll definitely go with two chili cheese dogs ($3.65 each) next time.

The fries ($2.99 for a large order) were delicious as always, and like the hot dogs, better than the fries at any other Nathan’s I’ve ever been to.  It must be the oil and the grill, the flavor of nostalgia resonates with every bite.

Here’s a look at the menu. You can eat inside but the real experience is ordering and eating outside, letting the fresh ocean breeze help you breathe after you down two chili cheese dogs and fries.

And to set the scene for you, here’s the outside of what may be the greatest mecca to hot dogs in this country, maybe the world.

Nathan’s Famous