Luna Park and Original Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters
When I was a young boy, a traveling luna park came through Celje once a year. A carousel, a shooting range with balls, some tired exotic animals. And the world opened up. In our minds, we traveled to foreign lands with circus performers, observed unusual animals, foreign peoples. And when we grew up, something from childhood remained in us forever.
And a good quarter of a century ago, when I was in New York for a few days, I took the subway to Coney Island. Luna Park, which was Astroland at the time. With the mighty wooden roller coaster Cyclone. On the other side, like in the good old days, a shooting range, a woman with a beard, a woman with a python, the strongest man in the world.
And of course, Nathan’s frankfurters.
And a three-mile-long sandy beach.
And so this September, when I was back in New York after a long time, I took the subway to Coney Island. At least that’s what I believed. Because I’m smart and a know-it-all, I didn’t even look at the subway schedule. When I get off at the last stop, something tells me that maybe this isn’t right. Of course, I quickly realize that I got on the A line at Washington Square instead of the F or D. And I was 25 km away.
Okay — with a slight delay and a few more kilometers, I finally get to Coney Island.
When I walked along the beach years ago, in the middle of summer, there was a huge crowd on the shore. It was a Saturday, and Coney Island was the destination of family outings. From the wooden boardwalk, the Chinese were catching small crabs. The buckets were full of their catch. A delicious dinner was in sight.
The poorer residents of the city went here. The rich went on safaris to Africa or on yachts to the Bahamas.
This year, the situation was different. September — when Pamela Anderson or Dwayne Johnson are no longer on duty even in California, and swimming is prohibited. The watchtowers are empty, and Baywatch is just a vintage TV series.
The size of the crowd on a typical Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1900 was about 100,000. By 1925, average Sunday afternoon attendance had soared to one million.
The Cyclone, also called the Coney Island Cyclone, is the first thing that attracts me. Descended from the ice slides enjoyed in eighteenth-century Russia, through the many changes incorporated by French and American inventors, the Cyclone has been one of the country’s premier roller coasters since its construction. It opened to the public on June 26, 1927.
Since I have a slight problem with a fear of heights and a bad spine, I easily give up on the ride. And even more so when I hear that at least three people have died after riding the Cyclone.
There is no way I can pass up Nathan’s hot dogs. Nathan’s Famous, which, in 1916, began selling hot dogs for a nickel.
The word frankfurter comes from Frankfurt, Germany, where pork sausages similar to hot dogs originated. These sausages, Frankfurter Würstchen, were known since the 13th century, given to the people on the occasion of imperial coronations. Originally made of pork and square in cross-section, they were stacked in wooden crates. They arrived in New York in the nineteenth century with German migrants and are strongly connected to New York City and its cuisine. According to one legend, they were called hot dogs because they were supposedly made from dog meat during the crisis in Germany. They say you can still get them somewhere.
But let’s go back to Nathan. Nathan Handwerker (1892–1974) was a Jewish-Polish immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1912 and soon found work at the Coney Island, Brooklyn, restaurant Feltman’s German Gardens. By one account, he was encouraged by singing waiters Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business to compete with Feltman.
The recipe was supposedly invented by his wife Ida, while her grandmother created the secret spice mix. And of course, they are one hundred percent beef.
The original Nathan’s hot dog stand still exists at its original 1916 site.
And so it has remained for one hundred and nine years.
And of course, The Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest — an annual American competitive eating event — held each year on July 4.
But let’s be honest. The hot dog was nothing special. Small. Mine was already a little wrinkled — like it had been cooked a long time ago. The bun wasn’t fresh, just some mustard and ketchup. On a cardboard tray. Since it was September, there were no long lines, only a few individuals. Except for past glory, nothing special.
And for film lovers — Mae West (yes, that Mae West) has a connection to Coney Island. She was born in nearby Brooklyn, and her early career included performances at venues such as the Eden Musée wax museum, where wax figures of her were exhibited. The seaside amusement park formed a prominent part of her childhood and early life in Brooklyn.