Posted by ayersian
, May 16, 2009 11:53
Established in 1927, the Original New York System at 424 Smith Street is Providence’s oldest hot weiner stand…or is it? According to Quahog.org, Sparky’s Coney Island System in East Providence trumps the Original by a dozen years, having opened in 1915. But that trip is for another day, as I snagged a curbside parking space next to the Original. I fully expected the place to be full of hungry weenie-lovers, but alas, the place was empty—not a good sign at noon on a Saturday. “Where is everyone?” I asked the counterman as I saddled a stool at the counter. “The economy sucks,” he shrugged, “but you look hungry. What’ll ya have?” In addition to a superior hot weiner, I also got a slice of life. My five-minute lunch ended up being forty-five as we watched Top Chef on TV, and he spun tales of his stint as an executive chef in Los Angeles. “John Candy loved our food,” he beamed, and then his stories shifted to a period in San Francisco where he was stuck in wreckage during the Bay Bridge’s 1989 collapse for a day and a half. “That’s when we moved back to Providence,” and he resumed the mantle of Hot Weiner King. The Original features the smaller Little Rhody with the pinched ends, and I ordered this gaggah without onions so as to relish the spill of dark, savory sauce with no distractions. After washing it down with a cup of coffee milk, I thanked him kindly and promised I’d be back soon.
