Return of the King: NYC's once-quelled Papaya Wars rage anew

After being closed for a year, Papaya King, the Upper East Side institution that specializes in hot dogs and tropical drinks, reopened this month.

While that may be a cause of celebration for some, the return of the King (apologies, J.R.R. Tolkien) has reignited a decades-long battle between the hot-dog monger and its arch rival to the west: Gray’s Papaya.

WNYC’s David Furst spoke with Robert Sietsema , senior critic with Eater New York, to get his take on the crosstown papaya wars.

Furst: Robert, first of all, tell us about the return of Papaya King. As you wrote about in Eater New York, it was threatened with extinction. Just explain this iconic business for the uninitiated.

Sietsema: If you're an Eastsider or a Westsider, there is no better distinction to be made than whether you love Gray's Papaya or whether you love Papaya King.

To the outsiders, the names sound very, very familiar and indeed the menus are closely matched. So you could identify an Eastsider or a Westsider: That's a distinction that's at the heart. Of being a New Yorker.

But Papaya King closed about a year ago, right?

Yeah. That was one of the greatest of urban tragedies. It was right at the corner of East 86th street and Third Avenue on the northwest corner. It had been there since 1932 and they kicked it out to make way for another condo. This is the place that is central to the identity of the East Side of New York.

And now it's in a new location. This is, uh, sort of right across the street.

Well, it was touch and go whether the place would reopen. They had located one space and that fell through and now they have another space. It's not right on the corner, unfortunately, it's inland from Third Avenue towards Second Avenue, like two or three storefronts. Enough to make it annoying to have to go a few more steps to get that hot dog.

And how's the new location?

Well, the new location — just between you and me — is mildly disappointing. It's no longer quite as garish. It's now filled with black and white photographs of people that are unidentified, presumably hot dog eaters of a century ago.

Papaya King, Gray's Papaya. Why papaya?

Well, it was supposed to be some sort of antidote to the unhealthiness of eating hot dogs. There's supposed to be an enzyme in the papaya that helps you digest the hot dogs.

Alright, let's get back to that rivalry. Across town, of course, on the Upper West Side is Gray's Papaya at 72nd and Broadway.

Who wins? In the head to head competition. Well, they're both all beef franks in a natural skin. The ones that Papaya King are a little firmer. They're a little smoother. They're a little harder. It takes a little bit of mouth energy to bite into it. Gray’s Papaya are a little softer, a little bouncier, a little grainier, and a little funkier. There's a slight extra taste there.

So I'm gonna have to go with Gray's Papaya as the better of the two, but, you know, I was beguiled by what they call a footlong at Papaya King, which is actually, of course, not a foot, this being New York, it's eight and a half inches. But they put it in two buns at once and put chili and cheese on top of it, which is quite a departure from the conventional New York toppings of mustard and sauerkraut.

Okay, so it sounds to me like you're trying to split the difference here so that you can still be welcome on both sides of town. Is that what's happening?

Well, I'm a Westsider. So obviously what I'm saying about Gray’s Papaya is suspect.

All right. And what should you order to get the true experience at these locations?

Well, that's another thing a New York frank is such a distinctive thing It's unlike any other in the country. Even in, like, Cincinnati when they make something called a Coney Island hot dog It's nothing like our hot dogs. Our hot dogs are concise. They are beefy. They are snappy. And you don't really have any choice of the toppings. You must have mustard or sauerkraut or the stewed onions — invented by someone years later, but still venerable. Any combination of those three, but I'd go with mustard and sauerkraut. Let's be old school.

All right. Well, Robert, you may have to stay on the West Side permanently after this, but thank you for being so brave.

And thanks for having me on, David, as usual.