The Hot Dog
As American food choices go, it’s hard to get more ubiquitous than the hot dog. But before we ate them in the billions, somebody had to invent them. That man was German-American baker Charles Feltman, whose boardwalk cart on Coney Island launched an American classic.
Charles Feldman, Hot Dog Genius
A Brunch Staple: Eggs Benedict
Charles Ranhofer on the flyleaf of his book of The Epicurian (1894).
Eggs Benedict is a New York City original. Chef Charles Ranhofer published a recipe for it in his 1894 cookbook, some three decades after they first appeared at Lower Manhattan’s Delmonico’s restaurant. Although others claim credit, the cookbook citation for Ranhofer’s Eggs à la Benedick makes the most convincing case.
An Entire Dessert Category: Frozen Custard
James Loesch/Flickr.
Frozen custard debuted on Coney Island in 1919. The Kohr Brothers had already created a smoother, lighter version of ice cream (it had less fat and less sugar). To keep the product from melting too quickly in the warm salt air, they added eggs to the recipe. The result was light and fluffy and the world’s first frozen custard. You can still buy it, from the same family, at boardwalks all along the mid-Atlantic.
Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024
Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann