Fine Dining - Nathan’s Famous: How Joey Chestnut Made a Fake Contest a National Obsession

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

🌭 Nathan’s Famous: The Hot Dog Empire with a Big Secret 🌭 This week, we dive mouth-first into the greasy, glorious history of Nathan’s Famous, the iconic hot dog brand that gave us Al Capone’s favorite beach snack, a gluttonous holiday tradition, and the most American sporting event of all time: the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. From shady police bribes to feeding royalty to Joey Chestnut’s triumphant return after an Impossible controversy, this episode covers over a century of beef, buns, and barfing-for-glory. Joining me is comedian Marty Cunnie (who saw Chestnut live in action!! I'm fangirling). 🍺 A President Served Nathan’s to the Queen of England 💵 Bribing Cops Was Just Good Business 📉 The Hot Dog Eating Contest Origins Are a Complete Lie 🏆 Joey Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Wrestling Vibes & Wet Buns 🇺🇸 Chestnut Returns for His 17th Mustard Belt 📺 Netflix’s “Unfinished Beef” Wasn't Canon 😬 Coney Island: Hot Dogs, Broken Glass, & Weird Tits 🏠 Marty’s Dream Restaurant Is Just His 3AM Apartment 💬 COMMENT BELOW: How many hot dogs is too many? 📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY: 🎉 Patreon (Bonus episodes, full Yelp segments & more): https://www.patreon.com/finediningpodcast 💬 Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): https://discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4 🎥 Watch full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@finediningpodcast 🔗 All links: https://www.linktree.com/finediningpodcast 🎤 Marty Cunnie on IG: @martycunniecomedy Patreon Producers: Sue Ornelas & Joyce Van 👉 NEXT WEEK: We review the original Nathan’s Famous location in Coney Island to see if the dogs are still worth the pilgrimage — or if the legend should stay in the history books.

Nathan's Famous, competitive hot dog eating, patriotism, and the mildest case of police corruption I've ever seen, Nathan's Famous has it all. In the over 100 years they've been slinging ween, Nathan's has married the hot dog to America so successfully that a former US president glizzified the King and Queen of England with a picnic comprised of Nathan's hot dogs, and they asked for seconds. And while the lineage of the brand's hottest attraction was fabricated to drum up publicity, the Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest has still managed to grow into a competitive eating juggernaut in the 50 plus years it's actually been happening.

This Independence Day tradition has become the thing to watch every Fourth of July for how perfectly it encapsulates the American spirit. Shamelessly using one's stomach as a black hole in the pursuit of a special type of greatness that somehow means everything and nothing all at once while the runners up barf on national TV. This week on the show, I'll mash my dunked wet hot dogs of knowledge into your competitive mouths of curiosity so that you too may know everything I've discovered about Nathan's Famous. Then we'll look to the people of Yelp to see what they're saying

about the original Nathan's location on Coney Island. Stay tuned. This is the Fine Dining Podcast. Fine dining, better than you thought, worse than you hoped. Fine dining, we don't treat mediocre as a joke. Breaking every single place we've been, compared to the perfect five out of ten. Okay, US President, I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna put my top three guesses out there. president, I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to put my top three guesses out there. Yeah, do it. We're going to go Taft, Teddy Roosevelt, and I feel like this has got to be an LBJ thing because he loved talking about his dick and I think the hot dog thing is on theme

with him. It was way less phallic and it was neither of those three people. Damn it. All right. I do appreciate that. That is our culture. When people ask like, oh, like how do you, how does an American president share US cultures?

I, yeah, we'll give them a Nathan's. We'll give them a hot dog and some beer. We'll give them a hot dog. Yeah. And be like, now eat 75 more of these. Hello and welcome to the Fine Dining Podcast, the quest to compare all restaurants to Chili's. I am your host, Michael Ornelas.

And in this very podcast, we look at the history of our favorite chains one week before seeing how they compare to Chili's. I am your host, Michael Ornelas. And in this very podcast, we look at the history of our favorite chains one week before seeing how they compare to Chili's the next. Why Chili's? Because after this podcast's first two and a half years, it was found to be the most mediocre restaurant in America. A hurdle each and every restaurant must leap over if they want to be identified as objectively good. But if they can't measure up to a five point double zero out of ten, that's fine.

But they will forever be labeled not good in the eyes of the American public. This week on the show, we'll be learning about Nathan's Famous, an eatery that we rally around as a society once a year as they host a hot dog eating competition in the name of patriotism. And while I'm perfectly qualified to educate each and every one of you on Nathan's Famous by myself, I choose not to. For every Joey Chestnut, there's a Kobayashi. For every bottle of ketchup, there's a Chicago native seething with rage.

For every hot dog, there's a bun. And my guest this week is the freshly steamed bun bread cradling me with his warmth. He's a stand-up comedian you can see performing all over New York City. My newest friend, it's Marty Cunny. What's going on, Michael? How we feeling? You know how I'm feeling.

I feel like you're feeling the same way. I'm feeling like Coney Island is inside of me in a derogatory way. Yeah, I feel like I am inside of it in a derogatory way, Yeah, I feel like I am inside of it in a derogatory way, but not like how I would want to. It's a hot dog eating its own tail. That's how I feel like right now. It's an orboros of hot dogs.

An orboros of hot dogs, which is the decor we have surrounding us right now. Feels great. Marty, do you have a specific personal history with Nathan's? No, well, I've lived in New York for two years. And my first month was like, what's the most New York thing I can do?

And I moved in June and I was like, oh, July 4th, Hot Dog Eating Contest. You gotta do it. So went down and it was the last one Joey Chesna competed in. So I got to see the champ do the whole thing and it was as weird of an experience as I thought Coney Island was gonna be.

Did you have like a good viewpoint? No, I was in the middle of the street, but you could just see enough, but I'm happy because being any closer to that, I don't think I'd ever get another hot dog again. The splash zone. The splash zone, just seen 15 men with, you know, Joey Chestnut is an anomaly amongst those men

in terms of his body form. The rest of them look how you'd think someone who eats hot dogs for a living would look. And watching those men with their giant beards, just 15 in a row covered in hot, wet hot dog buns, as they're like hopping up and down to try to jiggle them down their gullet. By the way, as you do that, the hot dogs on the couch jiggle.

Yeah, they get the feeling. They get it. There are 80 hot dogs around us right now. By the end of the episode, we might try eating them all to set the record, but- This is gonna be the Joey Chestnut special. It might also just be set decor. Yeah.

I actually have a similar history with Nathan's in that last year, 2024, I went to the first competition without Joey Chestnut, I actually have a similar history with Nathan's in that last year, 2024, I went to the first competition without Joey Chestnut and it felt hollow in a weird way. I actually left after the women's. Mickey Sudo set a new women's record last year, 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

I ended up leaving before the men's competition because we just had such a bad vantage point. I was holding my phone up and watching through my phone because it was like higher up than my eyes. The periscope move. The periscope move. Yeah. So not ideal.

But that's your history with Nathan's. That's my history. You want to hear the history of Nathan's. Absolutely. All right, we're going to jump into this week's Eat Deets. Nathan's Famous was founded in 1916 as a Coney Island hot dog stand by Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker and his wife Ida. Using their $300 life savings, which is $7000 in today's money. Nathan set up shop and lured customers by charging just five cents for a hot dog.

Half the price of his former employer, the upscale Feldman's German Gardens. Ida's secret spice blend handed down from her grandmother gave the all beef Franks a unique flavor, helping the little stand gain an early edge. One might say the most momentous event to be happening in 1916 in the entire world. the all beef franks a unique flavor, helping the little stand gain an early edge. One might say the most momentous event to be happening in 1916 in the entire world. Not World War I. No, certainly not.

We found a place where we can get good hot dogs for half the price. And there's a beach. And there's a beach. Distraction, distraction. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What could be going wrong? Yeah.

In an era of questionable food safety, Handwerker found the perfect way to prove his cheap hot dogs were high quality. This is actually gold. He handed out free hot dogs to hospital workers who showed up in their white uniforms and ate at his stand. The sight of apparent doctors happily devouring five cent francs reassured other customers

that the food was safe. The ploy worked by 1920 with the subway bringing big crowds to Coney Island. Nathan was selling 75,000 hot dogs on a single weekend. My God, and what's funny to think about, this is probably before doctors were like washing their hands. So they're coming out like, oh, they're wearing all white, they must be good to go. What's funny to think about this is probably before doctors were like washing their hands They're coming out like oh they're wearing all white they must be good to go they're prescribing you cocaine

They're like rubbing their hands in the dirt before they pick up the hot dog And then they like they're eating those hot dogs while they're doing surgery And he's got like a 60% success rate on the babies. So like, you know. That was high for the time. I'm saying, that's a quality doctor. Like if you have eight kids, expect five to live? Yeah, you're looking for like MLB batting averages when it comes to your doctors before like the 40s.

So like, yeah, those are pretty good numbers. You would have a litter. The original Coney Island stand became a cultural phenomenon, attracting everyone from mobsters to movie stars. Notorious gangster Al Capone and Hollywood legend Cary Grant were rumored regulars. And President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was such a fan that he famously served Nathan's hot dogs

to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England during their 1939 visit to the US. The celebrity love has continued for decades. Barbara Streisand once had Nathan's dogs flown to London for a party. Walter Mathau was so fond of them that he requested that Nathan's hot dogs be served at his funeral as a final nod to his New York roots.

Okay. He didn't even get to enjoy him. Yeah, well, yeah, that's... Bury him with hot dogs. Like, he should have had this layout in the coffin. This, by the way, I'm gonna put it out there right now. This, all of this, that is how I want my open casket to look. I don't care how I die if my head is like caved in

or whatever, fill it in with dogs. It just says dogs coming out of them like the mushrooms in Last of Us. Or just like hot dogs. That's kind of what hot dogs are. Or just like that's what they are. Just make me into a giant hot dog. I wanna be the skin.

I wanna be the casing. Maybe that's what FDR was hiding under the blanket. He just always had a Nathan's on the go He had lap dogs Yeah, and then Al Capone mm-hmm my Great uncle by marriage. Really? His sister married into my grandpa's side of the family. So like. Well, you are Chicago.

I am so Chicago. That's the biggest Chicago credit I've ever heard. But I do like ketchup on hot dogs. Oh boy. Yeah. Oh boy. Hold on, are you judging me or are you just judging or you know that I'm gonna get it from Chicago?

That's tough for you. It is tough. Thank you for acknowledging my struggle. I'm so sorry. It's good. Yeah, I mean, I like it too. I don't like mustard, fuck mustard. Yeah.

I don't like like a Heinz like just. Sure. I don't want a low effort mustard, but if you've like, if your mustard is bumpy, I'm into it. I want the ground mustard. Ugh. Give me that bumpy mustard. Bumpy mustard. That's my new least favorite phrase I've ever heard.

Bumpy mustard. Uh. Enormous crowds at Nathan sometimes caused chaos on Surf Avenue. Cars would double and triple park while people queued up for hot dogs. Rather than risk annoying his clientele, Nathan Handworker had a few New York police officers on the take, paying them $2 a day to ignore parking violations and only intervene if things got truly out of hand. This informal arrangement meant that loyal customers could snack at Nathan's

without fear of tickets, and it helped keep the peace during those rowdy Coney Island summers. Yeah. $2 a day, and it helped keep the peace during those rowdy Coney Island summers. Yeah. Two dollars a day, you're buying off the NYPD. Man, and I'm trying to think what that would be today's dollars. We did the translation earlier. Ten?

Yeah, ten bucks a day. Maybe 20? God, those people were so cheap. If I could pay, I would pay off a cop for just no reason. If I just had $10, that's like a beer. It's like, yeah, don't take, I would be drinking in the street all the time. Like I would be flagrantly violating laws.

They would just be like, sir, can I see some identification? And you just hand them a 10. And they're like, yeah, you know, my friend, Mr. I don't even know what president's on a 10. Okay, great. Thanks for making me look like an idiot. Wait, is it?

It better not be. No, it probably is. I think it is. Grant's on the 50. Point is, maybe that's. No, no, no, let's do all of these. Yeah, fuck. All right.

We got, who's the $2 bill? Jefferson. Sure. It is. I'm not gonna be able to verify any of this. Look, I had a bad impulse to follow this. We can go to what you were going to say. Well, I was saying, like, maybe that's why Capone liked it so much, because he was just

down there to pay off cops just for the fun of it. Like literally, they're like sharing a beer. You're a lady in the tramping, a single hot dog, just Capone with NYPD officers. Oh, God. And I hate that we can probably make that image on Google image now. It's nothing, you just type it in. I can probably have Al Capone, Lady and the Tramping. Now what Capone would you go with?

You could make a video of it. Would you go with actual Capone or would you go with Boardwalk Empire Capone? I'd go with Alcatraz Capone. Back when he was syphilis'd out the brain? Yeah. Yeah, because then he might actually do that. You could probably get. That's where you contract. He didn't get syphilis out the brain. Yeah. Yeah. Because then you might actually do that. You could probably get...

That's how you contract. You didn't get syphilis from banging whores. We don't know what's in these. No, no, no. It's okay. Doctors came in eighth. It's okay. Couldn't be syphilis in these hot dogs. Despite its fame,

Nathan's remained a one-location wonder for almost 50 years. The original stand kept growing, eventually taking up nearly an entire city block. But no second restaurant opened until 1959 in Long Island, followed by another in Yonkers in 1965. It was Nathan's son Murray Handwerker who finally expanded the brand in the late 1960s. Under his leadership, Nathan's Famous went public in 1968 and began a franchise program, and the company started selling packaged Nathan's hot dogs

in supermarkets nationwide. I almost said Nathan-wide. This set the stage for hundreds of Nathan's outlets and products across the country in the years to come. I'm hearing some real WWE parallels here. The father getting the business off the ground, and the son franchising it and taking it nationwide. The, the, the father getting the business off the ground and the son franchising it and taking it nationwide. Buying out all the hot dog.

All the little hot dog guys, getting squashed down. This is the hot dog territory system will never come back. And their, their contest is basically WrestleMania. You have the entrances is the best part. They put a lot of effort into the entrance. I've seen a lot here. I They put a lot of effort in the entrances. Holy shit. I'm seeing a lot here. I'm seeing a lot of parallels.

That's amazing. Nathan's famous thrive through the 1970s. Its stock hit an all time high of $41 per share at one point, but then faltered badly in the early 1980s as America's hot dog craze cooled. By 1981, the stock had sunk to about $1, and insiders debated whether to broaden the menu. Murray Handwerker stuck to the classic hot dog formula,

and the company gradually recovered. In 1986, the Handwerker family sold Nathan's, including its 20 restaurants and retail product business, to an investment group called Equicorp for $19 million. This sale ended the founding family's direct involvement, and kicked off a new era of franchising and brand partnerships. I want to hear more about this hot dog craze of the 80s.

Well, it ended, it cooled off in the 80s. Yeah, but I'm like- We were crazy for dogs. When were we crazy for hot dogs? Well, apparently from the founding- We were real fucking country. Back when this country meant- Is that what they're talking about

with making this country great again? Is back when we loved hot dogs? We need to dig our heels in. We need to be more of a hot dog country. We need to go back into mystery meat. To be fair, there is a hot dog as president right now. There, yeah, well that sounds like it's going pretty well. Yeah.

It's just funny to think of me that like an identifiable time, like if you have a Wikipedia article about like US food history, part of it is hot dog craze But like genuinely when you think of like rationing and stuff during both World War one and World War two and times being tough Tubes of meat sounds like the thing that people are gonna be like, oh you just add a few spices This is pretty tasty given what it is. Yeah, in a largely German background nation. Like, yeah, I can see that, but like, it went into the 80s? It ended.

It ended, yeah, but like, that's how far it got. That's how far it got. Hot dogs and disco died at the same time. Like... But only one made a resurgence, baby. And we're back. Yeah. But like, like when I think of the 70s, I think of hot dogs a little bit.

But like, not the 70s as like an era, but like the kind of people in my life now that I know we're alive in the 70s, I'm just like, they emanate hot dog. Yeah. Yeah. It's like weird jello molds. It's like the cookbooks where you're like, who the fuck ever ate any of this stuff? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And hot dogs. Yes. Cause you had to look at like whatever pastel monstrosity that somebody pulled out of the Betty Crocker. And you're like, you know what, I'm gonna throw some dogs on the grill. Yeah, like that's the 70s.

It's wood paneling on the side of your car, of your station wagon. It's wood paneling on the side of your car, of your station wagon. It's shag walls in your home. Yeah. Like it was just a bunch of- Plus you can wipe all the hot dog on the shag. It was actually very convenient. It's all textural bad ideas.

That's what the 70s are and that's what hot dogs are. Perfect. Yeah. Nathan's annual 4th of July hot dog eating contest is one of its best known traditions, and it all started with a bit of marketing mythology. According to company lore, the first contest took place on July 4th, 1916, when four immigrants had a hot dog eating showdown at Nathan's Coney Island stand to prove who was the most patriotic.

In truth, there's no evidence any 1916 contest actually happened. In 2010, a former Nathan's promoter admitted the story was a 1970s publicity stunt. In Coney Island pitchman style, we made it up, he confessed. That's probably his voice. The contest really began in the early 1970s, but the charming 1916 legend endured in pop culture for decades. It's a lie. The whole thing again the second worst thing the Germans did in 1916 was lie about the hot dog eating contest. And they probably retconned that one of the four immigrants was German be like see we were here the whole time. Yeah, yeah, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. But it is like, it's also funny to be like,

to spill the beans in 2010 to be like. Everyone it affected is long dead. And be like, and we made up the hot dog eating contest. But like not totally. Y'all fell for it, we're carnies, you see. But at that point, they still have an actual 40 year legacy of the hot dog eating contest. I even like about it. You have the thing.

It is one of the best parts about lying is eventually revealing the lie. You know, I mean, like, gotcha. It's the prestige. Yeah. I mean, like a good I got you. I I just went to the Magic Castle. Do you know the Magic Castle? Yeah. Like big magic club in. Yeah. And all they're doing is lying to you the Magic Castle. Do you know the Magic Castle? Like big magic club in a... And all they're doing is lying to you the whole time.

And the best part is that they keep the lie. I don't want to know how it's done. Yeah, that's always the worst when you see those magic documentaries. And like, here's how it's all done. It's like, who gives a fuck? You remember when they tried to like... I remember they had like an expose on like about how wrestling is fake and you're like

We know Who you like you know you to tell them to have a expose on how Santa's not real Like what is what is the next plan? Yeah, sorry? Throw hot dog you run out I asked for 80 hot dogs for Christmas and I got them So like I don't know what you're talking about. Chicago Santa is real. Chicago Santa, and he only brings dogs? You got Chicago Pope and you got Chicago Santa. And then also Chicago Santa doubles as the Grim Reaper

after you've eaten the 80 dogs, he's like, all right, it's your time. He comes right in the sack. Yeah, his sack is just a body bag. What began as a publicity gag has evolved into a nationally televised sporting event. By the 2000s, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was dominated by superstar eaters. Japanese phenom Takeru Tok… I practiced.

Takeru Kobayashi shattered records in the early 2000s and then Joey Chestnut inaugurated an American reign. Chestnut has captured the Mustard Yellow Belt, the men's championship, almost every year since 2007, setting world record after world record along the way. He set a record of 73 and a half hot dogs in 10 minutes before breaking it with 75 in 2020,

a competition in which he beat the runner up by 33 hot dogs. I know the pandemic was hard on us all, but like no one lost harder than the second place guy. You're like, it's like, it's like 33. That's so many and lose by. And at a certain point you're like, you look at the rest of these guys, like, are you guys really just in this for the love

Of the game because like there's no way like there's trickle-down sponsorships going to any of these All going to Kobayashi and chestnut number two isn't seeing like ballpark Frank's yeah Okay, you did you did good way to go man Yeah, it is also funny funny that I don't know what the Japanese think about Kobayashi. You know what I mean? Is he as much of a legend there as he is here? You know what I mean?

I think he's an American legend. He's gotta be more of an American thing. I can see the Japanese being like, no, that's not for us. This isn't what we do. This isn't our thing. No, that's not for us. This isn't what we do This isn't our thing. Yeah, I mean no one cares about eating quantity more than Americans No, no way. Everyone else cares about quality and like

self-respect it's always kind of been our flex to a being like look how much food we've got and everyone's like yeah, but it's dog shit, but like but look at how much. Look at all these hot dogs. Look at it. I don't know what you're talking about with like, zest. Yeah, it's a lot. And it's very, very appropriately American, I think. Yeah, it's the most American shit out there. In 2015, Joey Chestnut lost to Matt Stoney.

And in 2024, he wasn't allowed to compete due to being sponsored by Impossible Foods, a competitor to Nathan's who offer a meatless alternative. Netflix capitalized on this rift between Chestnut and the Nathan's brand by airing a special called Chestnut vs. Kobayashi, Unfinished Beef, featuring a head-to- head showdown between the two legendary rivals for the first time in 15 years. The dogs were provided by Tyson's Ballpark Franks, and the buns were from a Walmart in Las Vegas. I don't know why that fact was findable, but I love it. The hot dogs were not allowed to be dunked in water, nor could they be separated from the buns

and eaten separately. Chestnut won 83 to 66, but it's not an officially recognized record because the rules and specification foods were different from those of Major League Eating. Wait, they used beef? They used ballpark franks, yeah, the beef franks. That's pretty funny that like after the fact that you would have, I guess in my mind I assumed it was going to be the Impossible Dogs. Here's the thing. Here's the thing that's crazy about it to me.

Everything I found, he wasn't asking if he could eat Impossible Dogs at the contest. He was still going to eat Nathan's. He just is sponsored by Impossible. That's the craziest part to me. Just let him do the thing. It's incredibly carny of them. Yeah. To be like you took money from somebody else. Like you're our bitch. Like you're our man. It's very Vince

McMahon. Again, I'm starting to see a lot more parallel. You wrestled in WCW. Yeah. Yeah. You're forever shitted on by me. Yeah. Yeah. Literally. It really is like that. And it's like, what are you, like why? Just like, he's the reason that you guys have the spotlight that you have. Yeah. People are watching for, he has outgrown the competition.

Yeah, people know Joey's name before they necessarily know Nathan's. They just know the Hot Dog Eating Contest, and they don't necessarily know it's Nathan's. Maybe here they do know it's Nathan's, but not nationwide. Yeah. You know? And so it's kind of, it's very funny thing.

It's cutting off your nose to spite your face. Very much. In the fucking dumbest way. It's so funny. Yeah. Also, 83, he ate 83, not able to dunk in water, not able to separate. Crazy.

What a champ. Yeah, I mean And that's also like a cool big fuck you it's like I would have done this in front of your fucking people Yeah, but like no no you had a cell break a record, you know, not the record, but I'll break a record for Netflix Yeah, you know who really needs the really needed the bump Really needed the bump. Yeah. No one has Netflix, but now they've got eyes on them. Okay, Marty, it's like two and a half weeks since we recorded. Big news.

Joey Chestnut has been announced for the 2025 Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Competition. I'm conflicted on this because on the one hand, you want greatness to be captured. You want the best on the biggest stage. What's the NBA finals if Michael Jordan never got there? What are we watching for? At the same time, this does feel a little bit like when Michael Jordan went and played baseball and then came back. You know, this is, this is kind of getting a little vibe there.

I'm kind of getting a little vibe there. Dang. I thought you were going to be so pro chestnut. I got to say, this is like John Cena winning the world championship for the 17th time, arguably a little too late, but literally this will be Joey chestnuts 17th shot at winning the mustard belt. It's not like last year him being gone, gave someone else the opportunity to shine the competition just lacked. And now he's back.

It's just like, well, we're returning to form. That's great. Joey chestnut should be in there, but I'm like, what does this say about the future? What, you know, if John Cena left and there was no one else who could be championed, like, you know, what, what does that say for the competition? What does that say for the field? You know, step up is what it says. Look, just cause Joey chestnuts in the competition doesn't mean Joey chestnuts going to win. It does, but it doesn't necessarily, you know?

Yeah, yeah, okay. Like someone could, someone could theoretically come out of left field. I do wanna talk a little bit about the announcement Joey Chestnut has kind of made in this process because he said that he was banned last year due to a difference of interpretation. Basically he doesn't consider impossible a competitor to Nathan's and he

specifically doesn't drop the name impossible. He just says, I've had some sponsorships, some in the plant based arena is kind of how he's coming at this. So it's very clear that he has to walk that line of not shouting out impossible in the publicity lead up to this. But I signed no such contract. I'm sorry. Does does this pay well enough to the as a PR manager? Because that is a hilariously PR statement of being like, right.

But it's also kind of shade to a possible because it's like, don't worry, these guys aren't any threat to you, Mike. These people that are paying me aren't going to be, you don't kind of worry about these pieces of shit. Like what? Joey, what are you doing? I will say impossible is not solely a hot dog company. You know, it's possible Joey chestnut cause he's, they're making impossible meat patties.

Chicken, right? It's impossible hot dogs. That's what you got Joey Chestnut for. All right. But we're dancing around it, and we're honing in on a 17th championship win. It'd be funny if he was like, if he tried to like dance around it,

but was still throwing hints in there. He's like, oh, you know, it was very improbable that I was able to attend last year's competition, you know, really unlikely. Some might say, uh, near not nearly possible is if he just really slipped some stuff in there, I would have really loved that. I do also find it funny that in all of his announcements, he said, I'm looking forward to celebrating America, which just, just it fits everything that we've said up to this point about what hot dogs represent. Yeah.

So I'm glad Joey knows that. He really put a nice pin in that of being like, Oh, listen guys, I know where my bread is buttered here. You know, he also knows that like, yeah, it's such an American sport, but he wants to make sure that, you know, he's an, he's identified as the American athlete. And it probably has a lot to do with him being the American that took down the foreigner, you know, like it probably has something going on there too, you know? And go, we're going back to WWE, you know, we had the foreign heel, not that like,

you know, he was a bad guy. It's Hulk Hogan beating iron Sheik, except Kobayashi is also just a nice guy. If iron Sheik just gave everybody compliments, it was like kind of a chill dude, but Hulk Hogan still was like, this is for America. The contest introduced a separate women's division in 2011. That year, Sonia, the Black Widow Thomas ate 40 hot dogs to claim the first ever women's title and pink champions belt. In the past decade, Mickey Sudo has been the dominant female eater, winning

10 of the 11 contests between 2014 and 2024 and setting a women's world record by devouring 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes just last year. The only contest she didn't win was in 2021, which she skipped due to being pregnant. Yeah, sorry about that one, guys. I saw her up there and I said, she will be mine. With that appetite, she can put up with whatever I'm offering. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna go on tour, baby.

But again, now that we keep saying the Black Widow, like yeah, this is full wrestling shit. Yeah, they have nicknames, they have a separate women's division, they have dominantnames, they have a separate women's division, they have dominant championship range. Yeah, it was the Divas division until 2016. It was a butterfly championship, but they... Yeah.

Yeah. Under various owners since the late 80s, Nathan's has focused on selling its famous products and name as opposed to operating their own stores. By staying in the high-margin business of franchising and licensing, the company's revenues have steadily grown in recent years. You can now find Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs not only at its restaurants,

but also in grocery aisles and stadium concession stands coast to coast. I'll say I've never seen a Nathan's in a grocery store. Have you not? Not, but at West Coast, you know. It's right next to White Castle. Yeah, so we don't really do White Castle on the West Coast unless you're there. Yeah.

Yes, good. And I do see them in like baseball stadiums and stuff, kind of anywhere. Yeah. After Hurricane Sandy devastated the Coney Island flagship in 2012, the century old stand was rebuilt and even upgraded. The renovated location added an oyster bar and beer on tap alongside the classic

hot dog counter. In the same time, Nathan's Famous aggressively expanded overseas. As of 2024, the brand operates in around 20 countries from the UK and Russia to Malaysia and the Middle East, bringing its flavor of New York to new markets. In regions like the Gulf, Nathan's adapts to local tastes by offering Halal certified hot dogs and even Halal New York cheese steaks, ensuring the menu respects cultural dietary laws

while delivering the classic Nathan's experience. Oh, the classic Nathan's experience? Yeah. You're gonna get that in the Gulf? I'm not sure I want that. Yeah, if you're if you're not riding like a coaster right after eating Nathan Yeah, well, yeah, it's not the authentic experience. The classic Nathan's experience is sweating till I die Yeah, and then getting on a roller coaster while I think about throwing up and that'll do it for this week's eat deets or while I think about throwing up. And that'll do it for this week's Eat Deets.

All right, Marty, I hope you were locked in on all of that history and got some good advice on how to become a big shot in the world of fast food and casual dining because the next few minutes are all about you and your vision for a themed chain restaurant dining experience of your very own. We need to come up with a theme song for this segment.

I'm gonna sing one line, you're gonna sing line two, I'll sing line three, we'll sing line four together. It'll be the same as line one. I need a song style, give me a genre. I love rock and roll. I'm not gonna do a total Joan Jett, but I'll kinda do it in that. Yeah.

This is the restaurant of your dreams. I dreamt it up one night after about 16 beers. Can you fill your mouth with 80 weenies? This is a restaurant of your dreams. We crushed that. That was pretty good. Marty, tell me all about a restaurant concept that you think has to happen.

And frankly, it's an abomination that it hasn't yet. Something that only you have the brain power to create. It must be practical, delicious, and memorable. Three, two, one, go. All right, so most importantly, I'm the only one who works there. There's no other staff. No other staff whatsoever.

It's more of a stand than anything. And it's just me. And it's a recreation of my house at 3 a.m. And it's you bring me whatever you want and I'll put it in an air fryer. Now I can make stuff for you if you want. I will have my own creations back there. And it's gonna be good stuff.

The flagship item is gonna be sweet potato hash browns with bacon dripped over the top of it, with sour cream or Greek yogurt, avocado and a Chipotle hot sauce. I've gotta ask. Oh, and fried eggs on top of that. People, like you are offering some stuff or people can bring you something or you own it.

It's like a corkage. You pay me five bucks, I'll air fry it for you. So if you got like, if you got like fries from another place but they went cold, like bring them over, toss them in my air fryer, we're gonna get those things crispy again. I'll even spray them with a little oil for you. I feel like what you're pitching is just,

hey you, get your own air fryer. It's really just an advertisement for Ninja, but I think it'll turn out well because I think that it's going to be an eclectic menu. Also, I'm going to be shirtless, so it'll be like a what's going on back there kind of situation. We're going to be flaunting a lot of health codes, but that's okay because I think people are going to forget about it once they have their first air fryer deep fried Oreo. Your chest hair is in all of the food. It's a secret ingredient.

It's in there. A little sprinkle on there. Little oatmeal on top. Okay. Well given that the food is, uh, anything and everything, I'm gonna hone in. What's the service like? What are you like? What's your vibe? Once again, it's recreating my house at 3 AM. So I'm gonna hone in. What's the service like? What are you, like what's your vibe? Once again, it's recreating my house at 3 a.m. So I'm- So you're tired. Getting over about, yeah, I'm getting home

after probably six or seven beers. So the vibe is I will get your order right for the most part except for like maybe one thing, right? And I'm gonna be, I'm not gonna be in a bad mood. I had a good night, you know, I'm ready to eat some air fryer food. I had a good enough night that I have the wherewithal to be like, I'm looking forward to reheating something tonight.

Wait, do you get a part of everyone's order? Yes, that's also, there's the tax of being like, It's called Marty's Corner. There's a little bit of a set aside for me and I'll eat it so you know it's good. Yeah, yeah. Because you can be like, nope, not for me and I'll eat it so you know it's good. Yeah. Yeah. Cause you can be like, nope, not ready yet. You'll put it in, you'll make adjustments.

Yeah, you're gonna get this just how I like it, whether you like it or not. Burger King, have it my way. It's a very personal experience. Think of like Hero Dreams of Ciche, it's Marty Dreams of Air Fryer. And then lastly, what's it called? I think I just named it right there.

Marty dreams of air fryer. Just a little logo of you sleeping, a little thought bubble and just a little basket, the layer fryer basket and the little shake icon that it says. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I wouldn't eat there, but... No, most people wouldn't.

Most people shouldn't. But it's gonna have a very dedicated but small following. It's gonna have a health code rating of a D. It's gonna, hell, I'll be lucky if it gets a D. All right, just the last line of that theme song one last time. This is the restaurant of your dreams. Great, thanks for going over all of that with me, Marty. I now have a better insight into what you dream about.

All right, now let's bring things back to reality and see what other people think of the original Nathan's Famous in this week's Yelp from Strangers. We need a little yelp, a little yelp, a little yelp from Strangers. A little yelp, a little yelp Give us those complaints while you literally White and die Yelp Alright, this is Yelp from Strangers Our segment where we turn to Yelp and read out

Our favorite one Two Three Four and five Star Yelp reviews of the very rest Very good job So I was like, oh, did I miss a cue? No man, look, I'm all about putting people on the spot.

I see that now. Yeah. All right, do you mind if I start us off with the first review? Please. One star review. This is a one star review. This is from Lindsey B from Southern Pines, North Carolina,

written February 9th, 2009, 16 and a half years ago. Okay. Okay, maybe it's just me, but after seeing this famous landmark on the Travel Channel about a million times, I thought I must make a pilgrimage to this place and indulge. Maybe we picked a bad time of year or bad night,

or maybe we're just ridiculously hard to please. Not really, in parentheses. But this place sucked. time of year or bad night, or maybe we're just ridiculously hard to please. Not really in parentheses, but this place sucked. I've had Nathan's dogs before at other places and they weren't all that awesome, but I figured this was their birthplace. Surely they would be better, but no, they were still salty, kind of dry and more like beef jerky. Ick.

What was worse was the general neighborhood. I was expe... I was expecting carousels and roller coasters, but what I got was a skanky neighborhood with lots of sketchy people roaming around, looking as if they'd just dropped off cousin Vinny to swim with the fishes. The restaurant itself was so filthy that we got our order to go.

Nothing about the restaurant or neighborhood said charm of a bygone era. My desire to return to this Mecca of Weeners is gone. I will never watch the travel channel again without disgust. Wait, Mecca of Weeners. That's in my lexicon now. That is amazing. Wait, so I don't know why you would expect anything else out of Coney Island. Even from the Travel Channel, I can't imagine they were like, look at this beautiful... Look at this luxury. Look at the nice white sands on the beach.

No, there's broken bottles on the beach. This is where poor people in New York come to play. And that's exactly what it is. Gosh, can that be their sign? Coney Island, where poor people from New York come to play. This is where the poor come out to hang out. If you can afford a train ticket, you can get to Coney Island. Like, that's pretty much it. I mean, that actually is true, though.

That is the appeal. I got to Coney Island. Like that's pretty much it. I mean, that actually is true though. That is the appeal. I got to Coney Island from Times Square today for three bucks. Yeah, it probably took you an hour. Yeah. Yeah, and that's it. And it's like, Traveling with a literal suitcase full of hot dogs. But like the review of the food, not my experience.

So it's like, yeah, you probably are hard to please. I don't know why you had your little parentheses in there. Really? Not really. It's like, I don't know what hot dog you expected. Yeah. No, like this is that's exactly what it was. And it was, I don't know.

Wrong. Wrong. Um, and then she goes on, I don't know how they work those camera angles, but what you see is not what you get. Go to the grocery store, buy some beef ballpark franks, light up the grill and you've got yourself a deal. We paid $18 for the four worst hot dogs ever, and we probably walked away with our names

on some kind of hit list. That's probably behavioral. That means you were probably a certain way. If you act out enough in Coney Island to get noticed, you're the problem. You did a thing. You did a thing. All right, they have literal sideshows on the street there.

Like, I don't think you... Yeah, you... So, draw focus is a challenge. Yeah. Call me un-American if you want, but this place doesn't cut the mustard. Parentheses, har-har. And that's the end. They put parentheses, har-har? They laughed at their own this place doesn't cut the mustard. Parentheses, Har Har. And that's the end.

They put parentheses, Har Har. They laughed at their own joke at the end. Oh my God. They signed off with Har Har. Oh, you know, this is a, as like, this is a habitual Yelper for sure. Yeah. You know, and the idea that they're like, we needed to go to Coney Island to get Nathan's hot dogs is like,

what do you, like yeah, of course your hot dog in your backyard on your grill is gonna be better. That's what hot dogs are for. Like you're going to a place to get a hot dog that's gonna be like the same thing, if not worse. It's served with intentional empathy. Yeah. Like when they say something is cooked with love, they can't do that there.

There is no love. There is no love in that restaurant. 100 plus years in business, the love died. There wasn't even hate, you know? There wasn't anything. It was intentional apathy. Like, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh. You want what?

Yeah. Okay, we have that here. Next, please. Yeah. Okay. Great. We have that. Yeah. Here. Next please. Yeah. Four star review. We got a four star review from Karen S.

New York, New York. This is July 10th, 2013. Fried frog legs. Can you do it? Are you brave enough? We were. Should we have been? Maybe not. But Karen goes on to say, if you're a punk ass like me, get a great beefy snappy hot dog and some

cheese fries. You can even wash it down with a nice cold beer. I'm unclear as a transition here. Are you brave enough? I guess you saying no. Get a hot dog and some cheese fries. You can wash it down. So she enjoyed the hot dog. I think she's just commenting that they have frog legs. It doesn't sound like she got them. Does not. But it is like, that is just how it starts.

Fried frog legs and then like break. Yes. Can you brave it? Can you, are you brave enough? What it is, I've never heard a hot dog describe as snappy, which I like that. It's a thing that when you, are you brave enough? What it is, I've never heard a hot dog describe as snappy, which I like that. It's a thing that when you, the more you read about hot dogs, it is a part of the way passionate hot dog fans refer

to the snap of a hot dog. Well, the left arm was probably developed during the great hot dog craze of the 70s, the pre-80s. The 1970s, yeah. Yeah, but yeah, wash down with an ice cold beer. I agree. If you venture there in the wee hours of the morning, don't be surprised if some old lady

flashes her tits at you. This is Coney Island. See, Karen got the memo. Karen gets it. Karen's also from New York. Yes. And so she got it. And I think Karen, yeah, she really understood

the assignment here of being like, yeah, they got frisbee legs, are you brave? Get a hot dog. If you're there late, expect to see some weird tits. Like, yeah. Expect to see some weird tits. I mean, you can, she said old lady flesh. Old ladies could have nice tits.

Have you seen a lot of nice old lady tits? No, okay, but there's a right they could be out there They could be out there. You're right. I haven't seen everything. I'm not close. I've made a lot of things, but I haven't seen everything Did you like those two yelp reviews you can get three more over at my patreon that's patreon.com reviews you can get three more over at my Patreon that's patreon.com slash fine dining podcast in addition to that I do an exclusive episode every single month recently I did an episode on A&W A&W root beer ahead of the September tournament it will be one of the competitors so you can see how that stacks up. They have an amazing root beer float as well. I also covered the halal guys for the month of May. It's my first time dabbling in Middle Eastern food for the podcast.

And for the month of June, I will be going to Boston market. I have to fly all the way to the East coast to cover it, but I did find a Boston market that's still existing. So you can check out all of that and more at my Patreon. Hope to see you there. That's part one. Yay. We did it. Tune in next week as we tell you all our thoughts about today's visit

to Nathan's famous on Coney Island and CI. In the meantime, Marty, where can people get more of you online? Instagram at Marty Cunningham comedy, really all the social media at Marty Cunning Comedy, website martycunningcomedy.com, OnlyFans, Marty Cunning Comedy. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what was that last one? Don't worry about it. And yeah, that's where you find me. By the way, this feels like an OnlyFans spread.

What we have cultivated here. How long do you have this studio? We will use every minute, so let's, uh, let's hurry through it. We'll use every hot dog. Yeah, well, these will all disappear. Every single one of these will go... In my mouth? Can't wait to find out. ...somewhere.

And you can follow my show, Fine Dining Podcast, on Instagram, TikTok, Blue Sky, and at Fine Dining Podcast on all of those. Uh, Blue Sky, it's fine dining podcast.bsky.social. I have a Patreon where you can get an exclusive fine dining episode on the last day of the month, every single month. You can get the full Yelp from Strangers segments

as opposed to just those two that you hear on the free episode. So head on over, check that out. If you want to support the show, I really appreciate it. But also for free, go join my Discord. We have chats about food, about the episodes, about our dreams, about our lives, about the times that we're living in, all that stuff.

And maybe one day a channel for... What they really want. For what they really want. We'll see. In the meantime, we're just gonna be sitting here, waiting on our table for one week. Thanks so much for joining. Have a fine day.

Have a fine day. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. This step is done and we have some fun now. We're waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Join us next time, we're stuck in line. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table.

Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table.

Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. We gotta continue our search for mediocrity. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. We'll be waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table.

Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We'll be waiting and dissipating it Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We're shrinking in this week or digging in Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table We've got an appetite for just sit tight Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table

Search will continue when we see you Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table Got an appetite but just sit tight Cause we're waiting on our table Waiting on our table Search will continue when we see you next week Hee hee hee

But I'm gonna let you Waiting on our table Waiting on our table Waiting on our table Waiting on our table Waiting on our table Waiting on our table, waiting on our table, waiting on our table, waiting on our table. Have a fine day!