• Bark Hot Dogs

  474 Bergen St., nr. Flatbush Ave., Park Slope; 718-789-1939

  Partial as we are to the chef-tribute haute dogs at PDT, it’s nice to have a no-reservation-required option. But Bark is more than that: It’s a sign of the artisanal-fast-food times. Beef-and-pork franks with a natural casing and a notable snap come from an upstate Austrian sausage maven, and as they’re griddled, they’re lovingly basted with smoked lard butter, then deposited in a butter-toasted split-top Pepperidge Farm bun. Garnishes are made in-house and taste that way, from oak-barrel-aged sauerkraut to baked heirloom beans. The brisket chili is especially satisfying, and so, therefore, is the chili-cheese dog, distinguished by Grafton Cheddar and chopped onion that likely came from a small tri-state farm, not the Sysco truck. Pair it with a growler of Sixpoint Bark Red Ale or an Il Laboratorio del Gelato milkshake, and ruin yourself for Sabretts forever.

From the 2010 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine