Coney Island and the Ditch Dog

Hello all,

Quick entry here. In New York, they have this thing each and every year called the hotdog eating contest. It's a really big deal, so big infact there's a massive digital billboard at Coney Island with the countdown. So my pal Roman and his sis took me there last weekend for a little tour of the beach and the infamous Coney Island theme park. Oh, and almost forgot,...we hit the traditionally famous "Nathan's" for a hotdog. It was my first time hearing about this joint and people were like,...."Ahhhhh" like in a panick way that I was missing an element of life,....so,.....I put the whole natural cooking school on hold and downed a Nathans hotdog! And, you know what, it was lovely.

Burp.

The boardwalk is right along the beach and its quite a trip to be out of the big city and walking along the beach. Actually it feels like being in California.

Ah, the night before Independance Day... Dan (Nick Sheppards cousin), Monique (Dans GF) and I had a wonderful dinner at their place. This thing called a 'skirt steak' which as Dan joked because of its sheer size and demeanour looks like we attacked some poor fellow in a lane and voila, dinner is served. K, that was gross but you get the point. Despite all the hoopla the dinner was actually delicious,...and then game the gongshow. One bottle of vino turned into a few,...and then at around 2a.m. I was told about the "Ditch Dog." The DD is something that locals know about only. So much so, that when you order it in the restaurant, the waiter will usually take a shot at you and be like,...one ditch dog per person? To which you say, we're sharing, and then he knows that you're not a mooch. Ok, the reason is this: A Ditch Dog is massive and consists of two hotdogs,...sitting on a bed of french fries,...and then covered in Mac 'n Cheese. In Vancouver we hit late night pizza, Soo-hang Chinese, or maybe poutine,...in the West Village of New York, people hit the Ditch Dog and its a hammering to the hangover devils in your gut like no other.

Enjoy the pics and chat soon. Oh, Sharon J in nyc in 2.5 weeks, as well as Ali Cunningham....should have some more stories to tell by then. Ciao!