Y’know, it’s sad when the New York Times bursts a culinary bubble regarding one of my favorite guilty-pleasure NYC foods:

You know those hot dogs that you know and love, and can’t wait to eat this time of year? The ones served at Katz’s Delicatessen, Gray’s Papaya, Papaya King, the legendary Dominick’s truck in Queens and the best “dirty water dog” carts?

They’re all the same dog, manufactured by Marathon Enterprises, of East Rutherford, N.J., the parent company of Sabrett. They may vary in size, preparation and condiment selection (and Papaya King has Marathon add a secret spice to its mixture), but they’re the same ol’ dog. In fact, until a few years ago, Marathon made Nathan’s hot dogs.

The rest of the article talks about the major differences in cooking, dressing and serving the ‘dogs, and how these differences separate the “top dogs” from the riff-raff.

Still, the fact that Gray’s and Katz’s are essentially the same tube steak is quite disturbing.