If you’re looking for a cachet of hot dog bliss, Tiny’s is it.
While most Carls opt for Hogan Brothers’ or the Rueb n’ Stein, the coolest of the cool swagger into Tiny’s.
But what is it about this hot dog joint that makes it so darn hip?
I first looked for an answer to this in the CLAP. Every week they publish a Tiny’s ad on the inside front cover. It’s generally a half-page of comic, bizarre, and oh-so-phallic imagery. Remember the one about Eleanor Roosevelt?
Ah, but I digress.
Curious about this enigmatic link between Tiny’s and all those CLAP kids, I headed to Division Street to take a look for myself.
Tiny’s had the feel of an old-fashioned drugstore, only with a warmer ambiance of wooden walls and worn-in bar stools. Hot dogs were the staple food, of course. A dozen kinds were chalked up on an old blackboard, including one with special Tiny’s sauce — What is it made of? The world may never know.
The classic dog was a nice $2.19, but the proprietor, Tim, was about to close and let me have one for a buck. I snuck a wary glance at the giant moose head on the wall and sat down to eat.
The relish on it was about the color of lime Jello, but I must say, it was pretty good on my hot dog.
Was it this hot dog deliciousness that makes Tiny’s so great? Perhaps in part.
What seemed more important was the quirky feel of the place. The impressive collection of bobbleheads Tim kept behind the counter had to be a contributing factor in this. That, and the graffiti’d ceiling tiles. Oh, and the giant moose head.
Anyway, Tim was happy to tell me the story of how Tiny’s ads cropped up in the CLAP. No, the restaurant did not pay the editors of the CLAP money, nor did it participate in any sort of black magic. It all started a couple of years ago.
“The CLAP editors were real good customers,” Tim recalled. He proposed the idea that they put a small ad for Tiny’s in every issue. In exchange, CLAP editors got free hot dogs on Fridays.
Every week since then, Tim and the editors have met up to plan the next issue’s ad. “Sometimes Tim tells us things he wants to see in the ad, sometimes we get free reign,” said Patrick Phelps-McKeown (the CLAP’s current editor). The editors then work furiously through the night to produce the CLAP, and bring a fresh copy down to Tim on Friday.
So my final conclusion of the joint?
Good hot-dogs, good CLAP camaraderie, and good (plus quirky) vibes from Tiny’s. Those cool kids have it all figured out.
