Introducing the Onion Crunch Dog

Egad! What’s that on my Shofar kosher frank?

[See More Flash in the Pan: Burger King’s Bacon Sundae Revealed]

You figure the formula used for street dogs has been the same for hundreds of years, right? An overboiled frank, squirt of grainy mustard, and steaming forkful of kraut or suspiciously mahogany (canned) onions. What could be added?

The phenomenon even has a website: onioncrunch.com

Well recently, a cart on the southwestern corner of Union Square started selling a so-called crunch dog — a wiener with nothing else on it but a heap of crisp fried onion chips, and no other condiments unless you demand them.

The onions are shaken from a jar in a rather generous portion, and the hot dog guy acts like he’s giving you something really special. The condiment seems to be distributed by the Sabrett people, who also make the “sauteed” (canned) onions, sauerkraut, and mustard that the guy’s using on the kosher Shofar franks (take a look, the hot in the picture is not a Sabrett).

Oh, and the cart is halal, in a stroke of genius ecumenicalism.

Would I get the frank prepared this way again? Probably not. The traditional condiments are just fine with me.

The cart that sells the crunch dog — there may be more!

Next: All is revealed in a rarely viewed Youtube of the phenomenon.

[