In the Midst of War, a Tale of Hot Dogs

The hot dog statue wore tennis shoes and held a Ukrainian flag in its left hand and an American flag in its right. (The hot dog had hands.)

Standing outside the flagship store of the Ukrainian gas station chain Socar, the statue displayed a sign advertising “Nathan’s Famous” hot dogs in the same green curlicue script that promotes the chain at its original location in Brooklyn’s Coney Island and Nathan’s outlets everywhere.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Ivan Pozniak, a 35-year-old airline pilot, walked past the statue and into the store connected to the gas station. He was about to try his first Nathan’s Famous hot dog.

“Overall, it’s delicious,” Mr. Pozniak said after his first bite of the so-called New York hot dog, with mustard, ketchup and sweet pickle relish. “I usually prefer more classic sauces like Tabasco or the standard ketchup and mayonnaise — that’s what I’m used to. This pickle relish surprised me, but in a good way.”

Hot dogs are ubiquitous in Ukraine. But for a long time the market has been dominated by a kind of hot dog encased in a tubular panini and described, for a reason no French person seems to know, as the “French” dog. The story of how Nathan’s dogs — settled in their open, messy buns — found a foothold in the country is in many ways a reflection of how much Ukraine has tilted toward the West in past decades.

There are now 27 Nathan’s Famous outlets in Socar gas stations in Ukraine. Despite the war, as much as possible, the lights have stayed on. Business is not booming, but it is OK.