Remember what it is ... but great for what it is!

Nathan's Famous is a fast food chain from New York. I largely agree with other reviewers: if you remember what you're ordering and make comparisons to Nathan's Famous in the US versus the boutique haunts of Beijing gourmands, you're bound to be delighted.

I went with a friend and we tried the chili dog, chili fries, regular fries and a philly cheesesteak. The philly cheesesteak was the same as Nathan's in the US, but anyone from Philadelphia would be disappointed. It's served on a hot dog bun, lightly toasted and heavily buttered. The meat itself is cooked and chopped properly, but lacks the glistening, bun-soaking, dripping grease that you would find on a proper Philly cheesesteak. There was an adequate quantity of white cheese (or maybe cheese sauce, hard to tell), but no other sauce to accompany it. Also, there wasn't an "ultimate" option - only grilled onions. Still, it's the same as in the US, so five stars--remember what you're ordering, and don't project Philadelphia onto a New York establishment. Two cheesesteaks from Nathan's is about the same amount of food as one real Philly cheesesteak.

I ordered the set - for a drink, a 4 kuai upsell to Beijing draft beer, inexplicably served in a soda cup with a lid and straw. It had a vaguely collegiate feel, bringing back memories of sneaking around campus with rum in my Coke. I took off the lid and drank it without the straw - a little flat, but it's Beijing draft beer, which is always a little flat anyway. Not taking off any points for this. Another 4 kuai upsell to chili cheese fries. They came with a spicy chili, warm but not hot, with pasteurized process cheese food sauce - yummy, chemically synthesized goodness, authentic artificial flavors from a faraway factory somewhere in New Jersey.

My Chinese friend enjoyed his first New York chili cheese dog, accompanied by milk tea--a nod to the fact that this location is, indeed, in China, not a distant Connecticut suburb. He was surprised and delighted by the flavor, much different than a typical Chinese hot dog, and made the whole thing disappear in record time along with an entire order of crinkle fries.

Blue Frog, Nathan's ain't. But the bill was 81 kuai for two people, and we didn't even have to schlep to Sanlitun! Not many restaurants are worth venturing forth from my Andingmen stomping grounds, but Nathan's may just make my short list.