Hot Dog Lunch in Mid-City New Orleans.

I like to go to the Broad Theater for lunch and not just for the pinball. I like to go for the hot dogs.  The Broad Theater has the best hot dog lunch in New Orleans, not just in Mid-City.

The Broad Theater is a four-screen movie theater in an old plumbing supply warehouse built in the 1920s, the Jazz Age. Before Katrina, it was a boxing gym, the “House of Champions.” That sign is still painted on one of the outside walls and it is on the official Broad Theater tee shirt, which they don’t seem to sell over their website.

You have to go the lobby in person. If you want one, tell me your size. I can mail it to you. We can arrange the details.

I just ordered three shirts from someplace else for Christmas presents. One is for a friend. Another one is for a friend. Another one is for a neighbor. It was a very complicated in-person bootleg arrangement to get these shirts purchased and delivered, much as it will be if you want a House of Champions shirt

The Broad serves Nathan’s Famous hot dogs. They make a big deal of it, as if I couldn’t buy a pack at the supermarket. They are proud to offer Nathan’s Famous. They cook them on rollers in the back. They always come out perfect, with the perfect amount of snap.

There is rarely a movie playing in a theater near me that I want to sit through, so I just sit at the bar at the Broad Theater. I order a Pimm’s cup to sip and a hot dog to nosh while I read the Wall Street Journal.

I might have a small popcorn as an appetizer if I am feeling particularly peckish. It is never busy while the movies are playing so I chitchat with the staff and whoever else wants a lunch of concession stand food. Sometimes, we play pinball. Bring your quarters.

Theater workers are only really busy between shows. Once the show starts, everyone who has bought a ticket is already settled in their seats being passively entertained for at least two hours.

I just get a plain hotdog. There is a condiment table across the lobby from the bar but I have never visited it. I am a simple man with simple tastes. The Nathan’s Famous at the Broad Theater are better than the hotdogs at Costco. At Costco, I load up on condiments. At the Broad, I prefer my hotdog nude, the way I like my oysters.

You cannot get a Pimm’s Cup at Costco, though you can stand in the television section and watch a movie with the sound off. At either place, you will the experience what you pay for.

The only other place I order a Pimm’s cup is at the Napoleon House, in the French Quarter, where I also order a muffuletta to accompany it. Ready for some heresy? Lunch at the Broad is comparable to lunch at Napoleon House. The hot dog at the Broad is that good. It is good as the muffuletta at Napoleon House. The Pimm’s cups are interchangeable.

I like the atmosphere in the lobby of the Broad theater. It is never crowded at the bar. The line for tickets goes in the other direction. My usual catbird seat gives me feel for the pulse of the movie-going public.

I like Napoleon House because they play opera on the hi-fi. I like the Broad because they have pinball machines.

If you want to live in New Orleans rather than just visit it, you on the right website.  You should stay at La Belle Esplanade.  We will be happy to share our part of New Orleans with you.