The Olneyville New York System is a restaurant in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, known for its

hot wiener The hot wiener, or New York System wiener is a staple of the food culture of Rhode Island where it is primarily sold at "New York System" restaurants. Preparation The traditional wiener is made with a small, thin hot dog made of beef, veal and p ...

s. It opened in 1946 by Anthony Stavrianakos, a Greek immigrant. The restaurant was named for Providence's

Olneyville Olneyville is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island bordered by Atwells Avenue to the north, U.S. Route 6 to the south and Rhode Island Route 10 to the east. The Woonasquatucket River runs through the southern portion of the neighborhood. ...

neighborhood. Stavrianakos's extended family had operated the Original New York System from 1927 in the Smith Hill neighborhood.Ellis, Jonathan.
"Top Hot Wiener."
''Brown Daily Herald.'' November 27, 2005.Martin, Christopher.
"Whence came the first New York System?"
''Edible Rhody.'' Spring 2007. The restaurant's signature dish, hot wieners, are never referred to as

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

s or served with ketchup. They are "distinctive to

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. Slathered with mustard, topped with meat sauce, sprinkled with celery salt and onions, and served in a steamed bun, the hot wiener is signature as are the salt and vinegar French fries. The preferred drink is

coffee milk Coffee milk is a drink made by mixing coffee syrup or coffee extract and milk together in a manner similar to chocolate milk. It is the official state drink of the US state of Rhode Island. Coffee syrup Coffee syrup is a sweetened coffee concent ...

, made in Rhode Island by flavoring milk with a sweetened coffee concentrate called coffee syrup."Meet the 2014 America's Classics
/ref> Hot wieners with all available toppings are ordered "all the way".

History

Anthony Stavrianakos founded the restaurant in 1946 with his son Nicholas. Nicholas' son Peter took over from him. Peter's son Greg and sister Stephanie are fourth generation owners. They currently operate two locations, in Providence and

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island ...

Awards and honors

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

America's Classic which honors "restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved for quality food that reflects the character of their community." *The restaurant was featured in the TV series ''

Man v. Food Nation ''Man v. Food Nation'' is the name given to the fourth season of the Travel Channel's '' Man v. Food'', a food reality television series. It premiered on June 1, 2011. A preview episode, "The Quest Begins", aired on May 25. In this show, host Ad ...

'' (August 10, 2011) and ''

The Best Thing I Ever Ate ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'' is a television series that originally aired on Food Network, debuting on June 22, 2009 (after a preview on June 20). The program originally aired as a one-time special in late 2008. After being cancelled by The Food ...

''.

References

External links

New York System in Rhode Island
{{Restaurants in Rhode Island Hot dog restaurants in the United States Restaurants in Rhode Island James Beard Foundation Award winners 1946 establishments in Rhode Island