Khan's Hot Dog Cart parks itself at 37th and Spruce between Hemo's and the Crepewalk. The menu is unoriginal but, then again, when you're paying $2 for an egg and cheese sandwich and $4 for a chicken cheesesteak, originality isn't exactly what you're looking for. You'll have a hard time finding something to complain about, no matter how simple the cart may seem.
If you're hankering for a hot dog, the name of the cart will probably draw you in. They offer up a classic hot dog, which they may arrange on a fresh bun with your choice of condiments while chatting up customers in Hindi. As for taste, you get what you pay for, and it's nothing spectacular. Still, the $1 price tag is hard to beat.
Khan's rounds out the menu with all the staples: breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and muffins ($1-3); sausage, kielbasa and meatball sandwiches ($2-3); and cheesesteaks, burgers and hoagies ($2-4). They also offer seven meal, drink and chip specials, ranging from $3.50 to $5.50.
The standout item is not the hog dog after all — it's the chicken sandwich. Khan and his brother (they also run a cart outside the VA) wake up early every morning to marinate the chicken, and it pays. The chicken is juicy and offers just the right amount of spice. Enjoy with caution, though, because delicious drops of cheesy, ketchup-y hot sauce — think Bui's sauce but less spicy — are likely to escape the matrix of chicken, fried onions, lettuce and tomatoes.
While the name may not have the clout of Hemo's or Bui's, Khan's delivers on food cart favorites, keeping the prices super low. And when you're in a rush, it's still-obscure status will keep the lines shorter than those of its competitors.
