Just as quickly as we hit the Mission and Swan’s when visiting our son, Chris, in San Francisco, Chris makes a beeline for Gray’s Papaya King on 72^nd and Broadway when returning home to New York City.  If we pick him up at the airport we are instructed to go right to it – no matter the hour (it is open 24/7 year after year).  And if he taxis in, he drops his bags and heads right back out the door to stride the 12 blocks south for his “fix.”  The minimum is 2 dawgs with the works but I’ve counted 4 at one run – always with a large papaya drink.  The success of trips home is measured in how many times he has been able to hit Gray’s and how many dawgs he has managed to consume.  I’m not quite sure what is highest total is but I know that one week visit, he hit Gray’s every day and chowed down at least 4 a day!   Steve usually joins him but other than sipping a cup of the icy cold “tropical” drinks, the rest of the group almost always remains dawg-free.  When Chris was little and already a fan, I think I remember 2 dawgs and a drink being a quarter.  The “recession special” is now $4.75, but, to Chris, price holds no import!  The photos give you an idea of just how much he enjoys his home-town treat.