Pink's

Yesterday, I blew my diet (and am now regretting that action after I got on the scale this morning and viewed the results) and went to Pink's. Pink's, named after its founder Paul Pink, is an iconic Los Angeles hot dog stand that has been in business since 1939. It sells hot dogs, Polish sausages (though they call them "Polish dogs" here), hamburgers, burritos and variations thereof. Pink's claims to have the "world's best chili dogs", which is their basic style hot dog but there are many toppings one can choose to put on a hot dog. The tell-tale sign this stand is for real is it did not offer ketchup as a topping of choice, which, of course, is sacrilege. It wouldn't be a hot dog stand in Hollywood if there weren't hot dogs named after movies and celebrities. One can order the Lord of the Rings Dog (BBQ sauce and onion rings top that dog). Even Martha Stewart blessed this stand as there is a hot dog named after her. Her dog's toppings include relish, onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut and sour cream. Homesick New Yorkers and Chicagoans can also choose their hometown toppings.

The wait was long.

Very Long! It was nearly an hour.

But I prevailed and ate a Chicago-style Polish dog.

All-in-all, the food was decent. Eating at Pink's can only be a special treat and the long line does discourage me from eating there. Also, my waistline wouldn't be able to handle it. If I really wanted an authentic Chicago hot dog, I wouldn't go there. There was no celery salt and the toppings came on top of a Polish sausage instead of a hot dog. One word of advice: don't order the lemonade. It tasted like Kool-aid.