Pink's of Los Angeles, Hot Dog Joint to the Rich, Famous and Everybody Else

Pink's Hot Dogs is an almost 70-year-old Los Angeles institution. It started in 1939 as Paul and Betty Pink's pushcart business, running on an electric extension cord to a hardware store one block away. In 2007, Pink's is still at its original LaBrea Avenue location, a permanent structure built in the forties on the site of the original pushcart. And there are actually Pink's branches at the Hollywood Park race track and casino, the Bell Gardens Bicycle Club Casino, the Greek Theater, and at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Paul Pink said that a restaurant chain wanted to pay him $100,000 just to use the Pink's name, but he refused.

Come to the original Pink's anytime morning or night and you might be rubbing elbows with the likes of Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Tom Hanks, Jay Leno, or Brad Pitt. In 2001, MTV's outrageous stunt show, "Jackass", actually "kidnapped Brad Pitt while he was waiting in line for a Pink's hot dog. It is also believed that Bruce Willis proposed to Demi Moore over a Pink's hot dog.

Some variations of the original Pink's hot dog sandwich are named after celebrity patrons. For example, the Martha Stewart Dog includes relish, onions, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut, bacon, and sour cream. The Ozzy (as in Osbourne) Spicy Dog is a spicy Polish sausage, nacho cheese, American cheese, grilled onions, guacamole, and chopped tomatoes. The Rosie O'Donnell Long Island Dog is a 10-inch "stretch" hot dog topped with mustard, onions, chili, and sauerkraut. The Today Show Dog is two hot dogs in one bun with mustard, onions, chili, cheese, and guacamole.

In my opinion, the most unusual Pink's concoction (and my guilty pleasure) is the Pastrami Burrito Dog: two hot dogs, chopped raw onions, Swiss cheese, chili and fried pastrami wrapped in a flour tortilla. This is a riff on the Oki Dog served at Danny's a couple of miles away. The chili is from a secret recipe created by Betty Pink.

As for service, Pink's claims that "an average Pink's chili dog can be ordered, prepared, and delivered to the customer in less than 30 seconds." You can either get your food to go, or sit down amongst the many star photos.

Note that they take no phone orders.

Pink's Hot Dogs is open every day at 9:30 am and closes at 2 am from Sunday to Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays, they're open until 3 am.

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink's_Hot_Dogs

http://www.pinkshollywood.com/pgz/history.htm

http://www.pinkshollywood.com/pgz/rtcl/lat60.htm

http://www.pinkshollywood.com/pgz/rtcl/latimes.htm

http://www.pinkshollywood.com/pgz/menu.htm