Pink's!

No ridiculous fat-free hot dogs here (yes, I'm talking to you, Michelle).

Kate and I had a wonderful time this afternoon. For as long as she's lived right down the freeway in Long Beach, and even though Michelle and I lived literally right down the street at Melrose and Fairfax, neither of us ever had been to the famous Pink's hot dog stand in West Los Angeles. So today, while Michelle was busy blogging about the future of online journalism, Kaye and I had ourselves one of Pink's legendary chili dogs.

This place started in 1939 as a roadside hot dog cart "out in the country," at what is now the very busy intersection of Melrose and La Brea. Over the next decade or so they improved the building, but it's been essentially unchanged for 50 years and the dogs never seem to go out of style. I've never driven by the place when there wasn't a long line out front, and that includes 3 in the morning after a long night at a cardroom.


Now I understand the attraction. Neither Kaye nor I are big chili dog people but we agreed this was one of those when-in-Rome moments and that's what we both ordered. Delicious. The chili somehow didn't overwhelm the dog or bun, either in taste or messiness. Pretty darn delectable lunch.

Afterward we went up the street to the Melrose Starbucks where Michelle and I used to see aspiring screenwriters tapping away on their laptops. We sat outside, enjoyed our joe, and traded stories. It was quite fun.