‘Chili’

Overloading on Larry’s Chili Dog

January 30th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Classic dog-in-bun.

Up in Burbank is a classic-looking hot dog shack called Larry’s Chili Dog.  They have an awesome neon sign that looks like it was built in the 1970s at the earliest, but likely goes back even further.  The true age of the joint is bit difficult to ascertain, for while another, smaller sign says “SERVING BURBANK FOR OVER ’50 YEARS,’” I’m not really sure what 50 years amounts to when you put them in quotes. Whatever the case, this place was definitely old and old school. Continue Reading»

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Scaring Vampires at The Stinking Rose

July 15th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is the story of when I ran away and joined the garlic circus.

With the ever-growing popularity of vampires in silly stories like Twilight and edgy television like True Blood, it seems that something important to our very human survival has fallen by the wayside.  That is garlic, the fabric of our lives…errr…the thing that vampires hate.  For some reason.  One place you’ll never see a vampire hanging out at is The Stinking Rose, a restaurant in Beverly Hills.  The reason is that apparently “stinking rose” is another term for garlic.  I disagree with calling it stinking because I like the smell of garlic, as long as it hasn’t yet been eaten, but perhaps pungent rose was already taken. Continue Reading»

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Beefing Up at Soul Dog

June 17th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

And who is Otis Jackson?

A few months ago, a sign appeared in North Hollywood for a soon-to-open restaurant called Otis Jackson’s Soul Dog.  The sign claimed “premium hot dogs & soul fixins” and while I wondered who the hell Otis Jackson was, I figured that this place wasn’t just serving the hot dog meat, but also the souls of the animals in the hot dogs.  But, with Vicious Dogs just a 3 minute walk down the street, this was going to have to be a damn good hot dog to compete. Continue Reading»

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Rainy Day Chili at Tub’s

December 29th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Is this the Texas way?

Having never spent a significant amount of time in Texas, Texas-style chili remains a mystery to me.  However, if I were to imagine chili in Texas, it would pretty much look like Tub’s Fine Chili & Fancy Fixins, which I decided to head to on one of LA’s recent days of rain.  For starters, the interior has a whole country-western sort of theme to it, with the workers wearing cowboy hats and cowboy-esque stools that resemble saddles.  It’s a bit gimmicky for Southern California, but it kind of feels right for the place.  Then there’s the chili, which is a far cry from the Midwestern-style chili I know and love from Chili John’s in Burbank and pretty much the entire state of Michigan.  But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because as they say, “variety is the spice of life.” Continue Reading»

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The Original Coney Dog at Lafayette Coney Island

September 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The Original?

Just before my last visit to my Detroit homeland, I happened to watch a TV show called Food Wars.  This show goes all around the country and pits local restaurants against one another.  In this particular episode, Detroit’s Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island faced off.  The two Coneys were founded in the early 1900s by brothers from Greece and both claim to be the originator of the Coney Dog, a Detroit staple.  On the show, American (powered by their sweet Vidalia onions) edged out Lafayette by a vote of 3-2.  But how would they fare with the Unvegan?  Fortunately an impromptu tour of Detroit with a last-minute visitor brought me to the corner of Lafayette and Michigan Avenue.  Wondering which Coney Dog was the unvegan king, I stepped into Lafayette Coney Island. Continue Reading»

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The Original Coney Dog at American Coney Island

September 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The Original?

Just before my last visit to my Detroit homeland, I happened to watch a TV show called Food Wars.  This show goes all around the country and pits local restaurants against one another.  In this particular episode, Detroit’s Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island faced off.  The two Coneys were founded in the early 1900s by brothers from Greece and both claim to be the originator of the Coney Dog, a Detroit staple.  On the show, American (powered by their sweet Vidalia onions) edged out Lafayette by a vote of 3-2.  But how would they fare with the Unvegan?  Fortunately an impromptu tour of Detroit with a last-minute visitor brought me to the corner of Lafayette and Michigan Avenue.  Wondering which Coney Dog was the unvegan king, I stepped into American Coney Island. Continue Reading»

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Getting Chili on Top at Lulu’s Coney Island

July 13th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Now that's loose.

With nearly every visit back to Michigan (time permitting), there is a requisite stop at a Coney Island.  You can’t drive more than a few miles in the metro Detroit area without hitting a Coney, and I’m pretty sure they are all awesome.  My go-to Coney growing up was Leo’s, but sometimes convenience outweighs loyalty.  So last time I was back in the homeland, we went to Lulu’s Coney Island in Walled Lake. Continue Reading»

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Chili Done Right at Chili John’s

June 3rd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It looks just like it should.

In my attempt to consume some of the meatier delights from Jonathan Gold’s 99 Things to Eat Before You Die in LA, I convinced some of my coworkers to join me on a trip to Chili John’s in Burbank.  In addition to reading about it on the list, I had heard a lot of other great things about the place, so I was surprised to find it pretty empty for lunch on a Friday.  We all found a seat at the horseshoe-shaped counter and began our journey into chili. Continue Reading»

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Wanting to Love the Crown Burger

March 19th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Such potential.

Down the street from my new office in North Hollywood sits a little chili burger stand called Crown Burger.  I saw the place from a distance and wanted so badly for this to be a place to fall in love with.  I walked five minutes to the place and walked right up to the counter to make my order.  The place was run by a group of Asians (likely of the Korean variety), which was surprising since hamburgers aren’t ordinarily associated with people from the east, but I was still excited at the prospect of this burger. Continue Reading»

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Finishing Up at Frysmith

November 23rd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Want some fries with your chili?

Want some fries with your chili?

Last week, I brought you an interview with Frysmith, the newest food truck to roll out in LA.  Although they were opening Friday, I didn’t think there was any chance I could make it, due to a previous commitment.  At the end of a long Friday night, I decided to check Twitter to see if there were any taco trucks to be found.  I was pretty sure that Frysmith had already wrapped up, but I was still in need of some mobile foodery.  As I checked Twitter, though, I found that Frysmith was still at the Brig in Abbot Kinney, so I rushed over to see if I could make it in time. Continue Reading»

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Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State.  No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries.  While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery.  The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

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A little stretch before eating at Don Pichon.

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Unvegan Friends