The Unvegan

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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Burbank, Chili, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hot Dogs, Larry's Chili Dog, Los Angeles, restaurants

Whining About The Wien

October 31st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Wien me a river.

Hot dogs: the edible version of man’s best friend. Genius in conception and pretty easy to do well. But to do a hot dog great takes some skill and some food trucks have taken this easily portable meal to the streets to some success. Up in North Hollywood, The Wien brought its truck over to my office one day and I thought I should give it a try and see if it could compete. Continue Reading»

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food trucks, Hot Dogs, Los Angeles, Mobile, north hollywood, the wien

Grand Slamming at Papaya King

September 29th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Welcome to New York...err..LA!

Right around the time that Coney Dog was hitting LA straight out of Detroit, Papaya King was also making its way to the West Coast by way of some other city called New York. Never heard of it. Billboards glowed with the words “Papaya King,” yet this native Detroiter largely ignored the hot dogs of New York in favor of those from his native land. But when a Blackboard Eats discount for 30% off came around, Papaya King could no longer be ignored. I gathered a couple hot dog-loving friends and hit the road for Hollywood.

The first thing that should be made clear about Papaya King is that there are absolutely no papayas in the hot dogs. Yes, this is a little disappointing, but there is still very good reason for the name of the place. It is actually named for the papaya juice served there, which predated the hot dogs at the original New York location. That papaya juice is still important, but not nearly as much as the hot dogs. Continue Reading»

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Hollywood, Hot Dogs, Los Angeles, meat, new york, papaya king, restaurants

Classic Hollywood at Papoo’s Hot Dog Show

August 30th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Look, mom, I made a picture look cool without instagram!

In secret corners of Los Angeles, there are places that just scream, “Old Hollywood.” You know, the Hollywood before organic Whole Foods soy milk took over, when hot dogs were chock-full of nitrates and the only conceivable burger was of the “ham” variety. Vestiges of this near-forgotten time still exist, as proven by Irv’s Burgers, which I visited a few months ago. But Irv’s is not alone, as I recently discovered a similarly classic-looking place called Papoo’s Hot Dog Show in Toluca Lake.
Continue Reading»

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diners, Hot Dogs, Los Angeles, papoo's hot dog show, restaurants, toluca lake

A True Detroit Experience at Coney Dog

June 20th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

At home on the Sunset Strip.

We Detroiters (or metro-Detroiters in my case) are adamantly defensive and passionate about our Detroit roots. Ask one of the thousands of Detroit expats what they miss most about their homeland and they will give you answers ranging from the lakes to the sports to awesome summers. But there is one thing just about all of us can agree upon: we miss coney. In LA, we are about as far from Detroit as possible in the lower 48 and absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. Just about every conversation I’ve had with a former Detroiter in the 3-plus years I’ve lived in LA has led to a “wouldn’t it be awesome if we opened a coney restaurant out here?” moment. Yet, while all these conversations were taking place, a few people were making it happen. Continue Reading»

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Beef, Burgers, Coney, Coney Dog, Coney Island, detroit, Hot Dogs, loose burger, Los Angeles, meat, michigan, restaurants, sunset strip, west hollywood

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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Beef, Chili, Hot Dogs, Los Angeles, mac and cheese, meat, north hollywood, otis jackson's soul dog, vicious dogs

Der Decent at Wienerschnitzel

May 24th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Just look at those colors.

Wienerschnitzel and the concept of a hot dog chain restaurant has always intrigued me. Since I was a little kid, I have loved me some hot dogs, and finally I got the opportunity to check out Wienerschnitzel when the bright yellow and red a-frame restaurant in Valley Village called my name loud enough. I had some strange expectations for this place, because it’s really hard to mess up a hot dog, but they can be messed up and it doesn’t matter what ingredients you toss on top if the dogs can’t hold their own. Continue Reading»

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Burgers, Chains, Fast Food, hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, wienerschnitzel

A Cart Full of Corn Dogs

February 23rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

That's one huge dog.

Just off of Main Street in Disneyland, there is a little cart that sells corn dogs. But these are not just any corn dogs, these are dogs of corn that personify the Disney difference. Where another theme park might be content to boil up some prepackaged corn dogs, the corn dogs of this stand are battered and boiled in-cart. Although a typical corn dog isn’t nearly enough to fill up this unvegan, I was told these were some heavy dogs and took my chances on just one. Continue Reading»

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Anaheim, Corn Dogs, disneyland, Hot Dogs, meat, orange county

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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Chili, Coney Dog, Coney Island, detroit, food wars, Hot Dogs, lafayette coney island, michigan, Travel

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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American Coney Island, Chili, Coney Dog, Coney Island, detroit, food wars, Hot Dogs, michigan, Travel

Rants and Raves

The Meat Industry Supports America

June 17th, 2009

According to a recent study, the meat industry and all its components contribute more than $832 billion (5.8% of the GDP) to the US economy. That is no small figure. In these days of economic recession we hear giant numbers tossed around like they are pennies, but let’s consider what this particular huge number does, other than provide sustenance for unvegans all over the country.

This money goes towards employing more than 6 million people who will earn almost $200 billion because of the industry. But it is not simply about the individual people, but what the industry does for the country as a whole.

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.

‘Hot Dogs’

Overloading on Larry’s Chili Dog

Whining About The Wien

Grand Slamming at Papaya King

Classic Hollywood at Papoo’s Hot Dog Show

A True Detroit Experience at Coney Dog

Beefing Up at Soul Dog

Der Decent at Wienerschnitzel

A Cart Full of Corn Dogs

The Original Coney Dog at Lafayette Coney Island

The Original Coney Dog at American Coney Island

Rants and Raves

The Meat Industry Supports America

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

What is this?»

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