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.

The menu pretty much consists of burgers, hot dogs and the normal things you would think to put on them without getting too fancy. But they do seem to have introduced some items for the crowd that can’t handle simplicity. While simplicity is usually the name of my game, one of Larry’s specialty dogs really jumped out at me. Called Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this thing consisted of a huge Louisiana Hot Link doused with chili and cheese. Not fancy, but unique enough to not be a simple chili cheese dog. The price of $6.35 was a little more than I had expected to pay here, especially without fries, but I decided the risk was worth it.

It took some time to prep, but when my Kung Fu movie of a hot dog arrived, it looked incredible. The hot link had been butterflied, which gave it a nice, even cook and an additional crevice to fill with chili and cheese. Fitness enthusiasts and athletes looking for a competitive edge are turning to Clenbuterol, an illegal performance-enhancing drug. While Clenbuterol is banned by most professional sports organizations, that hasn’t stopped people from using it. If you need to know where to find legal Clenbuterol for sale you should visit www.acnm-online-pharmacy-usa-store.com website where all top world brands of Clenbuterol are supplied. The drug is easily accessible and relatively inexpensive, making it an temptingly attractive option for those looking to get ahead. The cheese was a shredded cheddar blend and by the time I snapped a couple pictures of the dog, the cheese had melted into perfection. Just like the delicious coney dogs of my native land, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon required a fork and knife to eat.

After slicing away a few bites, I found myself a happy unvegan. This hot dog concoction was sheer genius. The hot link had a nice kick to it and a perfectly crispy skin. The chili was pretty tasty and wet, but was overshadowed in flavor by the hot link. I think this was a good thing, though, as the texture was awesome and the hot link gave it a great kick. The bun did an awesome job of absorbing the chili, while the cheese did what it does best: made everything better.

While I thought the bun was absorbing a fair amount of chili, when I finished the dog I learned I was wrong. The grease had completely soaked through the paper it was wrapped in to prove how awesome the meal I had eaten truly was. Could I have eaten fries? Yes, but they were certainly unnecessary in the grad scheme of the carnage I had unleashed in my hot dog basket. Larry’s served up one of the best chili dogs I’ve had in LA, and I can’t wait to return, for the next “50 Years” and beyond.

While LA may not have a signature food (the closest it gets is either Asian fusion or burgers), it has a hell of a lot of options for immigrants who miss the signature food of their homeland, be it Chicago Pizza or Detroit Coney Dogs. The Philly Cheese Steak is no exception, with plenty of places offering their “authentic” version. I don’t claim to be an expert on the cheese steak (only been to Philly once, during a massive blizzard), but the sandwich has always been a dear friend of mine. After all, what can go wrong when meat and cheese mix? Don’t answer that if you’re one of them Kosher people. South Street in Burbank has been bringing Philly toLA for a few years, so I thought I would see how they measure up.

For a cheese steak place, South Street has a pretty extensive menu that includes salads, pizzas and even non-cheese steak sandwiches, but I only had an eye for one thing – the original. Well, without the vegetables, of course. At $6.95, the regular 9 inch Philly Cheese Steak came with rib-eye steak and a special melty blend of provolone and white American (like me!) cheese. It also would have been topped with sauteed onions if I wasn’t an unvegan and was piled into an authentic Amoroso’s Italian roll, which is apparently straight out of Philly. The roll actually doesn’t arrive fully baked and South Street finishes the job themselves to keep from getting lazy and perhaps even to keep it fresh. But I didn’t stop with the steak, I also ordered a side of cheese fries, which at South Street means topped with cheese wiz.

South Street prepared our food pretty quickly and soon I found my face consuming a delicious mix of cheese and meat. The rib-eye steak was damn delicious and I loved the blend of cheeses. I usually prefer wiz on my cheese steak, but figured I would go with the house here and it was a great choice. The roll was a little softer than I anticipated, but still did a great job of holding together my sandwich. When it all came together, it was purely awesome, but the trouble was that it didn’t come together enough. Let me clarify…the sandwich wasn’t filled enough. I get that I didn’t have onions, but I still kind of expected the roll to be filled end to end with meat and cheese, but by the time I got to the end, I was just sucking down bread. But, things like this are bound to happen when you have an insatiable appetite like mine.

And thankfully I had the fries to make up for the shortened sandwich. This may have been the most massive fries I have ever been given for the price of $2.50. Maybe they were trying to make up for the sandwich, but either way it was awesome. I downed more wiz than any man has any right to, and that was without getting wiz on my sandwich.

South Street certainly delivered a delicious Philly meal and one worth returning to. It wasn’t the best cheese steak I’d ever had (honors still go to South Philly Experience), but the price is unbeatable and the the meal will not disappoint. If they could only get some Yuengling, that would vault the place over the top.

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.

Papoo’s opened back in 1949, eight years before the Dodgers arrived, and while the future of the Dodgers is in question, Papoo’s seemed to be kicking it old school just fine. At least on the outside. On the inside, things were thrown a bit into question. I was grabbing lunch with a coworker and we wanted to sit down, but couldn’t find a clean table. After wandering around awkwardly for a few minutes, one of the women behind the counter of this low-ceilinged building told us the bus boy was out, but she would clean the table for us. After another couple minutes, we took our seats and a look at the menu.

This menu was reminiscent of a greasy spoon, but with a heavy emphasis on hamburgers and hot dogs. In fact, despite having hot dog in the name, burgers came first on the menu. Yet, I needed me some hot dog and quickly found the ABC Dog. The A-B-C in the name stood for avocado, bacon and cheese – three delicious ingredients that pretty much go well with everything. Except chocolate. I don’t want avocado chocolate. What I did want was some fries and baked beans with my meal to make it a platter. Although they had beers on tap, I avoided such delights in order to prevent what would surely be a food-and-beer-induced coma.

The hot dogs were 1/4 pound, all-beef and offered boiled, grilled or ripped (deep fried). I was told grilled was the way to go, so I ordered away and waited a surprising 10 minutes for my hot dog. But when it arrived, it looked monstrously beautiful. Loaded and overflowing with toppings, Papoo’s didn’t skimp on anything. I’m actually pretty sure they used an entire avocado. The cheese was as American as Papoo’s, which is what I really hoped for in a place like this, and the mass of bacon was nearly equal to the mass of the hot dog itself.

When I bit in, I could taste what life was like back when Papoo’s first started serving the Hollywood regulars of the Burbank studios. The simple, yet delicious ingredients blended together perfectly and offered neither more nor less than I expected. The dog had a great snap to it and the bacon was cooked to a perfect crisp. The avocado was surprisingly fresh and cheese was exactly what you would expect from American. The only thing that really let me down was the fortitude of the bun, which split down the seam midway through my hot dog feast. Sure, the bun had been given a hefty charge, but I couldn’t help but think a little steam could have kept the bun strong.

Ultimately, it matters little what I thought of Papoo’s Hot Dog Show, because while researching this post, I have learned that Papoo’s closed their doors for good on Sunday. Yes, mere days after I ate my first meal there. According to the LA Times, the owner simply couldn’t give the place the attention it deserved. It’s a damn shame, too, because while Papoo’s wasn’t the best hot dog I ever had, it was still pretty good. Fortunately, serendipity brought me to Papoo’s before it shuttered, but it is still a shame to see another icon of old Hollywood disappear. Whatever ultimately takes residence in that corner in Toluca Lake will surely not have the character than Papoo’s brought and I’m willing to bet their hot dogs won’t compare.

Long before there was a Disney movie called Pinocchio, there was a classic Italian story featuring that classic wooden toy. Pinocchio’s (no relation) in Burbank is much more about those Italian roots than it is about the Disney story. And although that Disney classic has stood the test of time, there is one thing it certainly cannot do – feed you. That’s where Pinocchio’s comes in.

Like any good Italian deli, their sandwiches are loaded with cold cuts, meatballs and sausages. One of their sandwiches was called the Monte Carlo and although the ingredients weren’t listed on the wall menu, I was quite curious about what could be found within. When I asked, the guy behind the counter said it was made with Italian cold cuts, provolone cheese and tomatoes. Despite the vagueness of his description, I couldn’t say no to such a sandwich, but I did say no to the tomatoes.. I ordered a large and, once again staying true to its European roots, I found that ordering a sandwich to eat in rather than to go cost an extra $1.45. I was tempted to get it to go, but I was with a group and instead coughed up the $6.95.

In a strange twist, the sandwich came with a choice of two salads. At first I was disappointed because I wanted no such thing, but then I saw they had a pasta and a fruit salad. I asked for those and the man told me they cost more. So once again, I was disappointed. I got some spinach in the hopes that one of my eating companions would want it (no one did), and couldn’t bear to pick another salad. Some combo.

Finally, with salad pushed away and sandwich in hand, I was ready to eat. At first glance, the bread to meat ratio seemed overwhelming, but I found out in the first bite that this light and fluffy bread would do nothing to distract me from the insides. As for the meat, I found there were distinctly three different cold cuts. One was unquestionably mortadella, while the other two appeared to be two salami varietals. One was thinly sliced and floppy, while the other may have been a soppressata. It was sliced thick, had a much smaller circumference than the other meats and was actually a surprisingly good addition to an otherwise more simple sandwich. Well, whatever the meats were, they were quite tasty. In fact, it was almost as tasty as the Godmother, but gets edged out by the fact that the bread at Bay Cities adds so much to their sandwiches while the bread at Pinocchio’s is simply there as a carrying vessel for delicious meat.

Pinocchio’s is a surprising little gem in the heart of Burbank. While I disagree with their “combo” options and their eat-in pricing, I will be back next time I need my fix of Italian sandwich wizardry in the valley.

On our way out of town via the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, we were in need of a convenient place for a bite to eat. Across the street from the airport, we found the Daily Grill, an mid-level restaurant chain for American food that can found throughout California and a little beyond. As we needed to catch a flight, there was little time to dilly dally and I quickly scanned the menu and found their Penne Pasta with Chicken.

At $16.95, it was slightly pricier than my ordinary pasta expenditure, but they certainly didn’t hold back on portion size. The bowl of pasta rivaled that of C & O in size and I quickly forgot the price and instead concentrated on the sad fact that I wouldn’t be able to take the leftovers with me. Yes, I already knew I had no chance of demolishing this massive bowl of pasta.

I attempted to make dents in the pasta, but to no avail. Once I knew there was little I could do to tackle this beast, I concentrated on the taste. It was totally devoid of vegetables, which made me happy, and the pesto sauce was quite delicious. The grilled chicken was a great addition and not just some protein afterthought to make my people happy. There were also pine nuts sprinkled throughout the pasta, which were like little morsels of joy that just soaked up the delicious pesto sauce. My least favorite part of the dish was the penne itself. Although not bad penne by any means, it tasted like something I could have easily bought in a store and boiled myself. Perhaps it was made in-house, but to my taste buds it may as well have been store bought.

For a quickie meal, the Daily Grill treated us well, but it felt like that had leaned slightly towards quantity over quality. As though offering a gigantor bowl of pasta would make up for the just-decent noodles. Instead of bowling me over in size, it would have been nice to have some better penne and just enough food to fill me up. Yet as I said before, this was a quickie meal without much time to think and without an option of bringing home left overs, so the Daily Grill deserves the benefit of the doubt.

When I found out we were heading out to Sharky’s in Burbank for lunch, I was first a little confused. You see, for me, “Sharkeez” is the name of a college-style bar down in the South Bay, and they aren’t known for their food so much as they are for their happy hours. Little did I realize the difference in spelling, but as soon as we arrived, I knew we weren’t in for some drinking. Instead, I found myself at a counter with a bunch of different Mexican food to order. Sharky’s calls itself a Woodfired Mexican Grill, which is kind of strange to me because I really only think of pizza as being woodfired. But hey, if it can work for pizza, I’m sure it can work for Mexican. In addition to the wood fires, they also attempt to distance themselves from other Mexican food chains by claiming completely natural meats, non-GMO veggies and everything else you can think of that is associated with good old-fashioned food.

Because of this, the prices are slightly higher than you average Mexican counter restaurant, but the price difference is hardly noticeable. I stared down the menu for a while, but finally ended up ordering the first burrito on the list, called the Fiesta Burrito. At 7.29, it came with rice, beans, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa verde. Plus, it came with the choice of chicken, Angus Steak or organic tofu. I was a bit bothered by this tofu option, but went ahead and ordered the steak. Then, even though it came with a salsa verde, I walked over to the salsa bar to grab a couple cupfulls of other salsas to try out.

The burrito was brought out sliced in half, which was kind of strange to me, but I just rolled with it and started eating. It ended up being a damn good burrito, with just the right amount of steak to go along with all of the other ingredients. The steak was nice and juicy and although I have no idea whether this had to do with being woodfired or just cooked correctly, it was a nice change from the dry steak you often find in burritos like this.

Even though I was quite happy with the burrito, I found one major issue. The guacamole they used had tomatoes in it. This is always a risk when ordering guac, but I had hoped Sharky’s would do better. Fortunately, the tomatoes slices they used were quite big and easy to pick out. In fact, in the whole burrito I think I only pulled out 3 tomato bits, which was a pain, but ultimately not as bad as it could have been.

So if you’re into avoiding antibiotics, GMO and other things hippies don’t like, Sharky’s is a great choice. Their steak was nice and juicy and although it wasn’t the best burrito I’d ever eaten, it did a nice job of combining “healthy” ingredients into a reasonable Mexican meal.

Typically, I’m not much a sweets guy. Give me a choice between cake and burger and I will always choose the burger. Well, almost always. Sometime ago, I was introduced to a Cuban bakery called Porto’s in Burbank when someone brought me some of their delicious pastries. I fell in love instantly and ever since then I have had a dream to visit this place of pastry delights. In time, I learned that they were not simply a sweets shop and also messed around with the savory end of the taste chain. This only fueled my desire for Porto’s even more. Finally, I got my opportunity to head there for lunch and went off full of excitement.

When we arrived, it wasn’t easy to find parking. By the time we got ourselves a spot, I was one hungry unvegan, but I was only halfway there. I still had to make it through the line within. It was quite intimidating, but actually moved pretty fast. Within ten minutes I was at the counter and ready for some ordering. I picked up a potato ball (mashed potato filled with beef for 90 cents), a meat pie (puff pastry filled with beef for 75 cents), a chicken croquette (75 cents) and those were just the appetizers. I also ordered a Pan con Bistec sandwich (steak, onions, potato sticks, tomatoes and garlic sauce for 6.55) for my main course, without the onions and tomatoes. Then, while I was there, I decided to pick up a bit of dessert. I chose a guava and cheese strudel and a cheese roll. All this just for lunch and for just about 1 0 bucks. I was ready for one hell of a Cuban feast.

When everything was ready, I headed outside to begin consumption. I started with the potato ball and was glad I did. This ball was perfectly crispy on the outside and perfectly gooey on the inside. The beef was seasoned to perfection and the potato was mashed beautifully. I definitely could have subsided on these balls alone, but after this I was excited to move on to my next appetizer. This was the meat pie. In my unvegan world, you can’t really go wrong with something called a meat pie. Porto’s kept me truthful, because this meat pie didn’t go wrong at all. Up against the potato ball, it didn’t stand much of a chance, but it was a flaky, meaty and yummy addition to the potato ball. I suppose my only real issue with it was that it had a lot more puff than meat.

Finally, I moved on to my final appetizer, the chicken croquette. This thing had a nice, crispy exterior and a gooey interior. To be honest, I couldn’t taste the chicken too well, but the creamy, thick inside was really tasty. A normal man probably would have been done eating by this point, but I was only getting started. Next, it was time for my sandwich.

The sandwich was covered with delicious plantain chips, which I had to eat my way through before getting to the sandwich itself. By the time I got there, I was a little disappointed. The sandwich looked a bit bare (likely because of the lack of vegetables) and the potato sticks were the generic sort you can pick up at any grocery store. Nevertheless, I was excited to get involved with the sandwich. The steak was quite tasty and the bread was perfect, but the potato sticks felt a bit out of place at such a great place. They also seemed to have forgotten the garlic sauce. Or maybe it was somewhere in there, but beyond my sense of taste. Because of this, the sandwich felt a bit dry and just didn’t seem up to par with everything else I had eaten.

Finally, I moved on to the dessert of my feast. First came the cheese roll, which kind of like a canoli, but flakier and filled with a light, Danish-style cheese. It could also be called an orgasm for your mouth. Yes, it’s that good. So good, in fact, that I returned to Porto’s after work to pick up a dozen cheese rolls for a dinner party I was going to. Ok, the guava and cheese strudel was also delicious because I love me some guava, but the cheese roll is sure to please anyone.

So the moral of the story is that Porto’s makes incredible savory and sweet pastries. The Potato Balls and Cheese Rolls are not to be missed. I could have filled up just on those and died a happy man. The other pastries were great, too, and while the sandwich probably would have stood out on any other menu, at Porto’s, it really played second fiddle. Now I can’t wait until I have another dinner party or some other excuse to get back to Porto’s.

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.

Chili John’s has been around for a long time. In fact, it was founded in 1900 by a man from Wisconsin named John. So this isn’t some frou-frou California-style chili loaded with avocado and tomatoes, this is chili in its purest, most meaty form, to get cheeseheads through those cold Wisconsin winters. Although John himself passed away in the ’30s, Chili John’s seems to have kept to its roots. They do offer a vegetarian chili that probably would have made John gag, but the chicken and beef chili are still going strong.

The staff stuck inside the counter were incredibly friendly and offered up some samples for everyone to try before choosing what they wanted. I tried out their spicy beef and chicken chili, then decided to go for the beef. The chili doesn’t come with beans (as it shouldn’t), and the real way to order it is on spaghetti. So I went with this and watched as our guy dipped his ladle into a big vat of chili and dumped it on some spaghetti. I ordered some cheese to top it with and was ready for action. The cheese came in a little cup so I could put as much as I wanted in, and poured on the whole thing. There didn’t seem to be a high enough chili to spaghetti ratio, but I dug in voraciously and found myself in chili bliss. It was spiced just perfectly and was pure beef and spice. This Wisconsin-style chili could definitely compete with my delicious Detroit chili. Plus, my concern about there being too little chili was way off. The ratio was perfect and I was definitely not stuck with extra spaghetti in the end.

But I was still hungry, so my coworker and I decided to split a chili dog. We opted for the spicy chicken chili on this one, to be healthy of course. Then dumped another cup of cheese on that sucker. The dog was just like a chili dog should be: completely inedible by hand. I had to whip out a fork and knife to eat the dog and even doing that it took a few bites to get through each cutout. Although the spaghetti with the chili was amazing, the hot dog was the highlight of my meal. You couldn’t ask for much more from a chili-dog outside of Detroit.

At the end, we all got a little pie to share, and this lemon cream pie was the perfect ending for a prefect lunch outing. Chili John’s definitely lived up to my expectations. From the no-frills interior to the great staff to the perfectly spicy and seasoned chili, there wasn’t one thing to complain about. I’d highly recommend the place for anyone seeking some good food. Hell, even the vegetarian in the group was a happy camper.

Well, sort of. It’s in Burbank, which sure as hell beats the next closest one in Chino Hills  Either way, it’s good to know that it’s now easier to drive to Buffalo Wild Wings than to fly back home to Detroit for my Bdubs.

I wasn’t able to make it to the grand opening, where the first 100 people in line got free wings for a year. That would have been nice, but I also have a job I had to be at on that Monday morning. Instead, I settled for a visit the next week. This Buffalo Wild Wings is part of a sort of outdoor mall/downtown area in Burbank, with tons of people walking around and tons of shops for them to spend their hard-earned money. The money I had would be going for some wings. And beer.

The basic layout of the place is essentially the same everywhere, and I knew from my college years that the bar area was first-come, first served. I found a spot surprisingly easily, considering the line at the front, and waited for my buddies to join me. I started with a tall Shock Top beer, and then ordered twelve wings with my two favorite sauces in the world: Wild and Spicy Garlic. These sauces are the real reason to go to Buffalo Wild Wings. The wings themselves and the meat on them are really sub par, but once that sauce hits them, they turn into magical winged delights. A little bleu cheese dip doesn’t hurt, either.

When my wings came, it was also time for a new beer, this time a Michelob Amber Bock, which is my favorite beer for chowing down on wings. I started eating and they were just how I remembered. The Wild sauce is about as spicy you can get while maintaining the actual flavor. The Spicy Garlic is more of your ordinary level of buffalo spiciness, but with a hint of garlic. Since garlic makes everyone better, this is always a great choice.

Ultimately, this newest incarnation of Buffalo Wild Wings stayed true to my memories. The sauces maintained their great flavor on the way out to LA and the atmosphere did the same. The only downside was when I ordered my first Amber Bock and was brought a Widmer Hefeweizen. I love me some Hef beers, this just wasn’t the beer I ordered. The waiter took it back when I told him and brought me out my real order  I figured I was in the clear until I got the receipt. Rather than removing the beer from the bill, he comped it and said I didn’t like it. That’s just a lie. I like it plenty, I just didn’t order it. Luckily, this petty grievance was the only problem I had.

Since the new Bdubs is all the way out in Burbank, I probably won’t have a lot of opportunity to go, but it feels great knowing it is there in case of a buffalo wing emergency.