Hot Dogs

The San Fernando Valley is not exactly a gastronomic mecca. There is, however, one kind of food in which the Valley excels. Hot dogs. I do not say this facetiously or disparagingly. Readers who recall my jeremiad last summer on the topic of those dreadful Dodger dogs know that I love good hot dogs. Whether they're called hot dogs, frankfurters, wieners or sausages, they're one of perhaps a half-dozen food favorites for which I often get an actual, physical craving. And when I do, it's to the Valley I go. I don't know of any place in this country -- and that includes the hot dog havens of Chicago and New York -- where you can get better hot dogs at three separate locations within 20 blocks on the same street as you can in the San Fernando Valley.

Pizza sales were piping hot well before Pizza Hut revealed its hot-dog-stuffed-crust monstrosity in Britain this week, according to research group Technomic. Now, 41% of consumers say they eat pizza once a week. Two years ago, just 26% did. That's because restaurants are offering more options beyond the cardboard-y dough and oily pepperoni discs of old, according to Technomic . Pies now come with gourmet ingredients and fancy pedigrees. Eateries now advertise how the pizzas are prepped - hearth-baked, wood-fired, made over coals or cooked in a brick oven.

You've heard about Dodger Dogs. Today, a story about Dodger hogs. On Monday night, I went to the Ravine to see if the recession was driving more fans into the right field bleachers, where a ticket comes with a promise: All you can eat, no questions asked. Think about it. You can fast all day, pig out at the ballgame and not have to eat the next day. On Monday, the Dodgers were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks, who aren't exactly a big draw.

It's really not fair. Lucky residents of Britain can now buy a Pizza Hut pizza with a crust stuffed with a hot dog.  And it comes with a "free" mustard drizzle! It's grosser than the cheese-stuffed crust pizza we get in this country, though not as gross, I'd argue, as a vegetarian pizza I once got in Britain that was just a crust topped with those canned cubed vegetables. Here it is on the British menu ! I am going over there in a few weeks, and now I know what one of my meals won't be. An item over at Time asks us to soul-search how this fair nation can “redeem its title as most unhealthy country?

4 So, a man and a woman walk into a theater with a budget of $25. . . . That was the opening of the evening my pal Jevon and I had planned for an informal night of cheap laughs. We had intended to hit the Second City improv, but we walked into the wrong theater on Hollywood Boulevard. We unwittingly stumbled into comedic relationship therapy at iO West -- a date that killed two birds with $10 each.

Coney Dog, 8873 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 854-1172, http://www.coneydogla.com Papaya King, 1645 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, (323) 871-8799, http://www.papayaking.com Dog Haus, 105 N. Hill St., Pasadena, (626) 577-4287, http://www.doghausdogs.com Dog Haus Biergarten, 93 E. Green St., Pasadena, (626) 683-0808, http://www.doghausdogs.com The Slaw Dogs, 720 N. Lake Ave. No. 8, Pasadena, (626) 808-9779, http://www.theslawdogs.com ; 19801 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818)

The sport of golf is always looking for the next big thing (perhaps never so desperately as right now), and many believe L.A. native Anthony Kim could fill that role. The 24-year-old has shown glimmers of greatness since turning pro in 2006, and he'll get to burnish his course cred in the Northern Trust Open, Monday through Sunday at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. (For tickets, go to: northerntrustopen.com) Kim lives in Dallas, but he still spends lots of time visiting friends and family in the Southland.

Serving up a starry selection When people think hot dogs in this town, they think Pink's. And with its 21 varieties, this Hollywood stand has something for everybody, as you can tell from the line stretching down the block. If you're feeling adventurous, try the new Ozzy Osbourne dog, topped with onions, guacamole, tomatoes and several cheeses. The Martha Stewart includes sauerkraut, bacon and sour cream. Pink's sells only steamed all-beef hot dogs. (Classic steamed dog, 7-inch, $2.

"Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer." That's the label that a vegan advocacy group wants a New Jersey court to order Oscar Mayer, Hebrew National and other food companies to slap on hot dog packages. The nonprofit Cancer Project filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of three New Jersey plaintiffs asking the Essex County Superior Court to compel the companies to place cancer-risk warning labels on hot dog packages sold in New Jersey.

As a long-time maven of the magnificent tube steak, I was delighted by reading David Shaw's article ("In a Dog-Eat-Dog World, the Valley Has the Best," Dec. 31). Back in the '70s there was a hot dog stand at the corner of Melrose and Fuller called Manya's. Best hot dogs I've ever tasted! They were made specially for her by Vienna and you could have them boiled or done on the grill. Manya's was a block or two away from Pink's and was vastly superior. Paul Pumpian Sunland Read David Shaw's column on hot dogs.

The home-run count might be up at Angel Stadium this year, but so might the calorie count. The Angels unveiled an assortment of new food items on Monday, including a deep-fried hot dog, a bacon-wrapped hot dog and a hot dog topped with barbecued beef. The "Cali Dog" is a hot dog wrapped in a tortilla, deep fried and served with a choice of toppings -- either chili and cheese, or pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, avocado and sour cream. For dessert, the Angels will offer "Arctic Nachos" -- that is, cinnamon-sugar nachos topped with vanilla ice cream, then doused in caramel and chocolate sauce.

In 2011, if you lost yourself in drink and the dark corners of evening, you would have noticed above all else that Los Angeles was relishing extremes. New places popped up like crazy, reflecting appetites high and low. In a year when the rich got richer and everyone else hung on, madly expensive bottle-service clubs sprouted alongside humble drinking dens with recession-friendly prices. If boozers were into protesting, the 99% hanging around at places such as mixology-master Aidan Demarest's new straight-up liquor bar, Neat, or the recently renovated rocker-dive Three Clubs on Santa Monica and Vine would have occupied the luxe, nouveau Roxbury in Hollywood (yes, that Roxbury)

Shelagh Delaney Playwright wrote 'A Taste of Honey' Playwright Shelagh Delaney, 71, best known for her 1958 play "A Taste of Honey," died of cancer Sunday at her daughter's home in England, said her agent, Jane Villiers. Born Nov. 25, 1939, in England, Delaney was the daughter of a bus inspector, and her early work was rooted in her hometown of Salford, an industrial suburb of Manchester. Delaney later said she wrote "A Taste of Honey" in response to her dissatisfaction with contemporary theater and the unrealistic dialogue she heard there.

Coney Dog, 8873 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 854-1172, http://www.coneydogla.com Papaya King, 1645 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, (323) 871-8799, http://www.papayaking.com Dog Haus, 105 N. Hill St., Pasadena, (626) 577-4287, http://www.doghausdogs.com Dog Haus Biergarten, 93 E. Green St., Pasadena, (626) 683-0808, http://www.doghausdogs.com The Slaw Dogs, 720 N. Lake Ave. No. 8, Pasadena, (626) 808-9779, http://www.theslawdogs.com ; 19801 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818)

"Mickey, make me a combo, will ya?" yells Coney Dog owner Mike Binder at a grill cook from his table midway across his bustling West Hollywood restaurant. Then he flashes a broad grin. "I've been waiting my whole life to have a restaurant, just so I could do that. " The combo soon comes out. It's a deluxe Coney dog nestled inside a Detroit loose burger (which is crumbled ground beef as opposed to a patty) in a freshly steamed bun, smothered with chili. "That's the Rolls-Royce of hot dogs, right there," says Binder, who is better known as a comedian and director but whose passion for Detroit-style dogs has consumed him for the last year.

Reporting From San Martin, Calif. -- Tiger Woods might have been the biggest story at the Frys.com Open, but he wasn't the only one. These late-season tournaments tend to be the domain of lower-tier players trying to steal a victory and youngsters hoping to make a name for themselves. This week in Northern California was no different. Two men looking for their first PGA Tour title — Bryce Molder and Briny Baird — battled through six playoff holes before Molder sank a birdie putt to secure the win at CordeValle Golf Club.

It's that hot, happy time all over the United States that is so full of hot dogs, hamburgers and chips, mustard on your fingers and canned drinks that used to be really cold. Waving everywhere on little sticks are more little flags than, well, you can shake a stick at.

I've never been one for eating food off the street. But this week, in pursuit of journalistic truth, I purchased a tamale — or tamal, in Spanish — from a street vendor pushing a shopping cart in South Los Angeles. You can sell food on the street legally, with a series of business and health permits, but these days, L.A. County is taking the move to regulate food vending a step further by issuing letter grades to food trucks. Now, even hot dog, fruit and tamale vendors are getting grades.

For every restaurant whose menu reads like a doctoral thesis on globalization, there are those that still consider a kind of insular Americana the noblest pursuit. These are the dens of hard-line pit masters and down-home confectioners, restaurants where the American culinary heritage provides incubation for innovation. At the similarly minded but altogether unaffiliated Toni's Soul Burgers in Inglewood and Otis Jackson's Soul Dog in North Hollywood, that American ingenuity takes the form of a double dose of comfort: hybridized hamburgers and hot dogs fused with soul food.