Recession Obsession: LA's Most Famous Hot Dog

Recession Obsession: LA's Most Famous Hot Dog by Caleb Bacon
Mmmmm.... Dodgeriffic! | Photo by Naked_Eyes / Flickr

A Recession Obsession is, 1) a meal so great that it sticks in your mind long after digestion's end, and, 2) plays nice with your sensitive wallet. Is there a better place than Los Angeles to eat a wide variety of amazing food that so happens to be inexpensive? Probably not. We're as lucky as we are well fed. We last obsessed over mondo falafel "burritos," and Delicious Pig Butt. Today, we obsess...

According to our friends at the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (yes, that exists,) Los Angeles was the second highest consumer of hot dogs in 2008. We dropped $91,364,830.

Wow.

I’m sure a chunk of that is spent at Pink’s, but c’mon. Their line is so long one might catch black lung from the Melrose traffic. Why not have a Dodger Dog, where, should you wait in line, at least there's a Dodger game going on right behind you.

Eat one now, they’re only available 80-90 days per year, and none of those days are after this month. Plus everyone knows hot dogs are tastiest with alliterative titles. (Fenway Frank, Red Sox fans?) Head down to Dodgertown 90090, carpool your way out of paying for parking, and grab a Farmer John grilled Dodger Dog.

They happen to be delicious, and while they used to be cheaper (the older you are, the cheaper you recall your first,) this $5 right of passage is LAist’s latest Recession Obsession.

Woof

How do you like your Dodger Dog? I go for the gastro-gusto. Ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions. The Works if you will (and I will later today.) Dress your dog how you like, that's part of the fun. Then bite into encased pork parts and taste salty Los Angeles history. For over 45 years Farmer John has been making Dodger Dogs for home games.

According to the Never Wrong Wikipedia (TM,) “The Dodger Dog is also served at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, OK the home of the Texas Rangers AAA affiliate Oklahoma City RedHawks.”

Ummm. Sure. Those count about as much as the ones at Universal Citywalk.

There's only one place you get real Dodgers Dogs and that's Dodgers Stadium/Chavez-Ravine/Dodgertown USA. At 3:07 p.m. today, game two of the National League Division Series goes off with The Good Guys facing the Saint Louis Cardinals.

  • Dodgers Stadium | Echo Park | 1000 Elysian Park Ave | Los Angeles 90012

How Blue Are You Thinking? Comment Below!

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Comments (9) [rss]

I would rather get black lung than watch a Dodgers game.

I bet I could eat 40 in a single game. That's a guess, but one that I'm willing to test.

Don't know how much of a recession buster it is to go to a Dodgers game in the first place but I like the Super Dodger Dog (Beef) with all the fixins. Or just bypass the stadium, get some dogs from Skooby's and not have to worry about LAPD guards willfully ignoring the ADA

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I've seen them at Smart and Final if'n you don't care for base ball.

Whaaa...? Dodger Dogs fail on both of your counts. (1) They're not that good. They're not bad, but very average and small. (2) At $5.00 (especially compared to Costco's $1.50 dog) they're a total mega giganto ripoff. (Bonus) Missing 3 innings in line is a waste of a nice day at the ballpark.

Doesn't $1.50 get you a hot dog AND a fountain drink?

Doesn't $1.50 get you a hot dog AND a fountain drink?

Farmer John makes Dodger Dogs and they are sold at grocery stores all over LA.

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