Pink's Hot Dogs

If there were ever a contradiction wrapped in a bun, it would be Pink’s.

At first, the business was nothing more than a perambulator cart that trundled short distances along the grassy open terrain of pre-developed Los Angeles. Over time, founders Paul and Betty Pink’s cart, acquired on a $50 loan in 1939, transformed into the brick, mortar, mustard, and relish establishment it is presently, whose lines are known to circle the block on special event days.

Thirty varieties of hot dog are offered here, served to countless varieties of customers. Unusual menu options include a Polish Pastrami Swiss Cheese Dog, the 12-inch Millenium Jalapeño Dog, and the double-frank Huell Howser Dog.

Inside Pink’s, the walls are riddled with Sharpie-autographed headshots of innumerable celebrity patrons whose business magnifies Pink’s legendary presence. Customers have included Orson Welles, Marlon Brando, Aretha Franklin, Debbie Reynolds, Betty White, the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine), Leroy Neiman, James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby, Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Arsenio Hall, Gene Simmons, Steve Martin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celine Dion, Snoop Dogg, Seth Green, Tyra Banks, and Katy Perry…to name just a few.