LA's new law on hot dog carts
Salomon Baeza
Issue date: 5/15/09 Section: Lifestyles
L.A.'s county officials latest war on pork isn't just against pigs with the flu but the delicious aftermath of their death. A familiar sight to any L.A. concert goer, bar hopper, the trendy clubber or those just loitering because they had nothing better to do.
You see them every night dedicated beyond all reproach to their craft surrounded by throngs of L.A.'s denizens mobbing this sole person and their bacon wrapped hot dog cart.
For a city and a trendy group of people overly obsessed with their looks the idea of consuming street prepared fatty pork products and left over meat shaped into a tube with fried onions wouldn't seem likely the most popular thing to do yet there Angelenos stand consuming our hearts away on this delicious artery clogging meal.
But late nights, long lines and hot dogs are nothing new to L.A.'s citizens at least not to those who know of our rock star eatery Pink's. However this latest trend of bacon and dogs is wholly different from the L.A. landmarks tradition of unique ingredient combinations and pop culture referencing names.
The ever-popular bacon wrapped hot dog is a trend that sprung up in just the past couple of years and yet several of the vendors have had enough success that they could buy cars, houses, and pay for their children's college tuition and not all of them work just at night. Some sellers work during the day feeding L.A.'s fast paced yuppies and hipsters as they go about their urban lives the stark contrast between L.A.'s businessmen and the white-collar workers and their carts adds to the diversity of L.A.'s urban culture.
That is until recently when L.A.'s health department started cracking down on the merchant's with claims of undercooked bacon and food illness. The unfortunate response to this has been… none.
Very few people have noticed the disappearance of bacon wrapped dogs mainly because they haven't disappeared. For those hardworking dedicated workers with licenses from the city and who follow the ordinance keeping everything legal this recent move has put a major dent into their financial situation.
You see them every night dedicated beyond all reproach to their craft surrounded by throngs of L.A.'s denizens mobbing this sole person and their bacon wrapped hot dog cart.
For a city and a trendy group of people overly obsessed with their looks the idea of consuming street prepared fatty pork products and left over meat shaped into a tube with fried onions wouldn't seem likely the most popular thing to do yet there Angelenos stand consuming our hearts away on this delicious artery clogging meal.
But late nights, long lines and hot dogs are nothing new to L.A.'s citizens at least not to those who know of our rock star eatery Pink's. However this latest trend of bacon and dogs is wholly different from the L.A. landmarks tradition of unique ingredient combinations and pop culture referencing names.
The ever-popular bacon wrapped hot dog is a trend that sprung up in just the past couple of years and yet several of the vendors have had enough success that they could buy cars, houses, and pay for their children's college tuition and not all of them work just at night. Some sellers work during the day feeding L.A.'s fast paced yuppies and hipsters as they go about their urban lives the stark contrast between L.A.'s businessmen and the white-collar workers and their carts adds to the diversity of L.A.'s urban culture.
That is until recently when L.A.'s health department started cracking down on the merchant's with claims of undercooked bacon and food illness. The unfortunate response to this has been… none.
Very few people have noticed the disappearance of bacon wrapped dogs mainly because they haven't disappeared. For those hardworking dedicated workers with licenses from the city and who follow the ordinance keeping everything legal this recent move has put a major dent into their financial situation.
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