Meet Me at Pink's

Pink's. Sounds cute doesn't it? Super-feminine even. But I'm sure y'all know that the Pink's I'm referring to is neither one of these things. It's much cooler than cute, and a rite of passage for anyone passing through Lala Land. This place, my friends, is a hot food landmark in L.A. and an absolute must for anyone who wants a true taste of life on the go in the city of the famous and fabulous.

Have I caught your attention yet?



Well if I have, come with me and my family as we venture to a corner on Melrose and La Brea. It's there that you'll find a piece of L.A.'s quick and easy culinary history~or as it's called here: Pink's Famous Hot Dog Stand.

There's nothing remotely fancy about Pink's. There's nothing complicated about it either. The menu, though lengthy, is simple to follow, and protocol for ordering is just as easy. Be prepared to wait a good 15-20 minutes in line, but once you reach the front, be ready with your order, continue down the line to pay then pick up your food. The wait is worth it. I promise.



Tip: If it's a beautiful day, head to the back of Pink's and enjoy your meal under an umbrella! Turnover is always quick and you don't want to wait to eat. After all, when are cold hot dogs ever a good idea?

Though it was our first trip to Pink's, we enjoyed the inaugural thrill of ordering and letting the children read through the menu. The staff was a well-oiled machine and ran the stand with great efficiency, and pleasantly, great care for their customer. Think the Soup Nazi's stand in Seinfeld, but friendly. Really friendly. As in, if you pick your 3 year old son up to see what they're doing, they'll kindly offer him freshly made french fries. For free.



For obvious reasons they were met with the scallywag's immediate approval.

Everything is prepared fresh daily. From the coleslaw to the legendary chili, the onion rings and the french fries, each piece that makes Pink's whole comes from years of hard work, loyalty, and love.

You'll have many a hot dog combination to choose from~burgers as well~but may I recommend a few?



For the picky eater get the Betty White aka The Naked Dog. It's a plain hot dog and I guarantee you'll get a good tickle for requesting it. If you're feeling more traditional get the chili cheese dog. The chili is an old Pink's recipe, and is served with mustard, onions, and cheese atop your dog and bun. It's a great mess~especially if you request coleslaw on top like I did. But who orders a hot dog to look like a lady? I'm also going to suggest you try to Chicago Polish Dog, but only because it sounds so interesting! I may have to try it next time.

Adventuresome eater, table for one!

But don't just take my word for it. Look at the menu for yourself! And if you find yourself in L.A. for a spell, get yourself to Pink's.



Grab a bite, enjoy the gorgeous weather, and maybe catch a celebrity chowing down at the next table over. They do love those dogs, y'all! And if you have the time, swing over to Beverly Hills afterwards for some cupcakes from Sprinkles.

That's what we did! But that's another story for another time...

Until then, Happy Tuesday everyone, and may you all have a hot diggity-dog day!

My New Favorite Breakfast...

Snack, lunch, or dinner. It's just that delicious~and simple!

Two whole grain sandwich thins, one avocado, and two eggs.



Toast.
Spread.
Cook.

Enjoy!

Coffee Table Love

Good morning guys and dolls! I hope you're all enjoying the kickstart of summer (though I know all of y'all home in the South have been privileged to enjoy the heat for a while).

I've been absent for a good two weeks and had to pop in to say hello. My parents worry when I stop writing, and even though we talk a few times during the week, they miss the blog. So here I am, happy to be back and easing worried minds.

Today I'm coming to you all for your thoughts. I am in need of some decorating opinions, so please, feel free to lay them on me.

Last week I found a wonderful coffee table for our living room.



The height was ideal, the length was substantial, the bones were fabulous, and the table itself nice and heavy (solid wood and brass will do that to a piece of furniture!). The kicker was the price: $35. The Salvation Army was indeed a salvation that day. I was beyond excited!

Here is where your advice comes in. Take a good look at the top.



If you can see beyond the amazing inlay you'll see whoever owned it last seriously mistreated it. Glass rings, places where hot items were left to sit, scratches...the top of our coffee table has it all and it breaks. My. Heart. I understand loving furniture and letting natural dings and wear occur. I have children~I know it happens. Each little touch of time adds character, perhaps even a story or two.



But it's pretty obvious by looking at the table that these marks were caused by a total disregard beyond being utilitarian. Sadness. At least it has a happy ending now. We love our new coffee table and look forward to many, many years of having it in our family.

Now my question...

Should I refinish the top in the original stain or paint it? Once the brass is cleaned and the top sanded, filled, and refinished, it would look amazing. But if it were painted a dark brown-grey it would also look great!

To refinish or to paint? That is the question.

I would love to know your answers! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know which way your leaning. Either way we'll be happy!

Happy Tuesday all and thank you.

And They're Off!

Good morning all! In our final installment of Kentucky Derby posts, Hunter returns with a fabulous look into the day of the Derby. You'll be taken striaght to the tracks with the wonderful picture she paints. From the paddocks to the clubhouse, all bets are off~and on~once the bells ring and the horses take off. Come run for the roses in this fabulous final look into the Kentucky Derby!

Thanks, Hunter!

A racetrack should smell masculine, like the heady aromas of bourbon and cigar smoke and barbeque wafting through the sweltering heat. Because the Kentucky Derby is roses and hospitality and beautiful hats, but there is also a masculinity and roughness about the event. There is a seediness to it, and a feeling of unrestrained joy in the air, too, mixing with the scent of all that tobacco and smoked pork. It’s an atmosphere full of possibilities.

Nowhere are these possibilities more palpable than in the paddock, where Vineyard Vines mixes with full-body tattoos, where cougars and fraternity boys are drawn by the prospect of a roasted bratwurst and the idea that maybe they’ll run into someone they knew in Catholic school. The best place to watch this glorious spectacle is from a balcony near the third floor clubhouse, which has a view of the entire paddock and is still close enough to the action to notice the specifics. A lady cop taking a drag off a Marlboro Light, a bookie who could not care less about the social aspects of the day, a drunk passed out on a bench near the tulips with a Daily Racing Form on his face: I’ve seen them all from the paddock balcony.

There is much to be said for being part of the paddock mélange, or descending into the depths of the infamous tunnel that takes Derbygoers under the racetrack and into the madness of the infield. I’ve never done a whole day in the infield, but I’m not above a quick spin through to see what’s happening there. It’s usually muddy and loud, and there is inevitably a girl on someone’s shoulders, surrounded by a hopeful group of college guys who want to see her bikini top come off. Sometimes it actually does. And that’s usually when I’m ready to head back to my seats.

I’ve said before that moving around is the key to Derby adventure, and it’s also key to seeing the most beautiful hats. It’s fun to try to recognize the ones from local boutiques, to pick out the ones that Dee’s Crafts might have done, and to see what dresses people pair with them. There is mostly a jovial atmosphere in their air, so groups are constantly befriending each other, bonding over similar tastes in hats or mutual friends. There is a constant shuffle, a need to go to the next place, to scout for mint juleps, go place a bet, or just go seeking adventure.

There are races all day, of course, but as the Derby approaches the anticipation builds. People want to get their bets in; odds are changing by the minute (there’s nothing worse than when the horse you liked five weeks ago becomes the favorite an hour before the race). Everyone’s stocking up on juleps, because no one wants to be without a mint julep when it’s time to sing My Old Kentucky Home. That would be unpatriotic.

And then the bell rings and they’re off. There are cheers, curses, and screams from the crowd, and in two minutes, one horse in the field will distinguish himself (or herself!) and will become a part of history. That horse’s name will sound just right when it joins the list of Derby winners. Local people will consider the horse a friend. We’ll cheer for it in the Preakness and Belmont and will cherish it beyond this one season of racing. Our children will see the horse’s name, along with winners from every other year, printed on the Derby glasses they drink their milk from every morning at breakfast. We’ll hope it does well in the breeding barn, (which means producing lots of winners), because we like to think that someday, in a few years, maybe we’ll pin our hopes on a colt or filly descended from that very horse. As Kentuckians, we know that these things are cyclical; we just have to pray the winner isn’t a gelding. I’m looking at you, Funny Side.

Derby Do's

Once again, I am thrilled to have Louisville's own Hunter Oldham Weinberg back & with some sage Derby advice! After asking for five absolute to-do's to properly enjoy the Derby experience, she came back with some really terrific suggestions. Whether attending is old hat or you're making your own debut, this list of Derby Do's will make your entire experience a fabulous one!

Thanks again, Hunter!

Hunter's Top Five Derby Do's:

via

Do go with all your peeps. The Derby is not the place to go for a romantic date with your husband, or a quiet getaway with your best friend. It's a more-the-merrier type of event, the kind where you invite everyone you in your email contact list and hope they all say yes. The chances for fun and adventure increase exponentially with every person you bring along with you.

Do try the mint juleps. The ones at the track are not the artisanal variety you might find in someone's home. They are pre-mixed and brought to you by Early Times, which is ok to mix with Coke at a football game but not the variety of sipping bourbon most Kentuckians would favor. It doesn't matter--get one anyway. The first sip is always the worst, and once you've finished that first julep, the second, third, and fourth will taste unbelievably refreshing. By the fifth and sixth, you'll be in exactly in the right state of mind to sing My Old Kentucky Home with appropriate sentimentality, even if you're not from here. You won't care if your Derby horse comes in last, and take it from me--the inevitable post-Derby stop at the White Castle on Second and Market will never again be so enjoyable.

Do wear comfortable shoes--they are the key to Derby adventure. There should be so much going on at eye level with your hat that no one will be looking at your shoes, and there is a lot of walking around at Derby. You're not going to have a whirlwind Derby romance or spot anyone from the Real Housewives if you're parked in Section 220, Row E, Seat 6 the whole day. Exploration is the key, so go to the paddock to see who you run into; go get a mint julep every hour on the hour; take a spin through the infield to see if you can spot any full frontal nudity, and then go place your bets where all the cute boys are--even if they're nowhere near your seat. All this requires being able to walk comfortably in the first place.

Do bet pedigrees. Handicapping horses is complicated business, and there are all kinds of ways people make their Derby picks. Some people choose the jockey silks they like best, a name that seems lucky, a successful jockey, a good post position, a favorite trainer; more advanced racing enthusiasts use mathematical formulas. An easy way that I choose a good horse is to learn the names of a few famous sires, then check the program for pedigrees. Gulch, Pulpit, and Storm Cat are a good starting point to betting on sires.

Do roll with the Derby punches. Is it raining on your Derby parade? Throw your hat in a plastic garbage bag, put it back on your head, and go seek shelter with someone handsome who may or may not treat you and your friends to dinner at Morton's later. Get separated from your friends? Don't worry about it--see where Derby takes you, because you might all stumble your way into much better seats and randomly be reunited in the third floor clubhouse, watching the featured race in a box next to John Y. Brown. Can't find a cab on Derby Eve? Jump into the first random van that pulls up with a bunch of strangers in it--I'm sure it'll take you where you need to go. (Ok, just kidding about that last one, but it really did turn out fine for my friends and me, even if it wasn't the smartest move we've ever made).

My point is, be open, because Derby will take you on wonderful, unexpected adventures. They can't be planned, only soaked with bourbon and met with willingness and enthusiasm, and the right pair of shoes.

Tuesday Tipples

 tip·ple /ˈtipəl/     Verb: Drink alcohol, esp. habitually: "those who liked to tipple and gamble". Noun: 1.An alcoholic drink.      Synonyms: verb.   drink - tope - booze  noun. l iquor - drink - booze - hooch - beverage  I didn't want y'all to think I was getting fresh. I just had to provide the definition~just in case.And what better drink to sip this week than the Mint Julep?



Although it's been a Southern specialty since the 1700's, these days Julep is most famously associated with the Kentucky Derby. You may not see them all served in an icy julep cup while sitting at Churchill Downs, but they're the drink of choice. And if you want to serve it right, and enjoy it as it best should be, then friends, serve it in one of these beauties!



The original julep was surprisingly stiff: three ounces of liquor, often rum or French cognac, with mint and sugar dumped over ice. For the Derby, though, you'll want to abide by local sensibilities and use bourbon or rye only. Here's one tried and true recipe for Mint Julep's you'll want to enjoy time and time again.
Recipe ~mint ~1 teaspoon sugar ~3 ounces bourbon

Glass Type~an icy, old-fashioned glass or julep cup

Instructions

Place 5 or 6 leaves of mint in the bottom of a prechilled, dry 12-ounce glass or silver beaker. Add sugar and crush slightly with a muddler. Pack glass with finely cracked ice. Pour a generous 3 ounces of Kentucky bourbon over the ice. Stir briskly until the glass frosts. Add more ice and stir again before serving. Stick a few sprigs of mint into the ice so that the partaker will get the aroma.

Still not enough mint flavor? Try this: For each julep, lightly cover about 10 sprigs of mint with superfine sugar, add an ounce of spring water, macerate, let stand for 10-15 minutes, and strain through a fine sieve into the ice-filled glass. Then add whiskey and proceed as above. If you'll stoop to maceration, you might also want to float 1/2 ounce of dark Jamaica rum on top.

Cheers!

Recipe via