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So far, in my comparison of Midwest eateries that I visited on a recent trip to equivalent LA eateries, the Midwest is up 1 to 0. Chicago's Frontera Grill beat out Santa Monica's Border Grill by a slight margin because, well, Rick Bayless' guacamole pretty much kicks the Too Hot Tamales' asses.
Today, we go from hot, trendy Mexican cuisine to haute dog cuisine: Pink's, an LA institution vs Portillo's, a Chicago chain that, incidentally, just arrived with a branch in OC.
I have tried the chili cheese dog and some other crazy creation at Pink's. At Portillo's, I went with, of course, the Chicago-style. At both places, the all-beef dogs were hot, juicy, and had a subtle snap when I bit into them. As for the toppings, Pinks chili runneth over with shimmering oil, and Portillo's relish was a ridiculous neon green. In both cases, dog and toppings make the competition an even match.
However, in the end, the hot dog winner is...Pink's!
The deciding factor was the bun. At Portillo's, the poppy seed studded bun, which is steamed, was way too soggy and was in fact no longer even identifiable as bread. It had practically disintegrated into elementary school paste all over the dog. Think of what happens to a slice of Wonder white when you drop into a bowl of water. At Pink's, the bun had soaked up either chili oil or juice from the toppings, but unlike the Portillo's paste disaster, it still maintained its integrity as bread. The bun was a juicy, delicious mess holding the dog.
Score: Midwest 1, LA 1. Next up: Beef sandwiches.
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12-01-2005 @1:53PM Dmnkly said... Portillo's is respectable, don't get me wrong, but you're comparing an L.A. institution to a Chicago chain. Apples and oranges. There are much better Chicago dogs out there. And if Portillo's is what the concierge at your hotel suggested for a quintessential Chicago dog experience, (s)he must've been an import. But even so, it's a little tough to compare L.A. dogs and Chicago dogs anyway. Garden on a Bun versus Pink's grease monster? They're barely related.
Looking forward, if beef sandwich isn't Chicago in a massive landslide, you need to officially turn in your blog credentials, or at least find somebody to steer you to the right spots (*ahem*... Mr. Beef). And if you continue the series, pizza's a tossup (again, how do you compare them?) and burgers are all about L.A.
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12-01-2005 @2:21PM sarah said... dmkly - yes yes, you are totally right. it's difficult to compare the two because they are very different. AND had i known that there was a portillo's in l.a., i would have made much more of an effort to get to hot doug's or the weiner's circle in chicago. but living the last almost-10 years in l.a., i forgot how to use public transportation ;)
and don't you worry...chicago food man, paul from kiplog http://www.kiplog.com/food/ steered me to Mr. Beef. :)
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12-01-2005 @3:41PM Gina said... Being both from LA and Chicagoland, I have eaten at Pink's and Portillo's. I have not tried the new Portillo's that is a new Disneyland attraction, but feel that it DEFINITELY would not even compare to the original Portillo's in Chicagoland!
Pink's is okay, but as you said, greasy....a big "YUCK" in my book! Portillo's has flavor, great condiments, a wonderful steamed bun that does NOT fall apart as the OC one did, and combinations that I never would have attempted to put on a dog, but did and loved!!
You can keep the OC dog, but Chicagoland Portillo's is #1 in my book!!
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12-01-2005 @8:25PM R said... sarah - portillo's was a good "baseline," but I agree it wasn't ideal. Hot Doug's, while fantastic, isn't really representative of "Chicago dogs" either, but then I guess it is as unique (or more so) than Pink's. I do miss my Demon Dogs ;-(
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12-05-2005 @8:30PM Jeshii said... Woo! Go Pinks!
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12-07-2005 @11:53PM Peter said... God I wish Pink's were in Australia. They're the best by far. It's almost impossible to get a decent sausage down here that even remotely matched Pink's all-beef quality. Anyone want to franchise ?
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