Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Part of the secret of Pink's success is
the lean all-beef hot dogs, custom-made
by Hoffy's meatpackers to Pink's specifica-
tions; they have hardly any filler and a
natural casing gives them that special
snap-and-gush when you bite into them.
The secret-recipe chili sauce, a fine bal-
ance of spiciness and savor developed
long ago by Betty Pink herself, is another
draw. The menu lists only hot dogs, ham-
burgers, and a few chicken breast and
Mexican items, but the number of mix-
and-match variations is intriguing. Several
of the specialty dogs are named after the
celebrities who've ordered them, like the
Rosie O'Donnell (a 10-inch dog with mus-
tard, onions, chili, and sauerkraut) or the
Martha Stewart (a 10-incher with relish,
onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauer-
kraut, and sour cream).
Pink's is hardly a posh hangout, even
with all those head shots of celebrity cus-
tomers that line one wall of the small din-
ing area, with its tiny tables and metal
chairs. (Chances are the celebs themselves
took their chili dogs to go.) But it's a scene
nevertheless—and one you'd encounter
only in Hollywood.
709 N. La Brea Blvd. ( & 323/931-4223;
www.pinkshollywood.com).
( Los Angeles International (13 miles/
21km).
L $$$ Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9882
S. Santa Monica Blvd. ( & 800/462-7899 or
310/551-2888; www.peninsula.com). $
Best Western Marina Pacific Hotel,
1697 Pacific Ave., Venice ( & 800/786-7789
or 310/452-1111; www.mphotel.com).
Chinatowns
269
The Great American Chinatown
Chopsticks by the Bay
San Francisco, California
San Francisco has had a Chinatown almost
as long as it has been any sort of a city at
all. The first Chinese immigrants arrived as
servants in the early 1800s; by 1850, some
25,000 Chinese had flooded into Califor-
nia, fleeing famine and the Opium Wars to
find their fortunes in the “Gold Mountain.”
What they found instead was hard labor
and low wages, first in the gold mines and
later on railroad construction crews; they
faced such virulent prejudice (a strict Chi-
nese Exclusion Act prevailed from 1882 to
1943) that Chinese Americans couldn't
even buy homes outside the Chinatown
ghetto until the 1950s.
Shameful as that chapter of American
history was, it did keep San Francisco's
Chinatown a vital neighborhood where Chi-
nese traditions were intently preserved.
Even today, more than 80,000 people live
in Chinatown, and other Chinese Ameri-
cans check in regularly from their new
neighborhoods (the Richmond and Sunset
districts in particular). Of course tourists
flock here too, to snap photos of the
ornate gilded gateway at Grant Avenue
and Bush Street, to peer into the three
Buddhist temples along Waverly Place, to
wander past the food shops and noodle
parlors on Stockton Street, or to gawk at
locals playing mah-jongg and chess in
Portsmouth Square. But there's one place
where tourists and locals happily coexist:
at Chinatown's myriad restaurants, sev-
eral of which remain remarkably true to
Chinese culinary standards—unlike the
network of by-the-numbers Chinese res-
taurants that crisscrosses the U. S.
There's almost always a wait for a table
at tiny House of Nanking (919 Kearny St.;
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