Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Typhoon & Venice Beach
I'm going to be honest; eating bugs isn't on the top of my list, but when I saw the Los Angeles episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where he visits Typhoon in Santa Monica, my curiosity was piqued. Located at the Santa Monica airport, Typhoon is known for their vast variety of Pan Asian cuisine which they serve out of their glass encased dining room that overlooks the airport runways. So we ventured out on a Sunday afternoon to give their bug menu a taste.
For lunch, the only insect options to choose from were the Tawainese Crickets and the Singapore Style Scorpions. Our waiter suggested we opt for the crickets since there would be more share. The more the merrier, right? So we ordered our crickets and tacked on the Mongolian Lamb and Pineapple Fried Rice to round out the meal.
The flash-fried crickets were served on a bed of shoestring french fries with a thick, red hot sauce set in the middle of the platter. The crickets were actually texturally similar to the french fries, so one bite full of both made the taste of cricket nearly unrecognizable. Give it a nice dunk in the hot sauce and it's pretty tasty. The Mongolian Lamb, stir-fried with tomatoes, scallions, mushrooms, and garlic - was served along side some hot, sesame buns.
After lunch we headed straight to Venice Beach. Although it was a pretty overcast day, we were able to take in a lot of the sights and sounds that make Venice Beach a Southern California landmark. First up-- Muscle Beach. After watching I Love You, Man a part of me really wanted to run into Lou Ferrigno pumping iron or even just walking his dog on the boardwalk. Instead, there were only a few patrons grunting their way from weight to weight.
One of the coolest highlights of Venice Beach is the Venice Art Walls. Displayed on the sands is a section of concrete walls that are open to the public for artistic expression. Artists obtain a free permit and can paint on the walls on weekends. Art on the walls may change up to two times per day. The Venice Art Walls were established as a memorial to the graffiti arts that have adorned the walls of Venice over the last 30 years.
Vendors line each side of the boardwalk while street performers try to gather crowds with either their unusual acts or impressive dance skills. To the north of the boardwalk is the Venice Beach Freak Show. For $5 you could enter the freak show and see the Electric Lady, Sword Swallower, and many other extraordinary sights. Vendors sold handmade jewelry and even hemp. Venice Beach is definitely an experience.
The Day's Damage= Crickets, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Mongolian Lamb $42 + Parking at Venice $10 = $52
Items 10 & 11: Check
For lunch, the only insect options to choose from were the Tawainese Crickets and the Singapore Style Scorpions. Our waiter suggested we opt for the crickets since there would be more share. The more the merrier, right? So we ordered our crickets and tacked on the Mongolian Lamb and Pineapple Fried Rice to round out the meal.
The flash-fried crickets were served on a bed of shoestring french fries with a thick, red hot sauce set in the middle of the platter. The crickets were actually texturally similar to the french fries, so one bite full of both made the taste of cricket nearly unrecognizable. Give it a nice dunk in the hot sauce and it's pretty tasty. The Mongolian Lamb, stir-fried with tomatoes, scallions, mushrooms, and garlic - was served along side some hot, sesame buns.
After lunch we headed straight to Venice Beach. Although it was a pretty overcast day, we were able to take in a lot of the sights and sounds that make Venice Beach a Southern California landmark. First up-- Muscle Beach. After watching I Love You, Man a part of me really wanted to run into Lou Ferrigno pumping iron or even just walking his dog on the boardwalk. Instead, there were only a few patrons grunting their way from weight to weight.
One of the coolest highlights of Venice Beach is the Venice Art Walls. Displayed on the sands is a section of concrete walls that are open to the public for artistic expression. Artists obtain a free permit and can paint on the walls on weekends. Art on the walls may change up to two times per day. The Venice Art Walls were established as a memorial to the graffiti arts that have adorned the walls of Venice over the last 30 years.
Vendors line each side of the boardwalk while street performers try to gather crowds with either their unusual acts or impressive dance skills. To the north of the boardwalk is the Venice Beach Freak Show. For $5 you could enter the freak show and see the Electric Lady, Sword Swallower, and many other extraordinary sights. Vendors sold handmade jewelry and even hemp. Venice Beach is definitely an experience.
The Day's Damage= Crickets, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Mongolian Lamb $42 + Parking at Venice $10 = $52
Items 10 & 11: Check
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Parks BBQ
The notion of “all-you-can-eat” is quite the anomaly for me – on the one hand, it sounds awesome, what’s not to like? But, taking a deeper dive in, most all-you-can-eat establishments scrimp on quality and load you up with fillers. So, in an effort to find one of the best Korean BBQ joints LA has to offer, we decided to forgo the gluttonous cornucopia that is all-you-can-eat, and elevate our choice towards quality over quantity.
For us, Park's BBQ on Vermont was the best option for this criteria. With its hard-edged contemporary design, black walls and sleek stainless-steel hoods above the grills, Parks felt urban and modern, not a bit dodgy like many BBQ joints in the area.
The prices at Park's are higher than most, but what sets it apart is the quality of the beef, which is prime. We decided to order the Prime Ggot Sal, Seasoned Gal-Bi, and Bulgogi for five of us. Along with the rock shrimp and green onion pancake and 3 large Hite beers. For those put off by the cost, a good thing to remember are all the little dishes (pan chan) that come with the meal. Ours consisted of sesame noodles, kimchi, bean paste, raw garlic and jalapeños, spicy blue crab, mashed yams with raisins, potato salad, seaweed, sesame broccoli, crunchy chili zucchini, thinly sliced pickled radishes and rice noodle wrappers. We immediately started nibbling on everything as the trays of meat were revealed to our table.
Our waitress helped by spreading the meat over the hot coals in the middle of the table and stopped by from time to time to see how things were going, moving the meat toward the cooler edges of the grill as it cooked, cutting it into smaller pieces with a giant pair of scissors. The seafood pancake arrived at this point, deliciously crispy studded with shrimp and green onions and a hot pepper sauce for dipping. This was yummy, a crunchy Frisbee-sized disk of delicious-ness.
So, back to the reason we were here in the first place, the meat. We snatched up pieces of prime beef adding dabs of kimchi and bean paste, bits of jalapeño, wrapping them in rice noodles and dipping into various sauces – the combo of flavors are rich and earthy, juicy, charred….a delicious little bundle of complexity. We really could tell the difference in the quality of the product, the prime beef caramelized over the grill was real treat in all three preparations.
Even with the industrial stainless-steel hoods above the grills sucking up the smoke, we still left Parks with the smell of decadent prime beef in our clothes and hair, but after a meal like that I couldn’t have cared in the least.
The Day’s Damage = Prime Ggot Sal $33 + Seasoned Gal-Bi $32 + Bulgogi $24 + Pancake $17 + (3) Hites $21 + tax/tip = $160
Item 29 : Check
For us, Park's BBQ on Vermont was the best option for this criteria. With its hard-edged contemporary design, black walls and sleek stainless-steel hoods above the grills, Parks felt urban and modern, not a bit dodgy like many BBQ joints in the area.
The prices at Park's are higher than most, but what sets it apart is the quality of the beef, which is prime. We decided to order the Prime Ggot Sal, Seasoned Gal-Bi, and Bulgogi for five of us. Along with the rock shrimp and green onion pancake and 3 large Hite beers. For those put off by the cost, a good thing to remember are all the little dishes (pan chan) that come with the meal. Ours consisted of sesame noodles, kimchi, bean paste, raw garlic and jalapeños, spicy blue crab, mashed yams with raisins, potato salad, seaweed, sesame broccoli, crunchy chili zucchini, thinly sliced pickled radishes and rice noodle wrappers. We immediately started nibbling on everything as the trays of meat were revealed to our table.
Our waitress helped by spreading the meat over the hot coals in the middle of the table and stopped by from time to time to see how things were going, moving the meat toward the cooler edges of the grill as it cooked, cutting it into smaller pieces with a giant pair of scissors. The seafood pancake arrived at this point, deliciously crispy studded with shrimp and green onions and a hot pepper sauce for dipping. This was yummy, a crunchy Frisbee-sized disk of delicious-ness.
So, back to the reason we were here in the first place, the meat. We snatched up pieces of prime beef adding dabs of kimchi and bean paste, bits of jalapeño, wrapping them in rice noodles and dipping into various sauces – the combo of flavors are rich and earthy, juicy, charred….a delicious little bundle of complexity. We really could tell the difference in the quality of the product, the prime beef caramelized over the grill was real treat in all three preparations.
Even with the industrial stainless-steel hoods above the grills sucking up the smoke, we still left Parks with the smell of decadent prime beef in our clothes and hair, but after a meal like that I couldn’t have cared in the least.
The Day’s Damage = Prime Ggot Sal $33 + Seasoned Gal-Bi $32 + Bulgogi $24 + Pancake $17 + (3) Hites $21 + tax/tip = $160
Item 29 : Check
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Rock Climbing
With Pinks Hotdogs and Langers Pastrami settling nicely on out thighs, it was about time we did something a bit more ACTIVE! Bring on a test of agility and endurance, and an all out hysterical situation…….it was time for indoor rock climbing.
We arrived at Hangar 18, a nicely equipped indoor facility in the Southbay, ready to test our skills. The tiny Indie chick behind the counter fitted us with harnesses and climbing shoes, after we signed the all the appropriate releases and agreed to who-knows-what if we were to injure ourselves.
We started the obligatory training session, with a lesson in knot tying – first up, the figure eight knot which we tied a few times into some practice lengths of rope. This can be tricky, as we realized, we learn by doing not by watching, so it took a few attempts to get the hang of - but, we were proud figure-eighters in no time. I felt pretty fancy.
Next, it was time to anchor the rope to our harnesses and have our belay partner hook-up the carabiner, which fastens the rope to their harness allowing for a controlled climb up and steady decent down. Your belay partner’s job is to pull the slack from your rope as you climb so if you fall, you don’t plunge to the ground and so that you don’t get tangled. Your partner also controls the speed in which you descend, this can be a bit nerve racking, as the harder they release the carabiner, the quicker you fall to the floor. I experienced this first hand, which resulted in tremendous amounts of nervous laughter.
Out Indie chick explained the grading system used to rate the degree of difficulty of various rock walls. The ratings take into account multiple factors affecting a route, such as the slope of the ascent, the quantity and quality of available handholds, the distance between holds, and whether advanced technical maneuvers are required.
Now, it was time for some serious climbing; we spent a good 3 – 4 hours taking turns testing ourselves on various walls, some much steeper and challenging than others. The biggest challenge to overcome is the cramping sensation in ones finger tips after hours of gripping the handholds. I’m not particularly use to bearing the entire weight of my body on a few fingers, so plenty of chalk was needed to keep my from slipping right off the top holds due to my trembling sweaty fingers.
We were quite proud of how well we had faired on the walls and decided we would switch to free climbing, which pretty much is what it sounds like. The walls are considerably lower for free climbing, but you aren’t harnessed to anyone, and you have no ropes for support. The relatively minimal height makes falling less of an issue, but we threw down some pads to cushion any falls. We took turns attempting to free climb, which basically came down to us clinging to the wall for photo-ops as after 4 hours of climbing, our upper bodies were shot and we couldn’t even climb let alone just hang from the wall. We left Hanger 18 with achey fingers, covered in chalk dust, and the accomplishment of making it to the top (over and over again)……we were badass, and we paid for it the next day!
The Day’s Damage = Rock Climbing Gear & Day Pass $30 x 2 = $60
Item 4: Check
We arrived at Hangar 18, a nicely equipped indoor facility in the Southbay, ready to test our skills. The tiny Indie chick behind the counter fitted us with harnesses and climbing shoes, after we signed the all the appropriate releases and agreed to who-knows-what if we were to injure ourselves.
We started the obligatory training session, with a lesson in knot tying – first up, the figure eight knot which we tied a few times into some practice lengths of rope. This can be tricky, as we realized, we learn by doing not by watching, so it took a few attempts to get the hang of - but, we were proud figure-eighters in no time. I felt pretty fancy.
Next, it was time to anchor the rope to our harnesses and have our belay partner hook-up the carabiner, which fastens the rope to their harness allowing for a controlled climb up and steady decent down. Your belay partner’s job is to pull the slack from your rope as you climb so if you fall, you don’t plunge to the ground and so that you don’t get tangled. Your partner also controls the speed in which you descend, this can be a bit nerve racking, as the harder they release the carabiner, the quicker you fall to the floor. I experienced this first hand, which resulted in tremendous amounts of nervous laughter.
Out Indie chick explained the grading system used to rate the degree of difficulty of various rock walls. The ratings take into account multiple factors affecting a route, such as the slope of the ascent, the quantity and quality of available handholds, the distance between holds, and whether advanced technical maneuvers are required.
Now, it was time for some serious climbing; we spent a good 3 – 4 hours taking turns testing ourselves on various walls, some much steeper and challenging than others. The biggest challenge to overcome is the cramping sensation in ones finger tips after hours of gripping the handholds. I’m not particularly use to bearing the entire weight of my body on a few fingers, so plenty of chalk was needed to keep my from slipping right off the top holds due to my trembling sweaty fingers.
We were quite proud of how well we had faired on the walls and decided we would switch to free climbing, which pretty much is what it sounds like. The walls are considerably lower for free climbing, but you aren’t harnessed to anyone, and you have no ropes for support. The relatively minimal height makes falling less of an issue, but we threw down some pads to cushion any falls. We took turns attempting to free climb, which basically came down to us clinging to the wall for photo-ops as after 4 hours of climbing, our upper bodies were shot and we couldn’t even climb let alone just hang from the wall. We left Hanger 18 with achey fingers, covered in chalk dust, and the accomplishment of making it to the top (over and over again)……we were badass, and we paid for it the next day!
The Day’s Damage = Rock Climbing Gear & Day Pass $30 x 2 = $60
Item 4: Check
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Price Is Right & Pinks Hot Dogs
What is the average unit price for a box of detergent? Fabric deodorizer? Epsom salt? These were the questions we started quizzing each other with as we waited in line outside CBS studios, for our passes to... You guessed it... The Price is Right!!
To be in the audience of The Price is Right is free and there are a number of ways that you can request your free tickets—online, phone, old-fashioned snail mail, or at the CBS studios ticket booth. However, the tickets you request don’t guarantee you admittance into the studio—they just give you the right to stand in line outside the studio to get your “Order of Arrival Pass” (I’ll get into detail about those later). CBS posts their filming dates online and on each day they film two shows—one at noon and the other at 4pm. So, being the natural planner that we are, we assumed that we would need to be a few hours early to get admittance into the studio. Boy were we way off. After doing some thorough research online, we, amidst shock and hesitation, realized that we would need to arrive around at 4-5am to stand outside the CBS studios. That’s right, 0500 hours! I can barely get myself out of bed when my alarm goes off at 7:30 and I would need to be IN Hollywood at 5am. But, my determination to achieve my angeleno rite of passage prevailed and I, with Carla, pressed on.
Realizing that we most likely wouldn’t be waiting in line at 4am, we decided to find a loophole in the system. I requested tickets for the noon show, while Carla requested tickets for the 4pm show. If we didn’t arrive in time to get order of arrival tickets for the first taping, we could still make it to the second. Sneaky sneaky.
Note to those who plan on one day experiencing the taping of The Price is Right: Get a group of 15-25 to go. If you go in a group, you are guaranteed admittance and you can arrive at a reasonable time—like 10am—you know, the time the rest of the world starts bustling. Also, the best part about coming in a group is that one person is guaranteed to get called up to be a contestant.
So, the day finally came and with about 4 hours of sleep, 4 of us headed out to CBS studios to stand in line for our chance to hear… “COME ON DOWN!!” We left the South Bay at 5:15am sharp and arrived outside the studio a few minutes to 6 only to find the line wrapped around the block. You can imagine the panic we felt thinking our loss of sleep may have been for nothing. We parked around the corner in The Grove (they tell you not to do that, but if you shop their during the day, they can't stop you) and headed over to the studio. We staked our place in line and waited for them to start passing out the order of arrival passes. The numbered order of arrival passes determine whether or not you actually make it into the studio. Obviously, the higher the number, the less chance you have getting in. After you receive your order of arrival pass, you can then leave till your call-back time to be back for the show. The call time for the noon taping was at 8:30am and the call-back time for the 4 was at 12. They began passing out the arrival passes at 6 and slowly we crept ourselves to the front of the line. Getting anxious that our chances at the first show were becoming slimmer by the minute, Carla quickly moved to the front to receive a second set of passes for the 4pm show. We received our passes for the noon show and our numbers started at 213 (We had no chance!), BUT—our 4pm passes started at 33 (BINGO!... or should I say… PLINKO!! Haha).
With our 2 sets of passes in hand, we were off to grab some grub before returning to see if we could miraculously make it into the first taping. Thankfully, The Grove is located right next door to the CBS studios, so we walked to Dupars to fill our stomachs with a hearty breakfast.
At 8:30, we headed back to the studio to stand in line in the “Audience Holding Area” to wait for our numbers to get called. We knew there would be no chance, but the people-watching was well worth the trip. The area was packed with bright-colored shirts, puffy painted with clever sayings and anecdotes. The larger groups wore uniform shirts with team names and shout-outs to Drew Carey. One group even made 3D representations of the Price is Right games out of felt that were positioned on their chests. Everything from glittered headbands to 1970s polyester prom suits were present—it was probably the BEST people-watching experience I’d ever had. Cameras and cellphones were not allowed, though, so we have no photos of the amazing costumes we saw.
Our numbers weren’t called for the first taping, but we knew that was coming—so we headed back to the Grove to do a little shopping. It was 8:30; we had HOURS to kill. I have to admit, having some time to just browse through stores was not so bad. We shopped for a bit then headed out for some lunch in the farmer’s market. PS-I highly recommend Loteria’s Mole Poblano con Pollo tacos; they’re cheap and super yummy. A few blouses and a sweater later, we made our way back to the audience holding area to finally get called to start processing for the 4pm taping.
After filling out some paperwork, taking group photos in front of the Plinko green screen, a short interview with the producer, and a security check, we headed into the studio to our seats. At this point, we had been awake for almost 12 hours. We entered the studio and the walls were covered in psychedelic-colored drapes, decorated with large 70s flowers. The announcer, Rich Fields, came on stage to hype up the audience and then cameras started rolling. With each name that was called, my heart probably jumped a bit. I think all of us were both nervous and excited at the same time to get called. It would be awesome to be a contestant, but I didn’t want to be “that girl” that was always way over on the price and never got called up to play a game. We had one of those girls in our taping… she was a Hooters girl (not judging, I swear).
Being in the audience is ridiculously fun. The energy in that room could have lit up a city. The groups in the audience screamed with excitement and the contestants that were called up were pumped with funny dances as they walked up to the stage. You couldn’t help but want to root for all of them. Oh—and when we had to start guessing prices—you couldn’t hear the person next to you. I probably got a small case of laryngitis with all the estimated costs I was screaming. The taping lasted exactly an hour and not one of the 4 of us got called, but the experience was well worth the 4 hours of sleep and 13 hours dedicated to get in.
By the time we left the studio it was just before 7 and we were starving. We drove to Pink’s, pulled into a convenient spot on the street (which, by the way, is free after 7pm) and waited in line. On any given day, the line for a Pink’s hot dog can be an easy 45 minute wait. Some people wait for hours on the weekends. On a Monday at 7pm—you can get in line and be eating your hot dogs after a half hour. Not too bad. The menu was a bit overwhelming, but we narrowed down our choices. We ordered 1 chili dog, 1 turkey dog with sauerkraut and chili, 1 polish dog, and 1 Lord of the “Rings” dog which is a 10” stretch dog topped with bbq sauce and onion rings. Is your mouth watering yet?
I took one bite out of my stretch chili dog and I was a believer. I LOVE hot dogs. I mean—I really LOVE hot dogs. I don’t know how I lived this long without a Pink’s Hot dog. It was tantalizing! First, there’s the snap of the hot dog casing and the juiciness of the dog itself that hits the spot. Then, there’s the chili. The combination of flavors is a celebration in your mouth. Oh and let's not forget about the fries. They're perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. With over 30 types of hot dogs and combinations, you just can't go wrong at Pink's. It's an LA institution that just cannot be missed.
What an amazing day! Not only did we get to be part of a show that we grew up watching, but we threw in some shopping, and topped it off with some of the best hot dogs in Los Angeles. To make things even better-- the day was relatively inexpensive. The biggest investment was our lack of sleep, but it was definitely worth it!
The Days Damage: Tickets to the Price is Right $0 + Parking at The Grove $15 + Breakfast at Dupars $68 + Lunch at the Farmers Market $30 + Pink's Hot Dogs, drinks, & fries $31 = $144 total
Items 12 & 14 check
To be in the audience of The Price is Right is free and there are a number of ways that you can request your free tickets—online, phone, old-fashioned snail mail, or at the CBS studios ticket booth. However, the tickets you request don’t guarantee you admittance into the studio—they just give you the right to stand in line outside the studio to get your “Order of Arrival Pass” (I’ll get into detail about those later). CBS posts their filming dates online and on each day they film two shows—one at noon and the other at 4pm. So, being the natural planner that we are, we assumed that we would need to be a few hours early to get admittance into the studio. Boy were we way off. After doing some thorough research online, we, amidst shock and hesitation, realized that we would need to arrive around at 4-5am to stand outside the CBS studios. That’s right, 0500 hours! I can barely get myself out of bed when my alarm goes off at 7:30 and I would need to be IN Hollywood at 5am. But, my determination to achieve my angeleno rite of passage prevailed and I, with Carla, pressed on.
Realizing that we most likely wouldn’t be waiting in line at 4am, we decided to find a loophole in the system. I requested tickets for the noon show, while Carla requested tickets for the 4pm show. If we didn’t arrive in time to get order of arrival tickets for the first taping, we could still make it to the second. Sneaky sneaky.
Note to those who plan on one day experiencing the taping of The Price is Right: Get a group of 15-25 to go. If you go in a group, you are guaranteed admittance and you can arrive at a reasonable time—like 10am—you know, the time the rest of the world starts bustling. Also, the best part about coming in a group is that one person is guaranteed to get called up to be a contestant.
So, the day finally came and with about 4 hours of sleep, 4 of us headed out to CBS studios to stand in line for our chance to hear… “COME ON DOWN!!” We left the South Bay at 5:15am sharp and arrived outside the studio a few minutes to 6 only to find the line wrapped around the block. You can imagine the panic we felt thinking our loss of sleep may have been for nothing. We parked around the corner in The Grove (they tell you not to do that, but if you shop their during the day, they can't stop you) and headed over to the studio. We staked our place in line and waited for them to start passing out the order of arrival passes. The numbered order of arrival passes determine whether or not you actually make it into the studio. Obviously, the higher the number, the less chance you have getting in. After you receive your order of arrival pass, you can then leave till your call-back time to be back for the show. The call time for the noon taping was at 8:30am and the call-back time for the 4 was at 12. They began passing out the arrival passes at 6 and slowly we crept ourselves to the front of the line. Getting anxious that our chances at the first show were becoming slimmer by the minute, Carla quickly moved to the front to receive a second set of passes for the 4pm show. We received our passes for the noon show and our numbers started at 213 (We had no chance!), BUT—our 4pm passes started at 33 (BINGO!... or should I say… PLINKO!! Haha).
With our 2 sets of passes in hand, we were off to grab some grub before returning to see if we could miraculously make it into the first taping. Thankfully, The Grove is located right next door to the CBS studios, so we walked to Dupars to fill our stomachs with a hearty breakfast.
At 8:30, we headed back to the studio to stand in line in the “Audience Holding Area” to wait for our numbers to get called. We knew there would be no chance, but the people-watching was well worth the trip. The area was packed with bright-colored shirts, puffy painted with clever sayings and anecdotes. The larger groups wore uniform shirts with team names and shout-outs to Drew Carey. One group even made 3D representations of the Price is Right games out of felt that were positioned on their chests. Everything from glittered headbands to 1970s polyester prom suits were present—it was probably the BEST people-watching experience I’d ever had. Cameras and cellphones were not allowed, though, so we have no photos of the amazing costumes we saw.
Our numbers weren’t called for the first taping, but we knew that was coming—so we headed back to the Grove to do a little shopping. It was 8:30; we had HOURS to kill. I have to admit, having some time to just browse through stores was not so bad. We shopped for a bit then headed out for some lunch in the farmer’s market. PS-I highly recommend Loteria’s Mole Poblano con Pollo tacos; they’re cheap and super yummy. A few blouses and a sweater later, we made our way back to the audience holding area to finally get called to start processing for the 4pm taping.
After filling out some paperwork, taking group photos in front of the Plinko green screen, a short interview with the producer, and a security check, we headed into the studio to our seats. At this point, we had been awake for almost 12 hours. We entered the studio and the walls were covered in psychedelic-colored drapes, decorated with large 70s flowers. The announcer, Rich Fields, came on stage to hype up the audience and then cameras started rolling. With each name that was called, my heart probably jumped a bit. I think all of us were both nervous and excited at the same time to get called. It would be awesome to be a contestant, but I didn’t want to be “that girl” that was always way over on the price and never got called up to play a game. We had one of those girls in our taping… she was a Hooters girl (not judging, I swear).
Being in the audience is ridiculously fun. The energy in that room could have lit up a city. The groups in the audience screamed with excitement and the contestants that were called up were pumped with funny dances as they walked up to the stage. You couldn’t help but want to root for all of them. Oh—and when we had to start guessing prices—you couldn’t hear the person next to you. I probably got a small case of laryngitis with all the estimated costs I was screaming. The taping lasted exactly an hour and not one of the 4 of us got called, but the experience was well worth the 4 hours of sleep and 13 hours dedicated to get in.
By the time we left the studio it was just before 7 and we were starving. We drove to Pink’s, pulled into a convenient spot on the street (which, by the way, is free after 7pm) and waited in line. On any given day, the line for a Pink’s hot dog can be an easy 45 minute wait. Some people wait for hours on the weekends. On a Monday at 7pm—you can get in line and be eating your hot dogs after a half hour. Not too bad. The menu was a bit overwhelming, but we narrowed down our choices. We ordered 1 chili dog, 1 turkey dog with sauerkraut and chili, 1 polish dog, and 1 Lord of the “Rings” dog which is a 10” stretch dog topped with bbq sauce and onion rings. Is your mouth watering yet?
I took one bite out of my stretch chili dog and I was a believer. I LOVE hot dogs. I mean—I really LOVE hot dogs. I don’t know how I lived this long without a Pink’s Hot dog. It was tantalizing! First, there’s the snap of the hot dog casing and the juiciness of the dog itself that hits the spot. Then, there’s the chili. The combination of flavors is a celebration in your mouth. Oh and let's not forget about the fries. They're perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. With over 30 types of hot dogs and combinations, you just can't go wrong at Pink's. It's an LA institution that just cannot be missed.
What an amazing day! Not only did we get to be part of a show that we grew up watching, but we threw in some shopping, and topped it off with some of the best hot dogs in Los Angeles. To make things even better-- the day was relatively inexpensive. The biggest investment was our lack of sleep, but it was definitely worth it!
The Days Damage: Tickets to the Price is Right $0 + Parking at The Grove $15 + Breakfast at Dupars $68 + Lunch at the Farmers Market $30 + Pink's Hot Dogs, drinks, & fries $31 = $144 total
Items 12 & 14 check
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