What Will It Take to Find a Good Hot Dog?

Must report another hot dog dud: The Stand. I had heard good things about its Encino location and went to the Westwood one that recently opened with some expectations. Alas, the hot dog was so mediocre I would venture to say even the street vendor hot dogs in New York were better.

First of all, many of the dogs were steamed rather than grilled unless requested (if you didn't know this was the case, server didn't ask you either). Then the dogs themselves had no flavor whatsoever. There were many options for types of dogs and toppings but they all paled in comparison to my favorite dog place of all time.

The sauerkraut was not at all juicy and tasted totally bland. I truly don't understand those that rave about this place. Don't even try anything else on the menu. We tried the burger and it was awful. The Stand even has steep discount nights but that isn't going to lure me. I'm saddened that I may have to travel to Hollywood or some other farther away spot to sample a good dog. I just watched "Hot Dog Paradise" on the Travel Channel and boy, did that make me want to visit Chicago.

The search definitely continues...

How timely of the LA Times to do a feature and ranking of best dogs in LA, although two of my duds, including The Stand, are on the list. I will try the other ones on the list with some skepticism and report back.