Astro Burger's Chili Dog

Astro Burger - 7475 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90046 (Santa Monica and Gardener)

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Astro Burger boasts ‘homemade chili’ on their menu. However, just because chili is homemade doesn’t mean that it is good. My Auntie Anne makes a homemade beef stew, but I’m not bending over backwards to have at it. I do enjoy a good char dog though and Astro-Burger’s got one. The onions are cut in a way to give them a sauerkraut look and feel that helps them mix well with the chili. However, nothing mixes well with pre-shredded dried out cheddar cheese. The plusses outweigh the minus’ but just barely. Overall the dog is fine but it is bit steep in price. If you find yourself at Astro-Burger with a serious craving for a chili cheese dog, go ahead and get it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you of impending mediocrity.

Not much fun at the Carousel Cafe

Carousel Café – 1601 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica, CA 90401

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A trip to the Carousel Café turned out to be a subpar experience. While the actual wienie was pretty good, the chili and the cheese were enough to doom this dog. The chili was watery and tasteless, while the cheese was the pre-shredded/dried out kind. I made a futile attempt to salvage my lunch with some mustard and onions, but to no avail the over-priced under-flavored chili cheese dog was not savable. While I remained skeptical of the ‘world famous burgers’ posted in front, I will be more inclined to get one instead of one of their dogs next time around the Carousel.

Carney's Dog is Greaseweek Approved

Carney’s dog has a great snap, perhaps the best snap I’ve had in this city. A good snap usually means a good dog. A great snap and you’ve got yourself a fantastic dining experience. Not to mention the chili and healthy smothering of diced onions really brings the dog together. The tomato while rather large did cool things off on the very zesty dog and just added to the four star dining experience. Throw in a side of chili cheese fries and this is what greaseweek is all about.

Pink's: Over-ratings over-looked.

I’ve road by Pink’s countless number of times, looked at the line wrapping around the adjacent antique shop, shook my head wondering why anyone would wait in that long of a line for a hot dog, and kept on riding. If you want to enjoy a Pink’s dining experience minus the ridiculous wait time, try having a dog for breakfast or at least an early morning lunch like I did. The infamous and staggering line can spoil ones appetite and attitude towards the legendary hot dog stand. I’ve had Pink’s on one other occaission. The line single handedly ruined my lunch. It is almost impossible to live up to such hype and publicity that Pink’s has acquired though the years. When you break things down, it’s just a hot dog, plain and simple. When you filter out all the hype and enjoy Pink’s for what it truly is, which is a greasy little hot dog stand, you can be at peace with your wiener and enjoy it in serenity. I enjoyed the Pink’s chili cheese dog. The dog had a nice snap, the chili, cheese, and mustard, worked well together and were all contained rather neatly as far as chili cheese dogs go. The dining room is tiny yet filled with celebrity pictures wall to wall. I loved the fact that it was so empty, it’s like being at home plate of an empty Yankee Stadium, or all alone in the Sistine Chapel. I was expecting to can Pink’s in my review, but not waiting in that line and dealing with the massive crowd truly made all the difference.

Apple Panned

Apple Pan – 10801 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064

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The Apple Pan is always on the short list when it comes to naming L.A.’s best burger. For many people it is pure nostalgia, but for me it was just another day at the office. As I finally found a seat I did indeed get a kick out of the old timey servers, novelty drinking cups and the classic dining room, but I was more interested in their famous burgers. The burger was really good, as was the cheese. One thing that really propelled it was the ketchup/relish combo that came off like some kind of American-style chutney. One thing that held the burger back was the considerable amount of lettuce. I thought it might have been just me but I saw some guy with the same amount of lettuce on his burger. Fortunately I was able to sneak up behind him and get a shot of his lettuce burger to prove my point. And then to seal the deal I took a picture of the cook with an entire counter full of lettuce ready to overdo each and every burger they fried up. The fries were the worst I have had yet. They have so many customers that they really rushed things along, therefore serving out loads of undercooked fries. Haste makes waste. Despite having a bad batch of fries and a little too much of the green stuff on my burger it was still very good. To end on a high note the apple-pie ala mode was outstanding and I’m not much of a sweet guy. The dessert out shined the burger, and put the fries to shame. To finish on a low, my bill for a burger, fries, Dr. Pepper, and pie was $20.25 (not including tip). Yikes! Apologies for panning the Apple Pan and all their fans, but it’s hard for me to drop that kind of coin on a burger and dessert and walk away feeling like it was money well spent.

Welcome To Greaseweek!

Greaseweek is officially launched! After months of pulling hair out of my head and shoving burgers down my throat things are up and running. After looking at many other food bloggers website I feel as if I did the path of most resistance. Many of them appear to be on some sort of template, where they type in the content and the site does the rest. Not me, greaseweek.com was built from the ground up and is a true testament of all of the hard work and all of the calories I have consumed. I suppose next on my fairly long to do list is making more frequent blog posts. I've got to stay loyal to all three of my followers. Thank you!!!