The odd but tasty Indo-American hot dog at Hot Breads Bakery on Hillcroft appears to have an automotive inspiration. The sandwich consists of six little vertical pistons of hallal chicken frankfurter baked into a deliciously soft 6-cylinder brioche-like bun and topped with a sauce of mayonnaise, onions and green peppers. We assume it was invented in India, along with the rest of this franchise chain’s fusion menu. (Goat curry croissant, anyone?)
But I haven’t heard of a Hot Breads franchise in L.A. yet. I only bring this up because July is “National Hot Dog Month” which is always an occasion for civic weenie rattling. The National Hot Dog Council has released its annual statistics and, as usual, Chicago and New York hold most of the titles. The surprise is that Los Angeles is now vying to compete for the title of Hot Dog Capital of World.
L.A. gets a lot of credit for variety. Chili dogs, chili cheese dogs and Latino-style avocado and bacon dogs can all be found in L.A. Of course, Houston has all those and this wacky 6-cylinder Indo-frankenfurter to boot.
So hey, National Hot Dog Council, how about an Honorable Mention or something? — Robb Walsh
This article appears in Jul 10-16, 2008.
