There's an interesting phenomenon in Los Angeles: any time a crowd of ten or more people is gathered on a sidewalk near downtown, near a bar, near a club, near a sporting event they appear...
...street-cart vendors selling delicious smelling bacon-wrapped hot dogs.
For a couple bucks, (usually open for haggle depending on how much pocket change you have left on you at the end of an evening) a fully-loaded dog, wrapped in bacon and topped with ketchup, mustard, mayo, peppers and onions is yours for the taking. And usually incredibly welcome depending on what type of debauchery you were partaking in prior to coming across this street cart oasis.
I used to eat the delicious and completely unnecessary treats more often, until the practice of eating a hot dog made from a small street cart was frowned upon by my significant other. Her concern (other than always calling them "gross") is that there's no telling what the dogs contain. Rats? Small kittens? Yoga mats?
Apparently they're also illegal.
LA Weekly has a great article on the phenomenon and how they're illegal (and how many are calling for them to be legalized and sanctioned, which might help assuage any fears of what exactly it is that you're eating). According to the article, most of the vendors have been cited or even jailed for selling the late-night snacks.
Where do you stand in the consumption, legality and/or overall deliciousness of the street bacon-wrapped hot dog? Sound off and let us know!
