Skooby's

I find it strange that Hollywood is like my backyard, and that I didn't start hanging out there until I found out about Skooby's.

When most people think about hot dogs in L.A., they think about Pink's. It's a Los Angeles institution, but frankly I find it overrated. And overcrowded. I don't think the hot dogs there are so great that I would be willing to stand on line for a half hour, especially considering that you only have to wait a few minutes for a Costco Polish and it only costs $1.50 and you get a drink. That being said, it's not like Skooby's hot dogs are altogether amazing either, but then it's only a few blocks away from Pink's, you barely have to wait to order and get one served up, and they hafe infinitely better fries. The difference really is their fries and their Arnold Palmers.

I discovered Skooby's because I was hunting for the best fries in L.A., particularly Belgian-style French fries. Researching the Chowhound message boards led me to Skooby's. Skooby's doesn't really serve Belgian-style fries, but they are good, and if they're not the best in L.A., then I don't know who is.

Skooby's uses real, fresh Idaho and Washington potatoes that are generously cut into traditional fry strips and less traditional chip slices. They are double fried (the best way to fry) in peanut oil, then tossed with seasoned salt and served up with an aioli dipping sauce. If the fries only consisted of the fries proper, that would be good enough to distinguish themselves from most other restaurants that serve fries. Add in the chip slices and the aioli though, and you have something otherworldly. Add chili, cheddar, or bacon and you have heaven. The fries would be one of the sides in my dream meal (which would also have Pioneer Chicken).

The hotdogs, on the other hand, are alright. The hot dogs and buns are made specially for them, and are different from the other hot dog joints around town. The hot dogs are somewhat small, especially when compared to the hot dogs at Pink's, or even Carney's. But they have less of a mass-produced feel to them, if that makes sense. The buns are atypical of hot dog buns and are more similar to rolls. They also have a slightly chewy quality to them which may or may not be desirable to some. Of note is their chili dog which they serve with their homemade chili made with Guinness. It is a very mellow chili that has a bit more personality than say Pink's or Tommy's.

They also serve one of the best Arnold Palmers in town, made with fresh lemonade. I find that both their ice tea and their lemonade go well together, neither one standing out more than the other. It's not too tart, not too sweet, and not too bitter.

My typical meal at Skooby's is usually a double bacon cheddar fries, a side of hot dog, and an Arnold Palmer. It's a generous meal, with an excellent proportion of fries to hot dog. I would suggest however ordering additional aioli, since you'll find yourself wanting more.

Some other notes about Skooby's:
- 5 out of 7 on my mess-o-meter, meaning you will need napkins.
- Skooby's is literally a hole in the wall in Hollywood, so don't expect any fancy indoor seating. Or any seating for that matter. Eating space is very limited outside. The Manhattan Beach location is probably roomier (they also serve burgers there), but it isn't the same as hanging out on Hollywood Blvd.
- What you lose in space, they make up for with an awesome soundtrack. They're constantly blasting great punk music, sometimes even foreign punk music.
- If you have the option of choosing between a bacon cheddar hot dog and a double Skooby's fries, or a regular hot dog and a double bacon cheddar cheddar fries, go for the latter. The price breakdown is such that you get more value adding the cheddar and the bacon to the fries rather than the dog. Or better yet, get both bacon-cheddarized.

Skooby's
6654 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) HOT-DOGS

Cool Dudes of History - George Tirebiter

Today's cool dude ... is actually a dog. Although I graduated a Bruin, I'll have to admit that my all-time favorite Trojan is USC's George Tirebiter. Like so many legends, the legend of George Tirebiter is shrouded partly in myth. Some claim the original Tirebiter was a stray that hung around Curry's Ice Cream Parlor, or that he was actually adopted by locals following the death of his owner. Whatever the case, his fondness for chasing after bicycles and cars and biting their rubber tires is where he got his name. The "George" is attributed to a Navy V-12 student named George Kuhns to whom he bore a resemblance.

George Tirebiter grew to be a popular school mascot during the 40s and 50s, riding in cars and running onto the field of USC football games, often wearing a USC sweater made especially for him. One story even has him biting the nose of Cal mascot Oski the Bear to the great applause of Trojans everywhere.

At one point he disappeared for a week, the victim of an apparent kidnapping. The culprits turned out to be the crosstown rival Bruins. When he was returned stories differ as to what had been done to him—in one he was covered in honey and feathers, and in another "UCLA" was shaved into his fur.

Following his days at USC he retired to a farm in El Centro, where he passed away doing what he loved—chasing cars. A funeral was held on the USC campus, where the Daily Trojan sadly proclaimed that "Tires are safe now."

He was succeeded by three other George Tirebiters, but the original will always be remembered best. In 2006 a statue of George Tirebiter, one of the great dog statues of the world, was unveiled on the USC campus, depicting him in his trademark sweater with a piece of torn tire hanging from his mouth.

Bite on.

Celebrity Sightings - Heather Graham

I know what you're wondering ... And yes, she has very nice, uh ... skin, yeah, very fine, almost translucent, and free of blemishes. I could make out the veins beneath the surface her skin she was so delicate.

She came into Mail Boxes, Etc. one day and I had the good fortune of helping her. She was a very pretty, yet fairly normal girl. With huge, uh ... eyes, yeah, eyes. She was actually very pleasant and sweet and not at all like some Hollywood starlets. She was probably one of the top ten nicest customers I ever assisted. She wasn't even wearing makeup, and she was still quite attractive.

Her boobs were nice, too.

Books for Sale

I had to go to Little Tokyo today to do some grocery shopping, so I stopped by the bookstore to see if they had anything of interest. Well, they did, but not for the reasons you might think. On the sales rack were a bunch of the books I worked on (nearly the whole row in the middle). It's strange to think that that company I worked for has been gone for about a year and a half now, and yet there are still books out there that stand as a testament that we did exist at one time.

It's a little sad to see them being sold so cheaply, but I feel like we worked very hard on them and that we did a good job, so I can be proud.

I see that there's still a copy of "Yoki Koto Kiku," so you should grab it if you have the chance. Or ask me for one ... I kind of have a case of those in my closet. Shh, it's our little secret ;)

Soot Bull Jeep

I had another lunch date with the three lovely ladies I accompanied to Hong Kong Kitchen a while back. Today we went to Soot Bull Jeep in K-Town. I know, Soot Bull Jeep sounds like the answers to a random fill in the blank game like madlibs (if you're some weirdo who doesn't do what everyone else does and just use some variations on "penis" and "poop"), but it's really a Korean barbecue restaurant. They even use real charcoal!

There wasn't a wait, because there were only two couples in the restaurant when we got there. However there were only two waitress and no busboy ... Dun dun dun, and the plot thickens.

We sit, order a plate of squid, a plate of mino (honeycomb tripe), and rib eye. They bring us our banchan, and one cup of ice. What, no water? But wait, there's more!

Our food comes, but they replace the rib eye with some other meat because I'm not sure why. The other meat is marinated though, so it's not a big deal.

Meanwhile we're cooking and eating, and more and more people come in. We still haven't gotten our water, and we're pretty hot. They do get around to bringing the rice, so we're getting somewhere. I don't know where that is, but it's somewhere with rice at least.

Halfway through the meal we run out of kimchee, which is a problem ... Because it's so good! It's, like, better than regular kimchee. I don't know how to describe it, it just tasted better. The best way to describe it is it's like the opposite of shit. Unless I mean, "it's the shit," in which case it would be like that, awesome. We ask for more. It never comes. But that's kind of a spoiler.

Finally the waitress passes by and we beg for water, because it's so hot, temperature hot, and I'm sweating like a pig. Mostly because I just finished playing basketball and my metabo-rate is all haywire. Plus I got a baby in one arm, so added body heat.

We finish eating, the kimchee never comes and we wait. For the waitress, for the check, for anyone who can come save us. We push ourselves farther and farther away from the table to escape the residual heat from the smoldering charcoal. I toss a few mizu kimchee pieces onto the grill to cool it off, but it does no good. The ice is long gone.

In desperation, Slice Princess and I whip out our DSs and play DQ to show the world that we're done eating, and that we're huge nerds. She beats a super difficult boss, and I wonder why my master is forcing me to give him the fyggs that I worked so hard to gather and that I don't want to part with.

Queen Poo (formerly Princess Poo, but now Popolyn has earned that title) waves her hand in the air wildly always just at the moment the waitress turns her head. Princess Poo has meanwhile given up all hope, and sleeps, resolved to her fate.

Finally, after much arm waving, yelling, and crying, a waitress comes to our aid and delivers our check. Within seconds we burst out of the door into the cool 85+ degree heat.

THE END

And as for the food, the food was good, the service very not much so, and the temperature very, very not much so.

Some other notes about Soot Bull Jeep:
- Not cheap.
- Smells like charcoal.

Soot Bull Jeep
3136 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 387-3865