Papoo's Hot Dog Show is a no-go.

Sorry for the lack in posts lately...   However, I will make up for it in the coming weeks.   I have stories to tell.  In the meantime, let me tell you about the closure of another favorite hang-out of mine...   Papoo's Hot Dog Show. 
Every year or so I conduct an annual "Hot Dog Tour" of Los Angeles.  I draft unsuspecting friends for a cook's tour (pun intended) of the best hot dogs in LA.   The more famous places you'd expect are part of the tour...  Pink's and Carney's for instance.  But Papoo's was one of the lesser known stops on the tour, which was a shame.  It was truly a place I relished (that one was intended too).

Papoo's was an instituation in Toluca Lake for 62 years.   It sat in the glow of its more famous neighbor, the oldest Bob's Big Boy, which sits across the street and is an architecture treasure in it's own right.   But Papoo's had it's own charm.   The best part was the big neon sign, which is where I assume the place got it's name.  Who could not be entranced by a giant weiner dog with wings, flying through the clouds on a 6-foot stage?   When nightime hit and the neon turned on, it was truly a site to behold.

Inside, Papoo's was just what you'd expect, a 50's diner atmosphere and a lot of locals having lunch.   The hot dogs, in my opinion were good.... not great, but a good dog.   I will say that many of my friends from the tour said this was their favorite dog.   I guess it's a matter of taste.   The variety of dogs that they sold were great, from the "Show Dog"....


to the "Bean Dog"...

and the "Pastrami Dog"...

...each one of them a weiner in its own right (pun was intended, but I may disavow it).    Now all these fine dogs, plus a classic hot dog joint, are lost to the ages.
Pappo's had quite a history in itself.   It started as the simple hot dog stand pictured here.  








As the years went by, it gained a certain following among those of us in the Hot Dog commmunity; we had to wait for the rest of you to catsup (this one was clearly a reach).  It appeared in a few feature films, such as this appearance in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

 This is now the THIRD hot dog joint from my tour that has closed....  The Weiner Factory having closed in 2007 and Tail of the Pup in 2006.   Thank goodness Cupid's remains open.  I may have to move my buns and get over there (and this one was just unnecessary).