In a dog-eat-dog world, the Valley has the best

The San Fernando Valley is not exactly a gastronomic mecca.

There is, however, one kind of food in which the Valley excels.

Hot dogs.

I do not say this facetiously or disparagingly. Readers who recall my jeremiad last summer on the topic of those dreadful Dodger dogs know that I love good hot dogs. Whether they’re called hot dogs, frankfurters, wieners or sausages, they’re one of perhaps a half-dozen food favorites for which I often get an actual, physical craving.

And when I do, it’s to the Valley I go.

I don’t know of any place in this country -- and that includes the hot dog havens of Chicago and New York -- where you can get better hot dogs at three separate locations within 20 blocks on the same street as you can in the San Fernando Valley.

The first star in this Ventura Boulevard constellation -- the Wiener Factory in Sherman Oaks -- opened in 1971, and I’ve been going there ever since, always ordering the steamed hot Polish sausage with light sauerkraut and mustard served on an egg bun. That dog does hunt; it’s fiery, chewy and bursting with warm, richly flavored juices that explode in your mouth the instant you bite into its natural casing.

It weighs a quarter-pound, and I find that two make just about as satisfying a lunch as you can get anywhere in Los Angeles -- at a total cost of $7.50 (plus tax and a soda).

When I asked Kevin Lentz, the 49-year-old proprietor of the Wiener Factory, who makes his sausages, he refused to tell me.

“It’s a trade secret,� he said.

Lentz has run the Wiener Factory since 1979, but the stand has embodied a funky sense of humor since the day it opened (April Fool’s Day, of course).

A mock McDonald’s sign outside the restaurant says, “We Sold Over 4 Hot Dogs This Year.� Inside, the yellow walls are covered with scrawled words of wisdom and whimsy: “A fool and his money were lucky to get together in the first place.� “For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain.� “Important Notice: Management assumes absolutely no responsibility for the low and rotten quality of our employees.�

Hold the tomato

Fifteen years ago, Rubin’s Red Hot opened about eight blocks west of the Wiener Factory, also on Ventura Boulevard, sandwiched -- as it were -- between Sepulveda Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway.

I like two of the hot dogs at Rubin’s -- both quarter-pounders, both made by Kosher Best in Chicago. One is a “spicy Chicago Polish,� not quite as spicy as the one at the Wiener Factory but every bit as flavorful. The other is the “Big Red,� a fat, juicy dog served Chicago style -- topped with mustard, relish, onions, cucumbers, pickle, a hot pepper, celery salt and tomato wedges. (I ask them to hold the tomato. To me, tomato and any of its byproducts -- ketchup in particular -- are about as out of place on a hot dog as kiwi jelly would be on a T-bone steak.)

The ideal Rubin’s lunch for me is one of each of my favorites -- grilled, not steamed -- for which I pay a grand total of $7.50 (plus tax and a soda), exactly the same price as my favorite Wiener Factory lunch.

Both Rubin’s and the Wiener Factory are simple hot dog stands, not restaurants. The Wiener Factory has three tables outside, next to the driveway, and nine inside. Rubin’s has two tiny tables inside and a dozen others outside, on a makeshift patio, facing ever-charming Ventura Boulevard. Rubin’s also has a drive-by takeout window, which is one reason I’ve been there more than I have to the Wiener Factory in recent years. I’m always in a hurry to leave the Valley, and at Rubin’s, I can drive up, order and drive away, eating as I go.

More than a hot dog stand

That brings me to the latest entry in the Valley hot dog sweepstakes, also on Ventura Boulevard, just west of Balboa Boulevard, in Encino. Although it’s called the Stand, it actually is a restaurant -- complete with a chef; a staff of 28 cooks, waiters and waitresses; half a dozen desserts; and 10 wines by the glass.

The Stand has a dozen tables plus counters and stools inside and about 40 tables outside, on a shaded patio. As at Rubin’s and the Wiener Factory, you have to stand in line to order and pay for your food. But what the owners call “modified table service� is available -- i.e., if you’re at a table with your hot dogs and you want more soda or a dessert, one of the waiters will get it for you “if we’re not too busy,� as our waiter explained to us.

The Stand is the brainchild of Richard Shapiro, who grew up in Encino and went on to run a 30-office Budget Rent-a-Car franchise and to become the designer and co-founder of the Grill in Beverly Hills.

“I retired in 1992, and after a few years I got bored and depressed,� he said, “so I opened an antiques gallery and started kicking around this hot dog idea.

“There is no better flavor package anywhere in the food world than your first bite into a hot dog properly cooked, with the right casing and bun and condiments. But the hot dog has never been properly elevated to its rightful place in presentation or in the environment in which you enjoy it, and that’s what I wanted to do.�

An “elevated� or “upscale� hot dog may be the ultimate oxymoron, of course -- an even greater contradiction in terms than “delicious okra� or “compassionate conservative.� Hot dogs are the simplest of foods, meant for ballparks, beaches and backyards, not Real Restaurants.

Shapiro’s “elevated� hot dogs are made by Papa Cantella’s in Vernon, “based on our specifications and using our seasoning recipes -- except for the kosher dog, which we get from Hebrew National.�

The Stand offers 10 different hot dogs (ranging from $3.50 to $3.95 apiece) and 10 sausages ($4.95 to $5.50). All are accompanied by the customer’s choice of homemade condiments. Homemade side dishes are also available for $2.25 each.

Since the Stand has been open only two weeks -- and since it’s about 20 miles from both my house and my office -- I haven’t had a chance yet to work my way through the entire wiener repertoire (and I don’t ever expect to try any of the three -- shudder! -- “low-fat� chicken and turkey sausages). But so far, I really like the bratwurst with sauerkraut and the “Polish classic� with mustard, although neither is as satisfying as my favorites at Rubin’s and the Wiener Factory.

But then, the Stand is new. By next week -- when I hope to eat at all three places in the same day -- I expect them to have all the kinks worked out of their links.

David Shaw can be reached at [email protected].