The show dogs of summer
IF imitation really is the highest form of flattery, then the folks at Hot Dog on a Stick must be feeling pretty smug. Chefs around town are riffing on their specialty, the corn dog. But these aren’t your run-of-the-mill carnival dogs. These are couture corn dogs.
A steakhouse version using Kobe beef hot dogs has popped up at Santa Monica’s Boa Steakhouse. The dogs, fatter and squatter than traditional wieners, have a deep golden brown, fried corn-batter coat and are offered with classic accompaniments -- French’s mustard and Heinz ketchup -- as an entree at lunch and as a starter at dinner. Although a little haute dog before your steak might sound like protein overload, many share an order, passing the stick (a stylish chopstick) around the table.
Although they’re not, strictly speaking, the right shape, the single-bite chorizo corn dogs at the Chamberlain West Hollywood hotel, home to Bistro restaurant, incorporate all the right ingredients. Before they hit the deep fryer, nuggets of sausage are coated with a fresh corn-corn meal batter. They’re served on bamboo skewers with a chipotle dipping sauce.
Elsewhere, it seems “corn dog” is simply the new term for anything on a stick. At Honey, the 6-month-old Hollywood bistro attached to Avalon nightclub, the mini lobster corn dogs -- medallions of lobster dipped in a corn-meal batter and deep-fried -- are offered on the late-night menu from midnight until 4 a.m. They’re served four to an order on lollipop sticks, with a grainy mustard vinaigrette.
At Republic, the fashionable La Cienega Boulevard newcomer, the lobster corn dogs (yes, same idea as at Honey; no, it’s not a conspiracy) are so popular that an extra deep fryer was installed to meet the demand. We’ve come a long way since 1942, when Neil Fletcher introduced the corn dog at the Texas State Fair.
But at Parkway Grill in Pasadena, the tempura-battered shrimp on bamboo skewers touted on the menu as “tiger shrimp corn dogs” involve neither corn nor dog unless you count the wee bit of corn starch in the batter.
What next? Perhaps burgers that sport neither patty nor bun.
-- Leslee Komaiko
Small bites
* Rumors have been swirling that Lincoln Steakhouse has closed or is closing. John Baydale of Star Group Management, which also operates Tengu and Nine Thirty in Westwood, set the record straight. The restaurant is still open Wednesdays through Saturdays for dinner. On other days, it is being remodeled as a Santa Monica version of Star Group’s popular Hollywood nightclub, Holly’s. But this location, which may not be called Holly’s, will open earlier in the evening and serve a menu of world tapas.
Baydale anticipates the official change by July 8. In other Star Group news: Look for a second Tengu to open later this summer in the old Ivy at the Shore space in Santa Monica.
Lincoln Steakhouse, 2460 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 828-3304.
* Speaking of Star Group, the company’s Venice Cantina has closed. Danny’s Venice Deli, a modern California deli from the guys behind James’ Beach and Canal Club (James Evans and Daniel Samakow) is set to open at the same address in late July.
Danny’s Venice Deli, 23 Windward Ave., Venice, (310) 399-8420.
* Trolling for dining ideas online is easier thanks to MenuPix (www.menupix.com) and Menu Pages (www.losangeles.menupages.com). On each, you can search more than 3,000 L.A. restaurants in various categories. MenuPix features scans of actual menus while MenuPages offers menu info in a standard format.