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Papaya King is coming to Hollywood...

The first west coast outpost of NYC's legendary Papaya King hot dog stand is coming to Hollywood (at Hollywood Blvd and Wilcox) Any thoughts or tears of joy?

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  1. They are what they are, great crispy hotdogs and fruit drinks (I prefer the orange). Enjoy!

    1. Outstanding! I used to live near the 86th and Lex location. I hope this outpost doesn't suffer the dilution that many places do when they try to expand beyond their region.

      Looking forward to having a dog and a half-papaya/half-mango . . . without jetlag.

      1. Good to hear.
        We need a good grilled natural casing hot dog.

          1. just hope the food comes from NY not local .

            20 Replies
            1. re: tnsquire

              Their hot dogs are made especially for them by Sabrett's.

              1. re: monku


                sorry to disagree with you on this, although Papaya King does use a Natural Casing All Beef Hot Dog made by Marathon Enterprises, the makers of the Sabrett label, they are the same dogs and not a unique recipe. Hotdoglover has mentioned this in the past. I relayed a story about Katz's where I purchased what I thought to be a special house recipe there as well, but when I got home, the Marathon label was clearly attached


                While I'm sure this will be a welcomed addition to the Snap Dog option on the West Coast.....I'm also sure a lot of people will be disappointed.....don't get me wrong, I like Sabrett franks very much. When I used to get them in NYC in the past, they were 2 for .75, then 2 for a buck and last, @ 2 for ?.....In the past couple of years, they opened a franchise location in New Jersey with high expectations, but the buzz wore off quickly due to the original price of $2.50+ per hot dog....a steep price for a Sabrett, especially if you were a customer in NYC in the past, where a single dog was in the $1- 1.25 range pre-toppings.

                I can only surmise people will flock to there, but will leave with the notion what all the fuss was about.

                1. re: fourunder

                  I know Marthon is the parent company of Sabrett's and they make hot dogs for Papaya King which is supposedly their own recipe (they claim to use a certain spice). My next door neighbor sold bulk spice to Marathon. More people know the Sabrett's name than Marathon.

                  I also know Marathon made the hot dogs for Nathan's, not anymore. Sabrett's is the #1 dirty water dog served at push carts in NYC. The hot dog is the #1 lunch staple in NYC.

                  I grew up in New York (Long Island, North Shore) and during the summer almost every Saturday night was spent at Nathan's Oceanside eating 50 cent grilled hot dogs. Think 9 in one night was my personal best.

                  Sabrett's is probably the NYC hot dog of of choice by default, Chicago it's Vienna. Los Angeles' brand is Hoffy, but most people here probably don't care or realize it...they think it's Farmer John's Dodger dog(a poor excuse for a hot dog).

                  1. re: fourunder



                    I'm pretty sure this Papaya King opening in Hollywood is a franchise. I wouldn't be surprised if a plain hot dog is at the minimum $3.50. Over the years there have been Nathan's franchises that have come and gone silently. It's very possible this Papaya King will face the same fate.
                    Papaya King is an institution like Pink's, how many people flock to the other places Pink's sells hot dogs ?

                      1. re: fourunder

                        Pink's get's no respect from this board.
                        They're #1 in this town as far as sales, celebrity endorsements(wall of fame) and they do have great chili dogs (Hoffy) , my fav the Polish sausage (w/chili, mustard & onion), the jalepeno is just too hot for me, but yes, they have combinations for every taste.
                        You have patience, if I see more than 10 people in line I won't go. I hate the lines there and will only go when they first open at 9:30am on a Sunday morning. Many a smart tourist will also show up at that time.

                        I haven't been to Rutt's Hut, but tried the ripper at Fab (one of our dog joints on the radar right now and they import the same hot dog as Rutt's uses), it didn't do anything for me.

                        Never had a Chicago dog from Chicago, but have had a few at Portillo's(a Chicago landmark for hot dogs) location in Buena Park. They are authentic with the Vienna natural casing hot dog, all the authentic toppings and even served on the S. Rosen poppy seed bun they get from Chicago....I still don't get the Chicago dog...how can you even enjoy the hot dog with all that stuff on it?

                        1. re: monku

                          Wow, so Pink's is number one in celebrity endorsements? The best reason to stay away.

                          1. re: IPA USER

                            Celebrities sell products don't they?
                            Wall of fame includes chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Nobu Matsuhisa.

                      2. re: monku

                        There was a Nathan's franchise on Pico Blvd that closed a few years ago. There is a Nathan's combined with a Arthur Treacher's in Hawthorne.

                        Where else in LA has there been a Nathan's franchise?

                        1. re: reality check

                          Those were two I was thinking of and I believe there was one in the valley maybe Van Nuys.
                          I went to that one on Pico a couple times and they didn't look like they wanted to open for business.

                          1. re: monku

                            Now that you mentioned the Valley, maybe Burbank? I know some people may not consider Burbank the valley, but it's close enough. Maybe, near where Kenny Rogers Broasters used to be, may they were even combined?

                            1. re: reality check

                              I think the place in I'm thinking of was on Van Nuys Blvd. South of the 101 on the east side of the street.
                              They sold sandwiches and stuff and I'm pretty sure Nathans hot dogs, but it wasnt a true Nathans franchise, they happen to sell Nathan's hot dogs.

                              As ga as that Burbank location isn't there a Tommy's down the street?

                              1. re: monku

                                Doesn't the Infield stand (part of the Dip "empire" - lol) offer everything from Sabrett's to Vienna Beef to Hebrew National to Nathan's?


                                1. re: Servorg

                                  Good call, have to putit on my hot dog hunt list.
                                  How come it's never come up before. Line up like that is a gem.

                                  1. re: monku

                                    Infield has been mentioned a few times on CH.

                                    Every Tues. it's $2, everything on menu. But substitutions or deletions are not allowed. If the hot dog comes with relish and you want no relish, it's full price.

                                    1. re: reality check

                                      Interesting about "deletions" in their $2 specials.
                                      I almost wanted to go there tonight.

                                      1. re: monku

                                        It gets busy there on Tues. and that policy, at times make for faster service. Though I have been there when somebody will argue about the policy and that makes the wait time that much longer. At those times it would be easier to put no onions or relish on the hot dog.

                                        But, some of the hot dogs come, like the Sandy Koufax dog come with nothing on it, and you can add your favorite toppings. Most toppings are free-mustard, onions etc. Chili, cheese etc are extra.

                                        1. re: monku

                                          One other thing, that no deletions policy is only on Tues. You can have any hot dog your way, the other days there are open.

                            2. re: reality check

                              In days of a bygone era (my recollection is early-to-mid 70s thru mid 80s or so?), there was a Nathan's hot dog restaurant on the north east corner of Ventura Blvd. and Louise in Encino.

                              Not sure if it was a franchise or not though, but do still remember the yellow signs with green lettering, and the pretty good (but not great) dogs.

                              I always preferred Cupid's or the dearly departed Weiner Factory to Nathan's.

                              1. re: GK in SO

                                To GK in SO. Thanks for bringing back memories of that particular Nathans. I remember that location served pizza as well as hot dogs. It was delicious back then, too!