Celebrity Soup

Want to spot celebrities? Forget the studio tours. At Pink's you can get a chilidog and a soda for less than $5 and rub elbows with the stars. Everyone stands in line. There is no special treatment for anyone. Seriously, don't be surprised if you turn around and find yourself face-to-face with someone like Jennifer Garner or Ellen DeGeneres.

When visiting Los Angeles, you'll recognize Pink's by the long line wrapped around the small building near the corner of La Brea and Melrose. If you live in the area, you can probably drive there in your sleep.

Paul Pink started selling his hot dogs from a large, wheeled pushcart in 1939 and moved into the Pink's building in 1946. In a city where free parking is a fantasy, Pink's actually has its own parking lot with an attendant and unbelievably, it's free to customers. The place is packed 24 hours a day.

Rock stars have to eat too. "Once we started playing parties and clubs in Hollywood, Pink's chili dogs became a part of my ritual," said David Lee Roth. Movie and television stars, fitness buffs and musicians don't mind the wait. Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn and Richard Simmons all stand in line and pay for Pink's.

Henry Winkler said while waiting, "They are the best hot dogs in the West." John Malkovich orders the classic chili cheese dog and Marc Anthony made the line wrap around the building twice with his large entourage. Richard Dreyfus brought his son, Céline Dion visits from time to time and Eddie Murphy pulled up in a limousine. When Pink's was celebrating its 59th anniversary, complete with a large Pink Panther, news and radio promoters, all attention suddenly turned to Billy Dee Williams. "What's going on?" asked the actor. "I just stopped in for a dog."

Pink's doesn't deliver or take telephone orders. That explains the long lines! If you want something from Pink's, you have to go get it, or send someone. Pink's serves up more then just the traditional chili dog, however, other menu items include:

Chili-Cheese Chicken Burrito

Tamale Topped with Chili

The Patt Morrison Baja Veggie Dog (fresh guacamole, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions)

Lord of the "RINGS" Dog
10-inch Stretch Dog, Yummy BBQ sauce topped with onion rings

Martha Stewart Dob (10-inch stretch dog with relish, onions, bacon, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut and sour cream!)

In the old days when Jerry Lewis  and Dean Martin were still starving actors, they could get a dog for 15 cents. The late Merv Griffin said, "I used to go to Pink's with Orson Welles" -- who holds the all time record for eating the most chili dogs in one sitting –18! When Michael J. Fox was broke and unknown, he referred to Pink's as "my office."

Other fond memories at Pink's include some marriage proposals: Sean Penn proposed to Madonna here, while Bruce Willis and Demi Moore also go engaged between bites of onion rings.

I go to see Gloria Pink, who is always radiant in pin, and to sample the fries.  They're out of this world!

Photo credits (top to bottom): Pink's; Steve Grantz/WireImage/Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; Pink's

Some photos courtesy Getty Images