LA's new law on hot dog carts

L.A.'s county officials latest war on pork isn't just against pigs with the flu but the delicious aftermath of their death. A familiar sight to any L.A. concert goer, bar hopper, the trendy clubber or those just loitering because they had nothing better to do.

You see them every night dedicated beyond all reproach to their craft surrounded by throngs of L.A.'s denizens mobbing this sole person and their bacon wrapped hot dog cart.

For a city and a trendy group of people overly obsessed with their looks the idea of consuming street prepared fatty pork products and left over meat shaped into a tube with fried onions wouldn't seem likely the most popular thing to do yet there Angelenos stand consuming our hearts away on this delicious artery clogging meal.

But late nights, long lines and hot dogs are nothing new to L.A.'s citizens at least not to those who know of our rock star eatery Pink's. However this latest trend of bacon and dogs is wholly different from the L.A. landmarks tradition of unique ingredient combinations and pop culture referencing names.

The ever-popular bacon wrapped hot dog is a trend that sprung up in just the past couple of years and yet several of the vendors have had enough success that they could buy cars, houses, and pay for their children's college tuition and not all of them work just at night. Some sellers work during the day feeding L.A.'s fast paced yuppies and hipsters as they go about their urban lives the stark contrast between L.A.'s businessmen and the white-collar workers and their carts adds to the diversity of L.A.'s urban culture.

That is until recently when L.A.'s health department started cracking down on the merchant's with claims of undercooked bacon and food illness. The unfortunate response to this has been. none.

Very few people have noticed the disappearance of bacon wrapped dogs mainly because they haven't disappeared. For those hardworking dedicated workers with licenses from the city and who follow the ordinance keeping everything legal this recent move has put a major dent into their financial situation.

Too afraid to deal with the police who confiscate and destroy their products the vendors business have instead been taken over by unlicensed workers who gladly feed L.A.'s citizens their contraband dogs. While the licensed workers use professional carts the others use makeshift grills with small gas tanks that are all easily replaceable.

Regardless of the selling style L.A.'s city official's ludicrous reaction and the seizure of food products and equipment followed by their destruction is depressing to say the least.

A simple Google search will pop up a video produced by comedian Drew Carey. The video interviews with health department officials and vendors are disheartening and show the true matter at hand. The poor treatment of blue-collar workers by bureaucrats who have forgotten that what a person eats falls under personal responsibility.

Los Angeles city dwellers understand public health concern but they also understand the overreaching of government officials and the intrusion of public policy onto their culinary choices.

More importantly the public see hardworking American's whose lives are being disheveled because of the possibility that a single person may become sick.

As the night burns out and Angelenos exit their respective dens of fun they fill the streets and crowd around the contraband dealer of the bacon dog finding these to be a far better nightcap than Jack in the Box or McDonalds. As the Bacon Dog Wars rage on the illegal vendors will keep supplying and citizens will continue to demand because as far as any LA eater is concerned the only law worth listening to is that of supply and demand.