The Papaya King has opened a restaurant in Los Angeles. We were shocked to see that hot dogs now retail for $2,25. We remember getting two PK hot dogs for $2.00--and this was the 90's, not some 1950's-era golden age of affordable meat-ish products. We always assumed the dogs were just a loss-leader for the papaya-based beverages.
Papaya King was sort of a forerunner to Jamba Juice--without so much emphasis on things being "good for you" or "healthy" or "non-toxic." On a hot day, if you were in Greenwich Village or the Upper West Side around lunchtime, and you didn't have much cash, you couldn't do better than a couple of crisp juicy franks and a large papaya-strawberry--what would be called a frappucino, now, but at the time was just a spectacularly refreshing frosty beverage.
Papaya King has no illusions about supplanting the legendary LA hot-doggery Pink's. As PK's owner explains, Pink's is more of a fast-food restaurant (starting hot-dog price: $3.45), while Papaya King simply makes hot dogs and fruit drinks. Still we wish Papaya King the best of luck. Who knows? If New York hot dogs make their mark in the City of Angels, maybe culture and sophistication will follow.
Solipsistography
"A New York Dog Makes Its Hollywood Debut"
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