la.foodblogging

Last week the Los Angeles Zoo staged an event that promised the following:

Several top LA chefs will feed the black bears while we hacks will get to munch on Pinks (famous) hot dogs.
What is wrong with this picture?!?!?
Well, considering I’ve lived in LA for over a decade and had never even tried these one of these legendary hot dogs (the queue is almost always over an hour) and I wanted to see the bears, I thought why not?

Nice and early I trooped over to the LA Zoo, in Griffith Park, and gathered, along with a handful of writers, TV cameras and local politicians, to watch the bears in action. Down in the bear pit were several carved watermelon shells stuffed with mackerel, tropical fruits – such as papaya, kiwi and cantaloupe – and vegetables including carrots and lettuce.

Before the two bears emerged from their enclosure to chow down, we listened to a short speech from Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) President Connie Morgan, Zoo Director John Lewis and Tom Mankiewicz about the popular and informal fundraiser. City Council member Tom LaBonge joked with the gathering that he was always at Pink’s, adding, “Don’t tell my doctor!”

Beastly Ball honoree, the diminutive Laura Z. Wasserman and GLAZA Trustee, gave a brief speech wearing striking red high heels, describing her longtime love of animals. GLAZA is a private, non-profit organization that raises money for the city-owned Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. For the past 39 years they have staged The Beastly Ball, their annual fund-raising event under the stars. Rather than being a stuffy black-tie event, informal and safari attire is encouraged for the attendees of the Beastly Ball. Entertainment and dance music will be provided by world music groups and live bands.

Chefs from the top LA restaurants that will be catering the star-lit event conducted the morning feeding session from afar. They included Jason Park of Yamashiro; Akira Hirose, owner/chef of Maison Akira; Calogero Drago, owner/chef of Celestino Ristorante, Jack Rogers, chef of Spitfire Saloon; Gerardo Ochoa, chef of El Cholo and Francoise Koster, chef of La Poubelle.

It was fun to watch the curious bears examine and then dive into the watermelon baskets. One bear gingerly plucked grapes off the stem one by one with its teeth.

The team from Pink's with Tom LaBonge

On hand to feed the hungry hacks was Gloria Pink, Beverly Pink Wolfe and Tom West, of Pink’s Famous Hot Dogs. We humans feasted on snappy Pink’s Hot Dogs (beef, turkey or vegetarian) dressed with the usual condiments (relish, onion, cheese), including some of the best damn chili I have ever tasted.

Now I get why these hot dogs are so popular!

Tickets to the Beastly Ball run to $1,000 per person. If that’s a little out of your league, on July 14 and July 24, between 6 and 9pm, you can enjoy a delightful evening of musical entertainment under the stars at Music in the Zoo. A variety of musical acts will perform at different locations throughout the Zoo each evening.

The Los Angeles Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Drive in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, at the junction of the Ventura (134) and Golden State (5) freeways.

For tickets and information, call (323) 644-4753

By MaxMillion (see more of her posts). Max Million is the nom de 'net of Pauline Adamek. Born in Sydney, Australia, Pauline has lived in Los Angeles for the past thirteen years and finds it agrees with her. She has been reviewing films and filing celebrity-based interview articles since 1991, and has filed stories from various international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance. She completed a family cookbook and has also written novels for 8-12 year olds. She is the creator and host of ArtsBeatLA.