Dude, it's Pink's...in Vegas. My two favorite things in the world. OK, I really don't feel that way. But if I was a surfer dude from Redondo Beach out with my buds for a Vegas weekend, this would certainly be my dining destination of choice. Since I'm not, I guess I can be a little more discriminating. But dude, it's Pink's. Well not quite Pink's. Just a reasonable facsimile in an apt setting, Planet Hollywood.
Jamie W. and I really wanted some dogs after strolling through the sterile City Center complex which has none of the kitsch that really is Vegas. Luckily, Pink's has kitsch to spare in its patio setting outside the hotel entrance. The menu looked familiar. We decided to each get a $4.75 Giant 12-inch Jalapeno Dog with nacho cheese and chili, and share a $6.50 "Planet Hollywood" Dog, which consisted of a Polish sausage, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, bacon and cheese (see photos). Oh did I mention the fries, too? Nice and tasty they were.
Indigestion thy name is Pink's. The Jalapeno Dog has that snap to the wiener that I don't care for much. I prefer a meatier dog to the tooth, and the mustard was way overwhelming, but chili, cheese and diced onions are bulletproof on a dog as far as I'm concerned. The "Planet Hollywood" Dog has quite a pile of toppings to maneuver in your mouth starting with the bacon strips lording over the sausage already drowning in melted cheese. The mushrooms seemed almost incidental to the creation, but they were good. Hell, it was all good in a bad, bad way.
FOOD - 3 stars....quite an abundance of toppings on those dogs but not quite the Pink's I remember in LA
AMBIANCE - 2 stars...hell, it's just a patio...in pink
SERVICE - 2.5 stars...just keep moving the line and the dogs will eventually be there
TOTAL - 3 stars...a middling experience based on a distant memory of the Pink's in LA