Chroni's Famous Sandwich Shop

This easy-to-miss-if-you're-not-looking-for-it shop on Whittier Boulevard in East L.A. makes some A-plus hot dogs. Mustard, ketchup, and onions is all they put on the dog, and these are really all the dog needs. It's very flavorful, and cooked so perfectly that, as Marlene points out, it snaps when you bite it.
Marlene has been going here for years with her mom and grandparents. Apparently, her grandfather took her mom and aunts for a tasty snack in the years when Marlene was just a glimmer in various eyes. The shop has been owned by the same family (we assume that their name is Chroni) since its inception; today Ron, a hulking, mustached descendant of the founders, mans the counter. He is polite, and likes people, as Marlene's mom puts it, but he'll pass you over and take the next customer's order if you don't know what you want. He also adds up all the totals in his head--no need for a cash register here.
We each ordered a dog, a hamburger, and a grape soda. $15 and change for both of us, which isn't the cheapest meal in town, but for such a delicious one, certainly a reasonable bill. The hamburger, though perhaps not worthy of a Huell Howser special as is the hot dog, was quite good, and the grape soda tasty--though next time I'll opt for that noble and long-neglected cola, Royal Crown.
Jonathan Gold of the L.A. Times has written elegantly of Chroni's pastrami sandwich and chili fries. Also according to Gold, Los Lobos gives the shop a shout-out in its liner notes.

Find Chroni's Famous Sandwich Shop at 5825 Whittier Boulevard, near Keenan, and between Atlantic and Garfield. 323-728-7806; closed on Sundays. Cash only (at least until Ron figures out how to swipe a credit card in his head).

To take public transit to Chroni's, catch the Metro Rapid Bus 720 on Whittier. The same line runs along Wilshire west of downtown.