Special Prices on DNA Testing through Family Tree DNA

Those of you who have attended Jamboree are undoubtedly familiar with Family Tree DNA. Bennett Greenspan and his staff have been involved with Jamboree for several years, and they'll be back with us in 2010.

I just received the following notice regarding special pricing on FTDA tests through the end of the year. Feel free to pass it along.

Last year, my brother and I decided to not exchange gifts. I bought a DNA testing kit, gave it to him, and asked for just a little of his spit. I didn't know if he'd go along with it, but he got quite the chuckle and agreed to be tested.

To get the special pricing, click on the FamilyTreeDNA icon on the main page of the SCGS website at www.scgsgenealogy.com. Hey, I'll make it easy for you: just click here.

Here's the message from Family Tree DNA:

2009 is coming to a close and we're finishing it off with an end-of-the-year promotion!

Our Holiday Season promotion will bring back the discount that we offered this summer for the Y-DNA37.

Y-DNA37 – promotional price $119 (reg. price $149)
Y-DNA67 – promotional price $209 (reg. price $239)
mtDNAPlus – promotional price $139 (reg. price $149)
SuperDNA – promotional price $488 (reg. price $665)

Orders for the above tests need to be placed and paid for by December 31, 2009 to receive the sale price.

IMPORTANT: since this promotion will run through the months of November and December, we encourage you to spread the word starting now, as the natural tendency is for people to order at the last minute, and we will not extend it beyond 12/31/2009.

In addition here are the newly released permanent prices for the Full Mitochondria Sequence:

New kit (mtDNA Full Sequence) … $279
Upgrade from HVR1 … $229
Upgrade from HVR2 … $209
mtDNA Full Sequence after testing Y-DNA … $249

Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate your contribution to the sustained growth of the Family Tree DNA matching database, the best genealogical matching tool of its kind.

Bennett Greenspan
President
Family Tree DNA

Jamboree 2010 Update

The Jamboree Committee has put together the speaker roster for the 2010 Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. If you submitted a speaking proposal, be assured that Charlotte Bocage, our Program Chair, will be getting in touch with you very shortly regarding the status of your proposal.

We had nearly 600 talks submitted for consideration for about 60 speaking slots. It was incredibly difficult to make the decisions for this year's lectures because so many outstanding topics were proposed.

As soon as the 2010 schedule is firm, we will begin slotting speakers for the 2011 Genealogy Jamboree, which will be held on June 10-13, 2011.

The Jamboree schedule will be introduced at the SCGS Annual Meeting which will be held Saturday, December 12. The Jamboree website will be up and running right after the first of the year.

Hint: More lectures than 2009!

#SCGS10

2009 Jamboree Door Prize Winner

Monica Bosch, the winner of the grand prize at the 2009 Jamboree, will soon be off to Salt Lake City for a week-long research binge. Here's a photo of the lucky winner.

SCGS Newsletter is Chock-Full of Jamboree News

The Aug-Sep-Oct issue of The News & Notes, the SCGS member newsletter, has been posted and is available on the SCGS website. Just click on "The News & Notes" icon you see on the right hand side of your screen. You will need Adobe Reader in order to view the newsletter. Download the most recent version of Adobe Reader at http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Pam Wiedenbeck did a great job with this issue. It's chock-full of news about Jamboree, SCGS interest groups, and "Our Recent Discoveries", a new reader feature that lets us share our research triumphs with other members.

Readership Survey Looks at SCGS Periodicals

You may have heard that SCGS is involved in a Strategic Planning process, and you may even have completed a survey in April or May related to that planning activity. The results of the survey have been very valuable and we are already starting to implement some of the suggestions.

That survey pointed out the need for a deeper look at both The News & Notes and The Searcher, the SCGS quarterly journal. Jamboree attendees received an issue of The Searcher in the registration packet.

We want to make the periodicals as valuable and worthwhile as possible while controlling our expenditures. Your feedback into The Searcher and The News & Notes will help us with this. The survey will take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Please help us design the best tools for communicating with you.

We will be sending survey invitations Sunday evening, August 2. If you don't receive an invitation, please go to the SCGS website and click on the "Take Our Survey" icon on the right hand side of your screen.

As a side note, it is nearly impossible for our survey invitations to get through to our members with Earthlink, Juno, Cox, Netcom and Mindspring email addresses. Will you please add the following addresses to your approved list so that you will have an opportunity to provide your feedback as well.


phinkel@pacbell.net
phinkel@scgsgenealogy.com
*@questionpro.net
*@surveyconsole.com


Paula Hinkel
Southern California Genealogical Society

Jamboree Session CDs Available

JAMB-Inc. audiorecorded nearly 80 percent of the sessions that were conducted at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in June 2009. The CDs are now available for purchase from the JAMB website.

The cost is $12 per CD, or $11 each with the purchase of 10 or more CDs. You'll need to know the session number to place your order.

CDs are available for the following sessions:

Friday, June 26
FR-C Introduction to Genealogy: Getting Started the Right Way
FR-D Introduction to Genealogy: Advanced Beginners
FR-02 Adams: What’s New on Ancestry.com
FR-04 Broglin: Hot off the Press
FR-05 Nauta: FamilySearch Records Access and Digital Historical Books
FR-06 Dollarhide: Scots-Irish to Backwoods America, 1717-1775
FR-07 DearMYRTLE: Finding Digital Items in the Family History Catalog
FR-08 Eakle: Is your Genealogy Already Compiled?
FR-09 Leclerc: NEHGS Resources for British Research
FR-10 Malesky: Writing Your Research Plan
FR-11 Trindle: Online Resources for California Research
FR-12 Elliott: Buried Treasure: Lost in Print
FR-13 Rencher: FamilySearch Indexing Project Update
FR-14 Burroughs: The Nature of Genealogy
FR-15 Johnson: Constructing the Lives of Our Ancestors in 19th Century England
FR-16 Rencher: Irish Census and Census Substitutes
FR-17 Buzbee: RootsMagic 4: Family History Has Never Been This Easy
FR-19 Elliott: War with Britain: The Second American Independence in 1812
FR-20 Meitzler: Finding Your Family in American Newspapers and Periodicals
FR-21 Fechter: Ancestry.com and You, Saving the Records of the World
FR-22 Ericson: Family History Library Catalog 2.0
FR-24 Greenspan: DNA for Females, Adoptees, and Strong Lineage Connections

Saturday, June 27
SA-01 Wait: The Mission of Genealogy: Connecting Individuals with their Family’s History
SA-02 Alzo: Write your Family History Step by Step
SA-05 Eakle: Finding Lost Records and Sources Outside the Library
SA-07 Buzbee: RootsMagic 4
SA-08 Trindle: Scottish Records
SA-09 Panel Discussion: Summit 2: Son of Blogger
SA-10 Hovorka: Where to Start When You Have Inherited Genealogy
SA-12 Greenspan: Do You Want a DNA Test, or Do You Want a DNA Test for Genealogy?
SA-14 O’Donnell: The Irish Family History Foundation Database
SA-15 Proctor: Archiving Your Family Treasurers with Light Impressions
SA-16 Burroughs: The Six Phases of African American Genealogy
SA-17 Rencher: What’s New at FamilySearch
SA-19 Miller: Alien Registration Records
SA-21 Danko: Genealogy and the Changing Map of Eastern Europe
SA-22 Alzo: Murder, Mayhem and Town Tragedy
SA-23 Hibben: Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family over Time and Miles
SA-24 DearMYRTLE: The Winter of our Discontent: Three Months to Better Organization
SA-25 Meitzler: Electronic Document Preservation
SA-28 Morgan: Before and After 1858: English and Welsh Wills and Death Records
SA-29 Underhill: The iPod and the Genealogist
SA-30 DearMYRTLE: Seven Habits of Highly Effective Genealogists
SA-31 Dollarhide: The Best Digital Documents Sites on the Internet
SA-32 O’Donnell: 1922 Four Courts Fire: Not Everything Blew Up
SA-33 Buzbee: RootsMagic 4: Family History has Never Been this Easy
SA-34 Broglin: The Proof is in the Pudding
SA-35 Mello: DNA Mishmash
SA-36 Morgan: Locating Anglican Parish Records
SA-37 Child: Researching New York
SA-42 Rencher: Humor among those Journal Pages

Sunday, June 28
SU-A The Art of Mourning - A Victorian Obsession
SU-02 Meitzler: The Lay of the Land Using Directories, Maps and Gazetteers
SU-03 Child, Leclerc: Western Massachusetts Families in the 1790 Census
SU-04 Hibben: Deduction vs. Induction in Genealogical Research: Applying Logic Theory to Family History
SU-07 Morgan: Locating and Ordering English BMDs
SU-08 Fechter: Using the Ancestry and RootsWeb Community to Enhance Your Research
SU-09 Rencher: Methodology for Irish Immigration and Emigration
SU-10 Malesky: The Irish and the Scots Irish
SU-12 Burroughs: Adding DNA to Genealogy
SU-13 Eakle: Tracing Ancestors who Lived in Cities
SU-15 Pfister: Getting the Most out of Family Tree Maker
SU-16 Buzbee: RootsMagic 4
SU-17 Mountain: Beyond Y and Mitochondrial DNA: Genealogical Information from the
Rest of Your DNA
SU-18 Ericson: Innovative Tools to Connect Families
SU-19 Cooke: Google: A Goldmine of Genealogy Gems Part I
SU-20 Hovorka: Using Genealogy Charts to Further your Research
SU-21 Underhill: Ten Things to do with your Digital Camera
SU-22 O’Donnell: Irish Surnames – How You Could Miss Your Ancestors Due to Spelling
SU-23 Danko: A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests
SU-24 Wishon: Expecting the Unexpected: Tracing English Ancestors Using Less Used Resources and Methods
SU-26 Cooke: Google: A Goldmine of Genealogy Gems Part II
SU-27 Adams: Searching for Italian Ancestors
SU-28 Fisher: Finding Hidden Treasurers at the USGenWeb Project
SU-29 Alzo: Demystifying Eastern European Research
SU-30 Broglin: Understanding the Probate Process
SU-31 Watson: Internet Research: Joys and Pitfalls
SU-32 Morgan: Genealogical CSI
SU-33 Dollarhide: The Cavaliers of Southwest England to Virginia and Maryland, 1641-1675
SU-34 Miller: Would the Real Molly Brown Please Stand Up?

New Genealogy Social Networking Site

When it comes to social networking and genealogy, things move very quickly. Over a year ago, the genealogists moved en masse to Facebook. Twitter came along a few months ago, and in the past couple of days, another social networking site has appeared.

GenealogyWise, sponsored by FamilyLink (parent company of World Vital Records, We're Related, and GenSeek) is designed specifically for genealogists. When I joined yesterday, I was member number 359. I just checked and as I am writing this, there are 853.

Several groups have already been formed for genealogical societies (including the Southern California Genealogical Society), states, surnames, and other aspects of genealogy (for example, obituary fans and FindAGrave). Genealogy suppliers like Jamboree exhibitor Generation Maps have offered specials for genealogists who join their groups on Facebook and GenealogyWise. Other groups have been formed for software users, such as Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, and Legacy. One of the first groups was for Mac users.

It doesn't cost a cent to join. If you decide to join, be sure to send a friend request to Paula Hinkel.

The Jamboree Committee - Dysfunctional Family Art

Many thanks to Julene Day who drew the Jamboree Committee members in ways that none of us have ever quite experienced before. Be sure to click on the photo so you can see all of the detail.

You can find more of Julene's wonderful artwork on her blog at http://www.dysfunctionalart.blogspot.com/

The Jamboree Committee and key onsite staff consisted of:

Co-Chairs
- Leo Myers
- Paula Hinkel
Program Chair
- Charlotte Bocage
Registration
- Louise Calaway
- Peggy Schulz
Tech Zone
- Jay Holladay
- Dick Emerson
- Linda Mustion
Door Prizes
- Jim and Pat Fryman
Lecture Rooms and Traffic
- Alice Avila
SCGS Volunteers
- Marva Grove
- Linda Golovko
Student Volunteers
- Joyce Roberson
Sales Table
- Vieve Metcalfe
- Jan Jennings
Small World
- Lin LaRochelle
Friday Entertainment
- Terry McVeigh
Promotion
- Vicki Hilb (Arizona)
- Margaret Rutledge (Orange County)
- Donna Lapera
Kids' Family History Camp
- Michael Melendez

Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference - Part 3

Read earlier installments of this series here.

A month away from your conference and it's getting time to get serious about your planning. If you haven't plotted out your plan of attack and decided on the sessions you want to attend, do it now. Look on the conference website for announcements of schedule changes, including sessions that may have been added or cancelled.

Check the list of exhibitors for additions or deletions there, too. Update your shopping list, burn several copies of your genealogy database file or GEDCOM. Include photos of your family members so you can show them off to the new friends (and maybe cousins!) that you'll find at the conference. Print out copies of your family group sheets and highlight or put sticky notes on the ones of greatest interest.

Are there any vendors who will provide services on the spot or shortly after the conference? If there is a book binder, for example, you might want to write ahead and see what they recommend about that family Bible. If there is a photo restorer, bring the photos and get a price quote and recommendation during the conference.

Look to see if any of the sessions are going to be audio or video recorded. You actually *can* be in two places at once. Many conference attendees suffer from a wealth of opportunity, and taking a few recordings home with you can help to cover more sessions and keep a particularly good session alive for a long, long time.

Write down questions you want to ask of the speakers, including those whose sessions you will miss.

At the conference:

1. Don't Be Shy!! Introduce yourself to others who are seated nearby. Network, network, network. What surnames are they searching? What areas of the country or world? What is their most interesting family story?

2. Use the break time and meal sessions to gather information. Ask if anyone has ever researched black sheep relatives. Or requested a full Civil War pension file from NARA. Or obtained genealogical information using the Freedom of Information Act provisions. Or used a software program or subscribed to an online service. You'll find a wealth of knowledge -- and maybe avoid the mistakes that others have made -- through informal conversation.

3. Be comfortable. Dress in layers. It's notoriously difficult to manage room temperature to everyone's liking, especially in a hotel conference area with a thousand or more people. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing.

4. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the conference center. Where is the lecture area? The exhibit hall? Freebie table? Where are the rest rooms? Where do you get your parking validated? Don't be afraid to ask one of the conference volunteers if you need directions.

5. Go through the registration bag. Check to see if you have your tickets for meals or special events you are attending. Exhibitors and vendors often put freebies in the registration packet, so see what goodies are there for you. The conference sponsors may provide information on area restaurants, activities, etc.

6. A conference isn't like church. Go ahead and sit in the front of the lecture room. You'll be able to see better, and hear better, and get more out of the presentation.

7. Eat light meals and be prepared to munch a light snack between sessions. Many conference planners leave 30 minutes or more between sessions. Step outside for a few minutes to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.

8. Take a turn around the exhibit hall before you start spending. Consult your shopping list for the books, software, indexes, magazines, research tools, and other products. Some exhibitors will offer special conference price discounts and may offer special last-day mark-downs. Some vendors refresh their products throughout the conference so check back often.

9. Speakers are usually glad to stop and chat informally with conference attendees. Although it's tempting to try to talk to a presenter immediately at the close of a session, you might consider waiting for another time. The speaker and conference staff members are concerned with packing up their equipment, clearing the meeting room, gathering the evaluation forms, and preparing the conference room for the next session. You'll get more attention and better responses if you approach them when they have more time to devote to you.

10. Fill out the evaluation forms honestly and completely. The conference planners really do look at each and every comment and use your suggestions to improve future years' conferences.

11. Be considerate of your fellow attendees. Turn off your cell phones during the sessions. If you use a rolling book carrier for your belongings, or use a walker or other equipment to get around, please put them aside, out of the aisle, so that others can walk safely. Avoid the temptation to save the seat beside you just to give yourself more room.

12. Keep your sense of humor and flexibility. Sometimes the schedule changes at the last minute, or the food concession runs out of your favorite soda, or there's a technical glitch with the audiovisual equipment. Conference organizers do everything possible to prevent such occurrences, but they do happen. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

13. Thank the volunteers for the time and effort they put into producing the conference. Speaking from experience, this is a labor of love. But it always feels great to have someone say that magical "thank you." It works better than Red Bull in lifting flagging energy.

Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference - Part 2

Read the first part of this article here.

So, you've made your hotel reservations and sent in your conference registration. What next?

If the conference offers several presentation sessions, how do you choose from among the many options? Study the program and pick the lectures you want to attend.

Devise a plan of attack.
- Study your family group sheets and pedigree charts.
- Identify specific "missing pieces" or unsolved puzzles in your documentation.
- Review the conference schedule to pinpoint sessions that will give you the most useful tips and guidelines.
- Build your plan around the key sessions you want to attend.
- Then fill in the rest of your schedule plan.
- Identify speakers who have experience in the geographic areas of interest.
- Step out of your comfort zone. If you've searched online, then go to a session on a search-and-touch techniques. If you've never touched a keyboard or used an Internet source, then see what is available online.

Put together a shopping list. You'll find lots of new and used genealogy books for sale. Read book reviews or visit a library to get a preview of authors' books. If you're an online researcher, visit the speakers' and exhibitors' websites to find what products and services they offer.

What should you bring with you?
- Family group sheets and pedigree charts, either on paper or on your laptop.
- Notes or questions that you want to pose to speakers.
- Other materials (e.g. photos to be restored or analyzed).
- Book or tote bag (some attendees use rolling bags for convenience).
- Sticky notes to flag pages in the syllabus.
- Pen or pencil for taking notes
- Highlighter
- Camera

Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference - Part 1

Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference - Part 1
Early Planning = Success

Long before you pack your suitcase to attend a genealogy conference, you can start planning to make the most of your investment in time and money. Planning ahead can save travel expenses, help you organize your pre-conference homework, and result in a better conference experience for you. Start early to make this a successful trip for you!

You've decided to attend a national conference -- sponsored by the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) -- or a large regional conference like New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) or the Jamboree. What now?

Contact your distant cousins and family research friends and suggest a get-together at the conference. You can divide the schedule to cover as many sessions as possible and then pool your experiences and knowledge after the conference. Carpooling and sharing a hotel room will help defray expenses.

Consider extending your trip by a day or two to give yourself some extra time to explore the area. Check to see what other area repositories are available. Reach out to area courthouses, genealogical societies, libraries, and other repositories for hours of operation and holdings that may be helpful to you. The conference sponsor or website may have a hospitality contact that can be of help. You may be able to take advantage of discounted hotel rates for a day or two before or after the conference.

Register for the conference early to take advantage of any early registration discounts. Even if you live nearby, stay at the conference hotel so you can avoid traffic hassles and be fresh and stress-free. Make your hotel reservations early to make sure rooms aren't sold out. If you're traveling a distance, make plane, train or bus reservations early to get the best fares.

Sign up to receive email list announcements or newsletters, or subscribe to conference or genealogy society blogs to stay updated on the conference.

You'll find more good ideas from these websites:

Attending a Genealogy Event - What Can You Get Out of Going to a Genealogy Conference?

What is a Genealogy Conference Anyway?

Why Attend a Genealogy Conference?

LA Fast Food Tour: Philippe The Original

Philippe's, Home of the French Dip Sandwich. It's unique in Los Angeles, a place where patrons share tables with strangers and make use of any available seat. In business for over 90 years, it clings to its original ambiance with sawdust on the floor, servers that keep the food line moving, and vintage photos and newspaper clippings that proclaim:

"...one of the best food bargains in town." The New York Times Magazine, MacDonald Harris, March 1990

"...the best french dip we've ever had." The Food Paper, Fall 1991

"Best reason to go downtown" "...a landmark among landmarks." Los Angeles Magazine, The Best of L.A., November 1990

In addition to Philippe's specialty -- beef, ham, pork and lamb french dip sandwiches, -- the menu includes several other sandwiches; soup and stews; salads; and more esoteric items such as pickled beets and pickled pigs feet, and hard boiled eggs. You can buy a jar of their special hot mustard to carry Philippe's home with you. They even have a wine list. [What kind of wine goes with pickled pigs feet?] And there's one other trademark item on Philippe's menu: a 10-cent cup of coffee.

Check out Philippe's website for a look back at Philippe's history through vintage photos, including the train that jumped the track and nearly took a shortcut through the restaurant's front door. Quoting from the website:

Philippe The Original is one of the oldest and best known restaurants in Southern California. Philippe's was established in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu, who claimed the distinction of having created the "French Dipped Sandwich." One day in 1918, while making a sandwich, Mathieu inadvertently dropped the sliced french roll into the roasting pan filled with juice still hot from the oven. The patron, a policeman, said he would take the sandwich anyway and returned the next day with some friends asking for more dipped sandwiches. And so was born the "French Dipped Sandwich," so called either because of Mathieu's French heritage, the French roll the sandwich is made on or because the officer's name was French. The answer is lost to history.

Philippe's is located a block from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and from Olvera Street. Here are Mapquest directions from the Marriott. It will take about 20 minutes to go to Philippe's from the Marriott in non-rush hour traffic.

LA Fast Food Tour: Fatburger

It's time to move on to the next stop on the LA Fast Food Tour. Scattered across several US states you'll find The Last Great Hamburger Stand, Fatburger, which originated in Los Angeles. Fatburger's website gives a glimpse of the company's history:

In 1952, Lovie Yancey created something unique. A culture. A phenomenon, if you will. She created the biggest, juiciest hamburgers anyone had ever seen. So obviously, there was only one name for them – Fatburger.

Half a century later, while other places are just discovering taste, we're still making hamburgers the way she did. Fresh lean beef, not frozen patties. Cooked-to-order, just the way you want it, every time.

The only thing Lovie loved as much as hamburgers was music. So you'll hear some of the best music ever blasting from kickin' new jukeboxes: Rock'n'Roll, R&B, Hip-Hop, and Classic Soul that'll keep you groovin' in your chair long enough to finish that big juicy burger. We'd love to tell you about the late night talk show hosts and rap stars who've made us the happenin' place—but our attorneys won't let us. (And, of course, restaurant critics keep naming us the best burger in town, but you don't care about those guys.)

The menu includes burgers and cheeseburgers in a variety of sizes; chicken sandwiches; chili; fat fries, skinny fries, chili fries, and home-made onion rings. Also available are hot dogs, chili dogs, and veggieburgers.

Locations close to the Marriott include:

Studio City
10600 1/2 Ventura Blvd. (& Lankershim)
Studio City, CA 91604
P: 818-769-8725

Van Nuys
6162 1/8 Sepulveda Blvd. (& Victory)
Van Nuys, CA 91411
P: 818-989-2695

LA Fast Food Tour: The Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers

The second stop on our Fast Food Tour is the Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers, which originated in a small walk-up stand at the corner of Beverly and Rampart in 1946. As more and more hungry customers found their way to the little shack, Tommy first expanded the Original Stand, and then he opened more locations. There are 29 locations, with the Burbank location just five minutes by car from the Marriott.

Tommy's claim to fame is its chili-slathered hamburger and cheeseburger (single-, double- and triple-burger versions), chili cheese fries, regular fries, tamales, hot dogs and chilidogs. It's a classic fast food menu made with fresh, tasty garnishes--and chili.

What are chili cheese fries? According to Wikipedia, "Simply an order of french fries with two ladles of chili over them. The chili cheese fries will have a slice of cheese placed between the doses of chili, to aid in melting." Yum. Pass the paper towels, please.

The first time I visited the Original Tommy's was about midnight. Even at that late hour, there were several people in line making a "Tommy's Run."

Some reviews of Tommy's Original World Famous Hamburgers are found at yelp.com.

Tommy's even has its own listing on Wikipedia.

If you want to visit the Original Tommy's original location, here are directions from the Marriott: Mapquest Marriott to Beverly Blvd. and Rampart Blvd.

Directions to the Burbank Tommy's are found here: Mapquest Marriott to Burbank Original Tommy's

Thanks to Wikipedia for photos and content.

LA Fast Food Tour: The Hot Dog Stand with Valet Parking

Los Angeles is known for its trendy restaurants with health-conscious menus. But that doesn't mean that we don't enjoy our junk food too. In the weeks leading up to Jamboree, we'll take a look at some of the Jamboree Committee's favorite eateries and hope that you'll try them for yourself during your trip to Jamboree.

Our first stop on the Los Angeles Junk Food Tour is Pink's. Quoting from their website:

Pink's is probably the most famous hot dog stand in the country... certainly in Los Angeles! Located near the corner of Melrose and La Brea, Pink's can be found by looking for a crowd of people and following the aroma of fresh meaty chili and soft hot dog buns.

Pink's is unlike any other hot dog stand in America. For example, it has its own parking lot attendant (parking is free). It has been in the same location for 65 years. It is not unusual to see a Rolls Royce pull up to Pink's (the chili dog ordered will be for the occupant, not the chauffeur!). Movie stars, well-known dignitaries, struggling musicians, businessmen, housewives, school children... all have savored Pink's Famous Chili Dogs.

The menu is a tribute to creative writing as well as creativity in the kitchen. There's usually line of hungry customers waiting to watch the hot dog being built right before your eyes. Top it off with a bottle of YooHoo or Orange Crush soda.

Pink's is a little bit of a drive from the Burbank Marriott. It will take about a half hour (not during rush hour!) to get to get there. Here are Mapquest directions from the Burbank Marriott to Pink's.