Hot Dog Legend Tail O' the Pup Returns to Life Today on La Cienega

It’s time for the return of Tail O’ the Pup, the long-gone hot dog icon that left La Cienega years ago. There’s a replacement ready, and starting today you can enjoy those famous dogs once again.

First, know that this isn’t the original Tail O’ The Pup stand — more on that in a moment — but rather a well-wrapped modern food truck that’s doing much the same menu as the favored original, with some newer twists to boot. The rig is stationed and ready inside the parking lot at Opening Ceremony, across the street from Googie dining icon Norm’s and almost directly on the site of the original iteration of the hot dog brand. It's got all the iconography of the original, and is actually partially covered by reprints of old photos of the original space, and the many celebrities who ate there ever the years.

New owners Kevin Michaels and Brett Doherty of Killer Shrimp and the Hamburger Hamlet fame say that they've managed recreate the original hot dog recipes themselves. They’ve also partnered with Jay and Nicole Miller, grandson to Eddie Blake who owned the cart from the 1970 until closing in 2005, to make sure there's a lineage back to the old days of the once-popular stand. You can check out the new menu of hot dogs, sandwiches, and burgers below.

The plan is to eventually return the original 17-foot hot dog-shaped cart to service as part of The Bloc project happening in Downtown, but that won’t be until sometime in early 2017 most likely. Until then, the plan is to roll out even more locations of Tail O’ the Pup trucks across the city, all culminating in a grand opening for the cart when it’s finally been refurbished.

As for the La Cienega location? It’s a welcome home party for the Tail O’ the Pup name to be sure, and with a one year lease on the site expect things to stay locked in for a while to come. Hours will run daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., starting right about now.

Tail O' the Pup
451 N. La Cienega
Los Angeles, CA