According to this week’s Gambit, Lucky Dog vendors will hit the streets of the French Quarter soon. This may seem petty and unworthy of a mention here, but Lucky Dogs are very much entwined in the 20th century history of the French Quarter. Consider this; the hero of Confederacy of Dunces was, for a brief stint, a Lucky Dog vendor. The hot dog shaped vending carts are considered to have historic status in the Quarter, and because of this the company owns an exclusive vending permit with the city. They are the only vendor allowed to sell food from carts in the French Quarter– the legality of this was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. For Lucky Dogs to not return to the city would be blasphemy. As a hot dog man, I knew their return was only a matter of time.

To this end, Lucky Dog GM Jerry Strahan published a book in 1998 called Managing Ignatius ^[1]. Quickly summarized, it is his tales of working for Lucky Dogs starting in the early 1970’s, alongside an ever-changing staff of vagrants, crazies, and crooks. More importantly, the book is the final chapter in the city’s history as a seedy, flophouse ridden place of charm and wonder. It is the story of the Quarter’s transformation from a colorful bohemia into a sinner’s Disneyland. The pretext to this book is a book called The French Quarter ^[2], written by Gangs of New York author Herbert Asbury. It reads like a textbook history of the city’s criminal element, a jaw dropping and entertaining read, if not completely factual. I’d like to add both of these books to Laureen’s list ^[3].