Contact B'nai B'rith

1120 20th Street NW, Suite 300N Washington, D.C. 20036

info@bnaibrith.org

202-857-6600

In the history of dining, L.A. Jews are all over the menu.

For starters, when, in 2010, first lady Michelle Obama, along with her daughters Malia and Sasha; her mother, Marian Robinson; and a Secret Service entourage stopped in for lunch at Pink’s to have a chili dog, she and the rest of the minions who eat there probably had no idea that the famous hot dog stand near the corner of La Brea and Melrose avenues was started by a Jewish couple — Paul and Betty Pink.

Also little known is that Southern California Jews have contributed entire menus to the national bill of fare… In 1939, Betty Pink saw an ad in the Citizen News for a hot dog cart. “My father borrowed $50 from his mother-in-law,” Richard Pink said. “They leased a space [near the corner of La Brea and Melrose] for $15. When my mother picked up the cart, it was on La Cienega, and she rolled it right to La Brea.”

For the dogs, Paul went to a family he’d met through B’nai B’rith, the Hoffman brothers, of Hoffman Bros. Packing, who created the Hoffy hot dog, the brand Pink’s sells to this day…more.