Some restaurants have a gimmick. The Dog House has a legacy. Planted on Central Avenue since 1969, the Dog House Drive-In has been slinging foot-long chili dogs to Albuquerque for over 50 years.

The Frank Mead family opened the original Dog House at 10th and Central. In 1967, Jimmie Hartley took over the restaurant and eventually moved it two blocks west to its current spot on historic Route 66, now Central Avenue, in 1969. It was one of the first drive-in restaurants in Albuquerque.

The Hartley family has owned and operated it ever since, making it one of the longest-running family-run eateries in the Duke City. Jimmie Hartley isn't a flashy operator. He's a hot dog guy, and he knows it. "People just depend on having a good hot dog when they get here," Hartley has said,  and after nearly six decades of running the place, he's earned the right to keep the mission statement that simple.

Signature items include foot-long chili dogs loaded with New Mexico-style chili, burgers, fries or tater tots, and shakes, Route 66 Road Map all served the old-school way. The car-hop style ordering is still going strong. The iconic neon sign out front, a dachshund happily working through a string of sausages, has been lighting up Central Avenue for decades and serves as one of Albuquerque's most recognizable pieces of roadside Americana.

Then came the cameras. The Dog House restaurant was featured in AMC TV series Breaking Bad. It also appeared multiple times in the prequel series Better Call Saul. The Dog House has been named best hot dog in New Mexico by both Food and Wine and People Magazine, one of the 50 best drive-in restaurants by The Daily Meal, and one of the 10 most interesting chile dishes in Albuquerque by 10Best. 

Through all of it, the operation has stayed true to what Jimmie Hartley built it to be: a neighborhood drive-in on a storied stretch of road, serving the same honest, satisfying food it always has. The TV fame is a bonus. The chili dog is the point.

The Dog House Drive-In is located at 1216 Central Ave SW.