Not Abandoned! |
I passed many old commercial buildings, some abandoned, some
being used, a few rather impressive specimens of by-gone architecture. I couldn’t
remember the name, but it wouldn’t have helped. The name is only clearly
displayed INSIDE the building.
On New Year’s Day, most of Angier Avenue was deserted, and I
noted what appeared to be an old abandoned gas station on the right. It really
looked boarded up and out of business, but a sign off to the side caught my
eye: “You’re in hot dog country.”
Order and Pick-up Here |
This abandoned place haunted me throughout the spring. I
also did some research and found that it probably was the right place. And I
tried to find out when it had gone out of business.
On Memorial Day, I decided to venture back down Angier
Avenue. Maybe it just looked abandoned in the dead of winter. It still looked
long deserted late that Monday afternoon.
A couple of weeks later, I had taken the morning off work.
What the heck, I’d give it one more try--this time in the morning. I wasn’t
expecting it to be open, and as I drove past, I noticed the window looked
fresher. I could have sworn the windows had been boarded up… but these were
real windows. And wait, an OPEN sign flashed!
Ambiance |
Bingo!
Inside, there’s not much fancy ambiance. Two rooms: the
grill and a room with a soft drink case and a bench where customers can “dine
in.”
I’ve read glowing reviews of the fried chicken and
chicken-fried steak, and the chicken looked amazing. But I was there for the
dogs. I ordered two with mustard, slaw, chili, and onions and quicker than most
other hot doggeries, my food was ready.
While I can’t say they are my favorite dogs in the Triangle,
they are quite respectable. Their chili is tasty. It reminds me more of chili
with tomatoes or tomato paste than the chili I grew up on at King’s Sandwich
Shop and the Dog House. It has a definite chili-powder flavor. The slaw was
very sweet. In fact, at first, I thought it might have been a very sweet chili,
but I’m pretty sure it was the slaw. The onions were mild and tasty.
I enjoyed the hot dogs, and I’m thrilled I finally found
this place isn’t just a legend. Their service is friendly and inviting, and if I can make it back when they are open, I’d
love to have a dog or two again and explore other offerings on their menu. They
have chuckwagon sandwiches, and I haven’t seen those since the Bavarian Inn at
AppState.
My verdict: 4 weenies