While it might be seen as trespassing on Chris James' territory, I found myself in Wayne at lunchtime one day and stopped in this nice little roadside diner. The name seems to beg for another word, but on the sign and menu it says only "Family Restaurant." Inside is down-home small town charm complete with walls decorated with local high school uniforms and old newspaper clippings. A sign welcoming home the local war hero sits front and center and commands the attention of everyone who enters.
On the menu is a variety of things you would expect in a hometown diner, including hot dogs. "Everything" includes an all-beef weenie on a grilled bun, sauce, mustard, ketchup and onions with cole slaw as a 25 cent upgrade. It all adds up to a really good hot dog.
Breaking it down, we have a really excellent weenie. All-beef and grilled - it's about as good as a basic weenie gets. The grilled bun is also great and it adds both flavor and a bit of a crunch to the experience. The sauce (okay, I called it sauce - satisfied Chris?) is not at all spicy but it has a nice flavor and texture. The slaw, although served in a typical Huntington-sized stingy serving, has a great flavor and is finely chopped. If the portion size had been doubled it would have been better.
For my money this is the best hot dog I've had in the Huntington area, if it can be called that. Fourteen miles from Pullman Square might be considered out of the Huntington area but I've always thought of Wayne as a suburb of the River City, and it's my blog.
So there.
meh.
ReplyDeleteWayne on the hinterland of Huntington's sphere of influence. Some people would shoot you if you didn't include it, some would shoot you if you did. I'm just excited to finally have a reason to go past Beech Fork Lake on WV 152.
OK, reason #2 why this blog has messed me up something fierce: I teach a college course on cultural and social diversity for mental health counseling students. Today, to illustrate how geography can influence culture among otherwise similar folks (such as we have here in WV, between hollers and across rivers) I spent 20 minutes talking about the hot dog chili/hot dog sauce line.
ReplyDeleteActually, it worked pretty well. :)
I am free for guest lectures upon request. My fee is negotiable.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Stanton
Whatever he charges, I'll go 15% less.
ReplyDelete