A brand new building: Something that usually doesn't shout "great hot dogs here!" As a general rule, the best WVHDs are found in buildings with peeling paint and faded signs. It's as if they put their money into the hot dog and instead of the building. So I was skeptical when I was told that there was a brand new T&L Hot Dogs in Buckhannon and wasn't in a big hurry to get up that way to check it out. But I finally made it.Now I know that T&L has good hot dogs from my previous experience with them. When I pulled up to the shiny new brick building I was confident that I would get a decent hot dog, but what I got was a little different than I expected.
The building is very nice and still smells new on the inside. Big for a hot dog joint, this restaurant looks like it would hold 50 or 60 diners comfortably. It felt very clean and was generally a nice place to eat.
Nice, that is if you like nearly perfect hot dogs.
No exaggeration, this is a nearly perfectly executed WVHD. The spicy chili was complex, had a great texture and was served in abundance. The cole slaw, although I had to ask for it specifically, was awesome: It was finely chopped, had wonderful texture, flavor and color. The bun was soft and seemed to be steamed, although I didn't witness the steaming, and the weenie was excellent.
The only negative thing I could say about this hot dog is that it was served in a Styrofoam coffin.
My quandary is that T&L is a chain, and I am reticent to award a Five Weenie rating to a chain since people often expect that all the locations are the same. I can't violate my own rule.
Oh yes I can.
I give T&L Hot Dogs of Buckhannon a Five Weenie rank. It comes with this disclaimer: Not all T&L Hot Dog locations can claim this rating until they have proven worthy on their own merits.
Stanton
ReplyDeleteI did not know that T & L was a chain. How many in the chain?
Thanks for the nice things you have to say about Buckhannon!
When I was a student at Wesleyan my lunch was going to Liberty Lunch where Harry Lulos sold 15 cent hotdogs and 30 cent graham cracker pie. Liberty Lunch was located right next to C J Maggies in a little "hole in the wall". The Bank tore it down to replace it with an ugly brick faux modern building. Boo
Dave, the website lists only 6 locations, but Buckhannon isn't one of them. I think there's also one in Weston. Here's the website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tandlhotdogs.com/locations.htm
Awesome blog!
ReplyDeleteThere used to be two T&L dog locations in Buckhannon, but it's been a long time since I've been in the area.
One of my fondest memories of a T&L dog was about 1984 and having one of their extra spicy hots. Somehow it shredded the roof of my mouth. Not sure what kind of chili flakes they used, but... best dog ever.
There was another great hotdog place / pool hall downtown across from the courthouse, but I'm sure it's long gone now.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThe Liberty Lunch across from CJ Maggie’s was operated by George Lulos (my father), Harry’s younger brother. Harry sold his half to my father in the late 1940s. We moved locations to across the street from the courthouse, also across from Rainbow Restaurant. The best hot dogs in all of WV for a while there!! We sold in 1975. The cole slaw was phenomenal also.
We (family members) have tried to reproduce my dad’s chili recipe and have come close but just can’t get those final touches right! He even left us a recipe!! Very exasperating considering the potential prize. The pies were to die for, too.
Good memories, huh?
Michelle (Lulos) Livingston
Oops. Forgot to mention: The Liberty Lunch was never a pool hall. The building was used by a pool hall in the 80s (I think).
ReplyDeleteMichelle
Hi! I was born and raised in Buckhannon and can remember having T&L dogs as a kid. The Dave's Famous Hot Dogs website says that they opened their first location in Bridgeport in 1984. Not to date myself, but I'm thinking the Buckhannon T&L was open before that. It was originally beside the skating rink. There are also T&L's listed in Jane Lew and Weston, which I believe are part of the Buckhannon T&L chain, but are also not on the Dave's famous site. Could we possibly have TWO T&L's that are unaffiliated?
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up in Buckhannon, my vote goes to the Liberty Lunch for best hot dogs in town. Two of those with fries on the side made a perfect meal. The atmosphere was warm, and Mr. and Mrs. George Lulos were always kind. I have dined in many places in the years since, but nothing compares to the Liberty Lunch for good food and a friendly atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteWe went there today as a nice family day (my husband, myself, and two small children). To begin with we were over charged, then my husbands taco salad had only lettuce, an extremely small amount of chips, and hot dog chili. When we asked for tomatoes for the salad, we waited 15 minutes for 6 very tiny pieces of tomato which they wanted to charge us for (after already having unknowingly paying extra for the sour cream packet and taco sauce), then mentioned we had over paid and asked them to look into and was ignored. At this point my husband was irritated and said a few swear words, I asked him not to make a scene and he stopped. 20 minutes later, a man put his hands on the table, got very close to my husbands face, and asked if he had a problem with the tomato price. He said "Yes actually I do." He then proceeded to tell us that he was the owner and if we had a problem then we could get out, he said he was just trying to pay bills, he had just bought the business. I explained that we had already over paid and that it was a taco salad it should have had tomato's in it anyway, he disagreed. We got up, my husband went to the car, I cleaned off our table all while still arguing with the man saying my husband should not have cussed in front of his "girls" (grown women, whom should have asked him to please calm down while the incident was happening), I said they should have rectified over charging us. He then screams across the room (after my asking him how much a bag of chips was) to give us our money back and get us out of there. I said no, my $4.00 over charge will be sufficient, which was given to me by a woman who said "What is $4.00 anyway?". I will never go back. We never had a problem like that there until today, but it was plenty enough. I DO NOT recommend this restaurant anymore. The rudeness and dishonesty was too much for one visit. And yes, Google taco salad, all the ingredients we were expected to pay extra for are supposed to be there. Good Luck.
ReplyDelete