Grafton HDJ Review - Grafton Dairy Queen

I recently ventured to Grafton in a hunt of all of the known HDJs in town. My first stop bought me to the Grafton Dairy Queen. I had passed this place time after time during my many ventures across Route 50, but never once stopped by to sample the goods. I was initially excited about paying a visit, mainly because I was hoping to be delivered from the DQ hell that had marred samplings at some of the north central DQs, particularly the one I wrote one of my earliest reviews about located in Shinnston.

I had a glimmer of hope that since this particular establishment had an original sign on top that dated back decades, that maybe...just maybe...this one would have an "in-house" hot dog (rather than the corporate "Brazier" version) that was seeped in tradition and great homemade taste. Well, it was definitely seeped in something.

A flag immediately went up upon discovering that no slaw was available. This wasn't the first time and certainly won't be the last, so I went for the remaining standard ingredients: chili, onion, and mustard. When the nice lady behind the window handed me my order, I quickly made my way back to my car with eager anticipation. When I unwrapped the dog, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh at the appearance.

The dog was soaked in chili sauce, which tasted like it had been prepared with tremendous apathy. It didn't even warrant dissecting to further identify the ingredients. The onions were finely minced, but tasted as though they'd been kept refrigerated too cold only to lose some of their flavor and then became too soft. The wiener tasted like it had been left in it's boiling pot of water far too long, making it leak into the bun and soften it to the point of disintegrating. The bun must've had something sitting on it before it was removed from the bag, because the wiener was the only thing that made it hold it's familiar shape. Perhaps it had been steamed with a clothes iron. It certainly tasted that way.

Simpy put, the hot dog was total mush. I can't find another word to describe it, other than perhaps "debacle". One weenie for the Grafton Dairy Queen.