Quiet Dell HDJ Review - Sports Grille

Right off of exit 115 of I-179 rests the small township of Quiet Dell, home of the Sports Grille. A sign for the Sports Grille can be easily seen from the exit, particularly from the southbound direction. The location is prime for anyone traveling the interstate wishing for a quick hot dog fix (and a fill-up for the car as well).

You’d expect that with a name like Sports Grille that there’d be at least two or three televisions scattered about and tuned into sports channels. On this particular visit, the only TV in the place was tuned into the Cartoon Network. I found it strange that there were at least seven or eight cars on the lot, but only one other customer at the counter. A cursory scan revealed a doorway to a video gambling area, which explains where the business end of this joint actually is.

The service was about average, but the waitress behind the counter was at least polite. Hot dogs with everything here includes chili, mustard, and onions, but slaw is available on request. The dogs came inundated with a ton of shredded, strong onions that wound up masking the flavor of the rest of the ingredients. Like we’ve found in a couple of recent reviews, the Sports Grille also puts the chili on top of the slaw. Since I ordered up two dogs in this case, I was able to dissect the second one and try the components individually. The bun was fresh enough and warm, but not steamed. The wiener was boiled just about right. It seemed as though the chili was relatively bland, lacking any zest or beefy flavor. It had an appealing color and good texture, however. I noticed red pepper flakes available at the counter, and in hindsight that would’ve likely helped. I found that the slaw had very little dressing, thus exposing the watery insipidness of the finely chopped cabbage. I can safely say that the dogs may have been better without slaw in this case.

Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, the location is perfect for hot dog fans passing through. You can get a WVHD, but don’t expect much from the slaw. Sports Grille hot dogs are no more than satisfactory at best, but could potentially be much better. Two and a half weenies.