Along Rt. 39 just a few miles west of the Summersville city limit sign is the little town (wide spot in the road) known as Drennen. One of the key features of the town is the Drennen Dairy Bar, and one of the key features of the dairy bar is its hot dogs. They are legendary and many people have emailed me with requests for a review. It took a while to make it up that way, but a recent weekend road trip afforded me the opportunity to check it out.
It seemed like I was the first customer of the day when I arrived for an early lunch. I was greeted promptly and cheerfully and when I asked what was included on an "everything" dog I received the proper answer: Chil, slaw, mustard and onions.
The bun was nicely steamed and the heft of the hot dog was substantial. It fairly molded
itself to my hand when I took it out of its coffin. The slaw was finely chopped and pile high on top of an equally generous portion of chili, which was runny and soaked nicely into the bun. A nice big squirt of mustard peeked out from under the slaw.The taste test revealed that the chili was only slightly spicy but had a nice flavor. The chili was barely sweetened, but it worked well with the slaw. The onions were mild and chopped into very minute pieces. This hot dog was a joy to behold and to eat.
We'll give Drennen Dairy Bar a 4 1/2 Weenie rating. A little spicier chili would be nice.
Great review!
ReplyDeleteThose of us who grew up about a mile from this place -- and you know who you are -- know it's not uncommon for families to call up and order a couple dozen dogs at a time from this place. And we love every single bite. Friendly service, too.
Glad you finally made it.
Nuthin' "greater" 'bout Summersville, TFG. :P
ReplyDeleteStanton: demanding food to be a "little spicier" in this neck of the woods is like pullin' tooth. Before the WalMart and the fancy spice section came to town, black pepper was THE spice. Maybe this post will encourage introduction of crushed red pepper to central West Virginia in a culinary context outside of "pizza topping." As some of the best cooks in the world live over yonder, we very well might see an explosion of 5 weenie joints in the next few years in this area.
Hey Chris: You are right on about the spice. It's something I hadn't realized until you mentioned it, but you are correct that aside from pepper and ramps there ain't much spicy 'bout Nicholas County foodstuffs.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a mighty tasty hot dog.
ReplyDeleteYea, onions, slaw and the meat in chili should be chopped fine when used on a hotdog. . . a fine Nathan's hotdog with all natural casing, of course.
ReplyDeleteAn all-natural casing is like taking a shower with a raincoat on.
ReplyDeleteA proper hotdog can not be made without an all natural casing. To be juicy and full of flavor adn hold the proper ingrdients with the proper texture nothing else will do. No natural casing and you might as well eat really cheap bologna. . . but hell, if you're going to boil them WV style, ya might as well get the cheap mushy tasteless ones.
ReplyDelete