When all of the email recommendations from a particular town are for one hot dog joint, it usually means that it's very good. Sometimes, though, it means that there is only one hot dog joint in that town. I was concerned that Jim's Drive In fell into the latter category because I have received a lot of mail about this place, but when I decided to go to Lewisburg recently on a hot dog run I Googled and found no other HDJs from Rupert to Ronceverte; from Asbury to Alderson, or from Falling Spring to Fairlea. I hoped Jim's was going to be worth the trip.
I also was concerned they would be open: I had heard that their hours were quirky, and with no other HDJs in the area the two hour drive was risky. But I threw caution to the wind and timed my trip to hit town at around 11:00 AM so I would have time to search out alternatives should I be shut out at Jim's.
Fortune smiled on me. Kind of.
To find Jim's you have to go through downtown Lewisburg and go just beyond the City Limit sign on Route 60. The building is small with very little signage except the ones attached to the building under the shade of the drive in awning. The car hop quickly was at my window to take my order, and was also quick and confident telling me what "everything" was: chili, slaw, mustard, onion and ketchup. Of course I ordered one without the red stuff. And onion rings.
I got my hot dogs and rings in nothing flat. I mean fast service; and the rings were hot and crisp so I know that hadn't been sitting around long. Oh, and they were very good.
The hot dogs were served up in a grilled New England Style bun and were loaded up very nicely with toppings. The slaw was beautiful to look at - finely chopped and creamy - but the taste was lacking of much flavor. It was mildly sweet, but that's it.
The chili was very flavorful; not enough to make up for the lifeless slaw, but it was tasty, if not spicy. The red (or purple) onions were strong but applied sparingly enough as to not be a problem. The weenie was soft and rather bland tasting.
All in all, this hot dog is adequate, but nothing to write home about. I immediately understood that Jim's is indeed in that second category of HDJs that I wrote of in the first paragraph; It might be the best in town, but that's nothing to brag about. Lewisburg has many fine restaurants but apparently no fine Hot Dog Joints.
3 Weenies.
When all of the email recommendations from a particular town are for one hot dog joint, it usually means that it's very good. Sometimes, though, it means that there is only one hot dog joint in that town. I was concerned that Jim's Drive In fell into the latter category because I have received a lot of mail about this place, but when I decided to go to Lewisburg recently on a hot dog run I Googled and found no other HDJs from Rupert to Ronceverte; from Asbury to Alderson, or from Falling Spring to Fairlea. I hoped Jim's was going to be worth the trip.
I also was concerned they would be open: I had heard that their hours were quirky, and with no other HDJs in the area the two hour drive was risky. But I threw caution to the wind and timed my trip to hit town at around 11:00 AM so I would have time to search out alternatives should I be shut out at Jim's.
Fortune smiled on me. Kind of.
To find Jim's you have to go through downtown Lewisburg and go just beyond the City Limit sign on Route 60. The building is small with very little signage except the ones attached to the building under the shade of the drive in awning. The car hop quickly was at my window to take my order, and was also quick and confident telling me what "everything" was: chili, slaw, mustard, onion and ketchup. Of course I ordered one without the red stuff. And onion rings.
I got my hot dogs and rings in nothing flat. I mean fast service; and the rings were hot and crisp so I know that hadn't been sitting around long. Oh, and they were very good.
The hot dogs were served up in a grilled New England Style bun and were loaded up very nicely with toppings. The slaw was beautiful to look at - finely chopped and creamy - but the taste was lacking of much flavor. It was mildly sweet, but that's it.
The chili was very flavorful; not enough to make up for the lifeless slaw, but it was tasty, if not spicy. The red (or purple) onions were strong but applied sparingly enough as to not be a problem. The weenie was soft and rather bland tasting.
All in all, this hot dog is adequate, but nothing to write home about. I immediately understood that Jim's is indeed in that second category of HDJs that I wrote of in the first paragraph; It might be the best in town, but that's nothing to brag about. Lewisburg has many fine restaurants but apparently no fine Hot Dog Joints.
3 Weenies.
Dude-
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you how to have a really great hot dog - put lots and lots of Heinz ketchup on it and nothing else.
Try it sometime when you are feeling like a kindergartner.
;-)
Would you guys consider doing a "year of the weenie" review or some such other crap. I would be most interested to see what your top 10 for 2008 would be!
ReplyDeleteSee my hot dog blog, it includes a virginia beach dog:
ReplyDeletehttp://brentamcdonald.blogspot.com/
That's nice, Brent, but Virginia Beach is in East Virginia, not West Virginia.
ReplyDeleteJim's Drive in is a little bit of heaven. I moved to Cincinnati 21 years ago. Nowhere is there a WV hotdog around here. I really think Jim should open up a store here, I'd certainly frequent it.
ReplyDelete