Charleston HDJ Review - The Sub Shop

Charleston's "The Sub Shop" on Quarrier Street isn't usually open on Weekends, but FestivAll crowds I guess made it too tempting to pass up and so they were open this past Sunday. I was hungry and I thought I'd give them a second chance since the last time I reviewed them they had only recently started serving hot dogs.

The hot dogs were much better this time. My major complaint last visit was about the teenie weenies and they have rectified that issue with large caliber all-beef weenies - I am assuming they are Boar's Head brand - and it was grilled nicely. The chili and slaw were excellent and they didn't try to sneak any ketchup on their "everything" dog this time.

A good improvement, and worthy of a better score: This time The Sub Shop gets a strong 4 Weenies.

Completely unrelated to hot dog matters: My companion ordered a BLT and it was delivered to the table with an apology that they were out of tomatoes. I found it absurd that they would serve a BLT with no T, but they were apologetic and gave us free cookies to make up for it: I can definitely be bought with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Since there was only one person working there, I decided to run to the Capitol Market to fetch them a tomato so they wouldn't disappoint subsequent BLT customers. If you were one of those who benefitted from my benevolence, pay it forward.

Princeton HDJ Review - Grillbilly's Drive In

This little place caught my eye during a winter time visit but I didn't feel like standing outside in the cold to order, so I put it on my "to do in warm weather" list. This past weekend I found myself in the vicinity and hungry at the same time. The weather this time was perfect for not only ordering outside, but for eating outside in one to the four picnic tables that Grillbilly's provided and placed under a beautiful shade tree.

Grillbilly's has a reputation among locals for their hamburgers, but hot dogs is what I was after. I was little dismayed by the menu offering: "Hot Dog" and "Slaw Dog" as if there was really a difference! I was comforted a little though by the news that a "Slaw Dog" came with mustard, onions and chili; then comforted again when my dos showed up wrapped in wax paper. Dismay returned, though, when I got my dogs and they were on the dreaded New England Style buns.

The slaw, at first taste, was fair and had a nice texture. The chili was a little lifeless. In spite of the weaknesses of the parts, the chili and slaw had a real nice synergy and the resultant taste was quite satisfying. The weenie didn't detract, nor did the onions and mustard. Overall it was nice little roadside hot dog that scores a 3 on the Weenie scale.

Grillbilly's is located right along the road from Athens to Princeton, officially known as Rogers Street.