Richwood HDJ Review - The Chill Out Grill

During the recent heat wave we decided to head for the cool Pocahontas County mountains for a

respite, which gave us a chance to stop in and check out this relatively new HDJ in Richwood. We'd received a couple of suggestions from fans that said we should review it, so we timed our trip to make sure we were there at lunchtime. 

The Chill Out Grill is located inside a building that looks a reclaimed Dairy Queen and sits on Edgewood Avenue, just off the main flow of traffic for passer-through like ourselves, but it wasn't hard to find. Navigating the menu was pretty easy too because right there at the top were the objects of our interest.

But also right at the top of the menu was a very bad sign: Ketchup was listed as the first topping. And when asked what "everything" was, the order taker included the red stuff in her answer. Half-point deduction.  

The rest of the toppings were correct, though, so we pressed on. Two different chilis were listed, one homemade and one spicy. We got one of each, but it made us wonder; is the spicy chili not homemade? 

Our order was served fast and friendly. The hot dogs looked pretty good, with really dark chili and slaw that was a good texture. The buns were a tad crusty, like they had been dry-warmed. 

The flavor of the "homemade chili" was a little bland, lacking any discernible spice and almost no flavor other than onions and well-browned ground beef. The "spicy chili" seemed to have even less flavor, but did have a slow burn spiciness that probably comes from cayenne. 

The slaw was a good texture and had a decent flavor. It deserved a better chili.

Given the uninspiring chili, the sparse slaw, the presence of ketchup on the "everything" dog and the crusty buns, The Chill Out Grill gets 2 1/2 Weenies.