Okay, last week I tried to start this new series about getting a hot dog on Sunday's and the place I went to wasn’t open, so I ended up where I usually end up when things go awry, a bar! A good time was had, but I’m determined to start this series today.
I put up a post on facecrack asking people to suggest places for me to go and get a hot dog. There was a great response and I ended up picking this one:
And this time I called and they are indeed open! Alright, let’s go see if Trudy picked a winner!
Okay, The Dream Hut is in Bartonville, and I have no idea how to get there, it's been over 19 years since I've been to that burg, so I've dialed the address into my trusty GPS navigator...
And we're off! Love the GPS!
Okay, after a forty minute drive my trusty GPS navigator led me right here. This doesn't exactly look like a Dream Hut, more like a garage out in the sticks. HATE the GPS!
Let's give it another try and see if Mr. GPS can redeem himself.
This is more like it, Mr. GPS has led us straight into Bartonville this time, I'm back on speaking terms with him.
Signpost ahead...The Dream Hut! Hot dog!
And they are indeed open! Things are falling into place, let's take a look at The Dream Hut.
I love the neon at the top of the hut, it's...dare I say...dreamy!
Let's check out the menu...
Okay, there's several problems here on the menu, first they've got hot dogs, bratwurst and worst of all, tamales listed under the category of "sandwiches." A sandwich is meat, cheese and other stuff between two slices of bread. Maybe hot dogs and bratwursts come close, but a tamale? How is that a sandwich? Come on! And while we're on the subject of sandwiches, let me just throw this in, a Manwich is NOT a meal, it's just some shitty sauce you blend in with hamburger to make a two-bit sloppy Joe sandwich, so just shut the fuck up about that stuff! And I'm not even going to get into the fact that they spelled corn dog, "Korn Dog." I'm just going to walk away before my head explodes.
Wow, this place plays some serious mind games! It's telling me to order at two different windows at the same time. How the hell does that even work? What you order your drink at one and then jump over to the other? My mind is blown!
Luckily, Abbie saw me having an anxiety attack and called me over to her window. Talking to her through this screen made me feel like I was in jail and was chatting with a visitor. Midnight Express flashback!
Okay, things are settling down now as Abbie takes my order, cool nail polish!
There's just one pick up window, so things are getting a lot less confusing here. And check it out, they've got Kitchen Cooked products here, I think I need to add some potato chips to my order!
Here's Joe, who made the meal transaction with me at the pickup window. Hey, Joe!
It's a nice day out, so I thought we'd grab a seat at one of these blue picnic tables.
Okay, time to start the meal portion of Hot Dog, It's Sunday!
The vanilla shake is really good, very creamy and frothy. I love it when I get the chance to type in the word, "frothy," so just give me a moment to savor that...okay, let's move on.
I've decided that at every hot dog stop, I'll sample two hot dogs. One will be a specialty dog, like this chili cheese dog and the other will be a pure hot dog. Let's try the chili cheese dog first.
Okay, this is a decent chili cheese dog, the bun is really fresh and soft and the hot dog is very tasty. My only complaint is that there could be a little more cheese and while the chili sauce is good, but it could be a little more tangy. They need to add just a touch of kick to it. But all in all, it's a good chili cheese dog.
The Kitchen Cooked potato chips will act as a delicious palette cleanser between hot dogs.
Okay, here we have the straight ahead hot dog, adorned only with mustard. It looks great!
And it tastes even better than it looks. It's a great no-frills hot dog. A perfect snack on a sunny, Sunday afternoon.
Okay, that was a great start to the Hot Dog, It's Sunday series, thanks to Trudy for the suggestion on facecrack. I'll be doing this through Labor Day and then with your help we'll pick the best hot dog in Peoria for the year. Very exciting, but now it's time to see if Mr. GPS can guide me back to my apartment.
Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...
And 23 minutes later here we are at the MBIP headquarters. LOVE the GPS! See you all tomorrow.
Hot Dog Rating (1 to 4 Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles)
Two and a half OMWB’s. They were good and the buns were really fresh, but I felt the chili cheese dog could’ve used a little more cheese and a bit more zing in the chili sauce. All in all two solid and tasty hot dogs.
The Dream Hut
600 W Garfield Ave.
Bartonville
309-697-6597
Further Reading: Google +, Foursquare and Mapquest.
