The Wonderdog in East Peoria is an iconic hot dog destination in this area. The last time I was there was in the midst of the pandemic in November of that foul year of 2020 and I got a take-out order from there.
They had a fire in 2022 that shut them down for a while and they reopened the restaurant back in 2023. I thought this would be a nice place to go and check out on this doggone tour, so let’s go and do exactly that.
Hot diggity dog, it’s off to East Peoria we go!
And here we are at “The Original” Wonderdog in East Peoria.
I always wonder whey the words, “The Original” are in quotation marks and that the word, “Woderdog” is a weird mix of capitalized and uncapitalized letters. Maybe that’s just me. Okay, I’m sure it’s just me, but it will bother me forever!
Alright, let’s love that unplanned obligatory mirror shot in the door and go in and begin our eighth week of eating hot dogs in the Dog Days of Summer of 2025!
There’s the front counter where we’ll place this week’s hot dog order after this guy is done.
I went up to the counter to order, asked the gentlemen working there if I could take his photo and the entire Wonderdog crew assembled for a photo in front of the hot dog wall!
Very cool and such nice people! Great to meet all of them!
There’s several menus to choose your items from including the aforementioned hot dog photo wall!
Okay, we placed our order now let’s find a place to sit down at in here while our meals are being prepared.
Nice booths line the walls in here and here’s the booth we chose to sit down and relax in.
And here’s this week’s special hot dog guest star, none other than Tom Arbogast!
Tom’s wearing a WWCT t-shirt which is perfect as he’s conducted an extensive oral history of that legendary radio station with interviews from people connected to that iconic Peoria radio station. You can find those interviews by clicking on this link and Tom is writing a book on WWCT that he hopes will be out sometime this year or maybe in 2026. Stay tuned to the blog for future updates on that!
Great to see Tom again and hang out with him on this Dog Day Afternnoon!
I love the hot dog art in here and they have Wonderdog t-shirts for sale! Hooray!
And just to be all inclusive, they do have hamburger art as well!
The wonderful Wonderdog logo is featured all over the restaurant!
Meanwhile, back at our booth, our hot dog lunches have been delivered to the table! Let’s check them out!
Both Tom and I got a side order of Tater Tots and they were crispy, light and very tasty! We’re off to a great start today!
Tom got a classic Wonderdog and he said it was delicious!
There he is doing a classic “man bites dog” pose!
In addition to the Tater Tots and my hot dog, I also got a chocolate milkshake.
It was a sweet and creamy treat!
I got my hot dog with the classic condiments I’m getting on all of my hot dogs for the 2025 tour, mustard and onions!
The hot dog was hidden till I took a bite and then it revealed itself in all of its beefy glory!
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Hot Dog Rating
This was a classic and tasty, all beef hot dog in a bakery fresh steamed bun. Very nice!
We’ll give it a decent rating of two and a quarter wiener dogs! A wonderful hot dog at a classic East Peoria hot dog spot.
Thanks to Tom for joining me and all of the wonderful folks at Wonderdog for the fantastic hot dog lunch and wonderful service!
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2430 E. Washington Street
East Peoria
309-839-1535
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Related Posts: Dog Days Of Summer 2025 @: She Pop/Glen Oak Park, Alwan And Sons Meat Co., Theo’s, Emo’s Dairy Mart, Weaver’s Fresh Food & Drink, Dog Haus Biergarten Peoria and Lou’s Drive-In.