Imagine If you will - submitted for your approval. It's a Thursday and you're in Southington and in the mood for a chili dog. But the Liberty is closed (Steve's off at Spring Training). You have only a few dollars and hardly any gas, so Blackie's or Capitol Lunch is out of the question. And the guy with the Hot Dog cart across from ESPN has moved farther into Bristol. What's a hungry, conspicuous hot dog consumer to do? Go without??? Get real!!! Get a slimy looking dog from a convenience store warmer??? Perish the thought! There must be SOME way to slake that craving in the pit of your belly...
Luckily there is. Back by the Plainville line on Queen Street is Saint's. A local hangout known for its fried foods and especially its chili dogs. And that is where Scott and myself ended up on that fateful afternoon.
First off, the decor. Bead-Board pine paneling from the floor to halfway-up the wall, with wallpaper above that. The decorations are typical for a family owned restaurant - sports trophies and stuffed reminders of hunting and fishing trips. And the requisite chalkboards and grease-boards advertising the daily specials. We settled in to a booth along the wall near the back tables and the waitress promptly took our order. I stuck with my standard - chili, ketchup and onions, with a chocolate shake, and Scott had the same except for an order of fries in place of the shake.
She was back quickly with our drinks (Scott just had water) and had mistakenly gotten me a Strawberry shake. But my nose quickly let me know that it was made with Strawberry NesQuik (my fave!) so I didn't complain. A few sips and our dogs were there. Saint's uses Martin Rosol's foot-longs, and they come in at a bit over 11 inches by my reckoning. Not Bad! They are definitely on the thin side, and have been grilled from start to finish. This leaves them nice and crisp on the outside with a satisfying snap to them - very impressive considering they are skinless. The chili is very tomato-ey, with a definite chili-powder burn to it. Not very spicy, but satisfying. The onions were very fresh and sweet, and the bun was thoroughly toasted. Blackie's and Cappy's have nothing to fear from these pooches, but they are definitely better than average.
A few words on price. The dogs come in at around $2.25(after tax) which isn't bad for a footlong. The milkshake was even more ($2.50) and a wee bit undersized for the money. Again, nothing to threaten the Big Boys, but not so high as to keep the customers away. All in all a successful way out of a difficult situation. And one that I will continue to repeat whenever the mood strikes.
Now then, I was in a similar situation just a few days later whilst shopping with my wife in Wally-World (that's Wallingford, in case you didn't know.) And once again, good fortune smiled upon me as we were close by to Captain Seas on Route 5. As the name suggests, it's more known for its seafood (and Teresa SWEARS by their fried clam strips) but they also serve hot dogs. Lets see how they match up.
The dogs are the standard 11 inch Hummels you'd find in your local deli case. Grilled from start to finish, and served atop a toasty bun. And they are available in the usual combinations (sauerkraut, cheese, bacon, chili, etc.) I ordered two, one with my standard fixings (i.e. Chili, onions, and ketchup) and another with bacon and cheese, then waited for them to be ready.
A quick note on the restaurant itself. It's a standard, fast-food cafeteria style, with a long counter and cash register and the grills immediately behind that. The staff seems mostly college-aged kids, but this was in the evening, so it may be that the servers are older during the day. And the decor is pleasant enough with a slight Nautical bent to it. But its the food that brought us here. And it was that that the friendly counter person was brining to me...
One look down at my dogs and I was already subtracting points because (GASP) the chili had BEANS IN IT !!!! Now, I know that chili with beans is the norm for most people, but I've said it once and I'll say it again. There is NO ROOM for beans in a chili designed to go atop a hotdog! It just makes for an unwieldy mess. Add to that the fact I don't LIKE beans, and you can imagine my displeasure. Nevertheless, I did my best "Good-Reviewer" imitation and ate it anyway. And I'll say this, that for a chili with beans it wasn't awful - and that from me is a RAVE.
The other dog was an entirely different matter. It was wrapped in two slices of American Cheese, with bacon strips (Four in all) arranged neatly on either side. Now this was more my style. The bacon was cooked JUST the way I like it - crisp and dry, and the cheese tasted like cheese. Not at all like the plastic-tinged "cheese-sauce" that some places use. Someone had better alert Steve at the Liberty. This may be the best bacon-cheese dog I've had so far.
For the price, Captain Seas is a l'il more expensive than Saint's. And while Saint's DOES have a better chili, the food overall at Captain Seas is better. Plus the clam strips (I filched a few off of Teresa's plate) are very good. Not as good as the Clam Castle... but that's a topic for another column!