Dogs With Style
410 S. Burdick StreetHas anyone else noticed how hot it is this week? No? It’s just me? OK…sure. Anywho, I wanted to get out of the house and do something with L in the morning, but there’s really not a lot of places to take here where we can cool off.
My idea was the fountain at Arcadia Creek Festival Place, but when we got down there, it wasn’t on. I saw a post near the fountain and wondered if that was a switch to turn it on. It was, but when I pushed the button, nothing happened. The fountain never turned on, so I was out of luck.
We couldn’t splash in the water, but I figured we could pick up lunch while downtown. My first plan was to finally check out K Street Eatery on the Kalamazoo, but I believe that little take out window may have closed. There is still signage in the window and I was there during a time they were supposed to be open, but the place was dark.
Luckily, I passed a place just down the street last Saturday on our way to the Epic Theatre. Again, I had to park down the street from my destination on the mall, so again, I walked right passed it on my way back to my car.
Dogs With Style is a very small hot dog shop on South Burdick just south of the Kalamazoo Mall in the State Theater building. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I don’t like hot dogs. I know, I’ll say it again, I’m weird. Who doesn’t like hot dogs?
There really isn’t much on the menu other than dogs. If I liked hot dogs, I really think I’d love this place. They have Chicago Dogs, Coney Dogs, Chili dogs (different from the Coney dog…real chili, not the chili sauce), chili cheese dogs, cheese dogs, and a regular dog with ketchup, mustard, relish, and onion. Almost all of that sounds incredible to me…except the dog part….damn I’m weird.
I know what you’re thinking. “So what DID you eat?” Well, let me tell you. I had the Chicago Style Italian beef and an order of Chili-Cheese fries.
The sandwich and fries cost me exactly seven bucks and the restaurant is cash only. Fortunately, I had a ten in my pocket. I didn’t even think of that before walking in, but I looked around as my meal was being made and didn’t see a credit card machine.
I asked for my meal to be wrapped up in foil to go because I had L with me and there was really nothing on the menu for her to eat. On top of that, there are no tables inside Dogs With Style. There is a bar that runs along the back wall with stools so you can eat in, but that’s not really conducive for L and I….plus, I was still on the hunt for water for us to splash in.
After a quick stop at Wendy’s to pick up lunch for L and J, I got home and unwrapped a deliciously soaked Italian beef bun with thinly sliced beef piled on. I had to go with a pretty plain sandwich because the peppers and onions come pre-mixed, so I couldn’t just add peppers, I would have had to add both peppers and onions…and I’m not an onion fan. The beef was nice and tender even if it is a packaged sliced beef. It had a pretty beefy taste to it instead of the typical Italian seasoning flavor. The bun was a hearty hoagie roll that soaked up a lot of the gravy yet didn’t fall apart upon the commencement of eating.
The chili-cheese fries are restaurant style fries topped with sprinkle cheddar cheese the melts from the leftover heat of the fries and a chunky, beany chili. I would have loved if these fries had been topped with the Coney sauce instead of the chili, but they were still pretty yummy with the chili.
Dogs With Style is a great little downtown joint that’s perfect for a quick lunch. I’m not a hot dog guy which doesn’t make me an expert on hot dog joints, but I enjoyed what I had.
Chicago Style Italian Beef
Chili-Cheese Fries
SW Michigan Dining 
Love their fries when they come straight out. Also, he puts both the shredded and liquid cheeses on the cheese dogs if you ask for it. Wish the hours were a bit longer though.
If you’re going to a Hot Dog place, you should at least say which brand of HD they’re serving up. Koegels?