I may be to the point in my life where I don't care about hats and singing or even presents (to some extent), but it still sucked to spend that day at work, and it wasn't worth doing just to save a vacation day for later in the year. It made the entire day seem like a non-event. So, when my mother asked if I wanted to do a birthday dinner, I didn't know what to say. I was watching the kids that night so my beloved could toil away at her own grindstone, so sushi was out, and that's my usual go-to meal when I'm feeling indulgent. Mom, wonderful woman that she is, suggested a relatively new place in town, Eddie's Wood-Fired Dogs.
Eddie's is tucked away on Apple Street, between Boise Avenue and Parkcenter Boulevard in Boise. I wasn't sure what to think at first, especially since I usually get my hot dog fix at Stan's Char-Broiled Hot Dogs, but I do have a weakness for anything in a sausage casing, and Eddie's is a current participant on Restaurant.com.
A quick note here: I freaking love me some Restaurant.com. They are not a sponsor or advertiser on this blog, but their ridiculously good discounts do enable this obsession I have for eating in restaurants. Eddie's, for example, has a certificate you can buy on the site for $25 off a purchase of $35 or more, and without many of the restrictions some of the other restaurants on the service have (can't be used for the purchase of alcohol, an 18% tip is added to the pre-discounted price, and so on). The cost for the $25 coupon? Ten dollars...at normal price anyway. Restaurant.com has a lot of promotions, and on my birthday they were running one where all the coupons were 80% off, which means that $25 coupon only cost two bucks.
Okay, enough of that. A few hours later, six adults and two children piled into two cars and headed downtown for hot dogs. I was picturing a little diner, like every other hot dog restaurant I've ever been in. Boy, was I ever in for a shock.
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| Fancy for a hot dog joint, eh? |
Row after row of matching, good quality wooden tables and chairs stretched across a clean floor. An spotless order counter sat next to a grill, topping station and finally pickup counter along one wall. This area was manned by no less than four hyper-attentive employees, waiting for this large group of loud and indecisive early-dinner eaters to place their orders before springing into action. Placing an order at Eddies, however, is not as easy as you would think. Yes, it's a hot dog joint. A hot dog joint with eight different kinds of dogs with everything from kosher beef to turkey to vegetarian, five kinds of sausages, three dinner salad options, burgers, chicken and pulled pork sandwiches...you get the point. I figured if I'm going to a hot dog place for the first time, I want a hot dog. I (along with all but one of the adults present) chose the "swizzle dog", a variation on their jumbo 1/4 pound all-beef dog with criss-crossing spiral cuts down the length to allow the dog to really absorb the flavors from the grill. I opted not only to go for the combo, which adds a huge soda and a massive side of fries for an additional three dollars, but also to upgrade to waffle fries.
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| Onion rings, fries and waffle-cut fries |
Done? Not even close. Eddie's also has around thirty toppings for your dog, everything from ketchup, mustard and mayo to teriyaki sauce, pico de gallo and dried cranberries. Luckily for the easily-overwhelmed consumer, Eddies has some pre-prescribed options, which are mostly named after cities. I decided on the New York style, which is topped with deli mustard, chopped onion and sauerkraut. I was given the choice of having my sauerkraut cold or warmed up, which scored major points with me. While I waited for my food, I tried to get pictures of as much of everyone else's as was possible.
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| I believe this is Chicago-style, with mustard, tomato, onion, cheese and sport peppers, not sure what else might be there |
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| Not sure other than ketchup, mustard, onion and lots of cheese |
As you can see, they don't skimp on the toppings at Eddies. Even my mother, who ordered light relish on hers, ended up scooping some of it off.
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| Mustard, mayo, onion and relish |
As you can see, that last one has a bite out of it, and that's the last I got of anyone else's food because all the selfish people I was with wanted to eat rather than wait for me to photograph their meals. So, I finally turned my attention to my own.
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| My dog, buried in onion and warmed sauerkraut |
My only complaint here is that I should have gotten relish. Everything was great. The dog was flavorful, the onions fresh, and the warm sauerkraut was a very nice touch. The children got corn dog kid's meals, which the younger child enjoyed but the older one wasn't terribly fond of, saying that the batter was a little thick and the taste a little on the bland side. She did, however, say that the waffle fries were the "best fries ever".
Speaking of that, they have three fry sauces: regular, chipotle, and habanero. The first is fine and the second even better, but the third is downright addictive, and I don't even like spicy food. My sister's boyfriend and I just kept coming back for more of it, trying it with the onion rings, fries, waffle fries, and it was good with everything. I would go back just for that.
On our way out, we snagged a grilled chicken breast salad for my gal and a swizzle dog with mustard to drop off at my brother's workplace. So, dinner for eight adults and two children minus the $25 coupon, and it only came to $37. Happy birthday to me indeed! I'll definitely be returning, and if you dig a variety of sausages and a nice place to eat them in, get out to Eddie's now and support them. There are too many places opening and then only months later closing with little to no warning, and this one is worth keeping around.
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WOOOOOO!!
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