REVIEW: Trolley Dogs

Trolley Dogs is a small corner restaurant located in downtown Kenosha, which has been selling delicious hot dogs since 2003. All of their hot dogs are made with Fresh Vienna JUMBO Dogs, and are served up in many different styles: There's the classic Chicago Dog, the savory Chili Dog, the Kenosha Dog (a hot dog with cheese), the meaty Bacon Dog, an Octo-Dog for the kids, and even the eponymous Trolley Dog, which is a tamale and a hot dog all together in the same bun! Today, my Dad took my brother and me to Trolley Dogs for dinner. Even with all the unique hot doggy options on the menu, I wasn't feeling in the weenie mood, so I purchased an Italian Beef for $5.00.

Trolley Dogs, I must say, has great prices. You can get a hefty Chicago Dog plus fries for the very low price of $3.12. $5.00 wasn't a bad price to pay for the Italian Beef either, considering it's huge size. If you're looking for a cheap place to eat, Trolley Dogs is certainly an option to consider.

You can order the Italian Beef at Trolley Dogs in four ways: Wet, for a bun dipped in the beef's juice, or gravy, as it is called; Hot, for a sandwich with spicy giardiniera; Sweet, for a sandwich with marinated green peppers, and Cheezy, for mozzarella cheese (which will cost you an extra 50 cents). I requested my Italian Beef be made "wet" and "sweet," and also come with onions, which the cashiers had no problem with at all. Speaking of which, the employees were very kind and friendly! Funny too. They made great conversation, and talked to my family like we were all close friends, while still managing to stay professional. They smiled a lot and seemed happy to be there. At one names. This is mostly due to the fact I did not catch his name at all, but still.
point, one of the guys even started to sing and dance behind the counter! He said not to mention it, and I said I wouldn't, but you know. At least I'm not mentioning any
We took a seat at one of Trolley Dogs' colorful booths while we waited for our food to finish cooking. Trolley Dogs is well-decorated and kept clean inside. There are pictures hanging up to go with the hot dog theme, and a tiny electric trolley suspended by wires running the perimeter of the ceiling. There's a pinball machine if you feel like being a pinball wizard, and Trolley Dogs has those classic ketchup and mustard bottles sitting at each and every red-colored booth. The place is also painted in bright, vivid colors with a shiny tile floor. The diner-like interior is very cool.

It took a few minutes before our order was ready, but this is because Trolley Dogs' foods are prepared fresh. The waiting time wasn't the least bit unreasonable. My Italian Beef was rolled up in tin foil to seal the warmth inside. Unrolling the wrapper, I found the sandwich to be large and in charge! There was an abundance of thin strips of beef filling up the soggy bun, and was topped with chopped onions and sweet peppers, just the way I wanted it.

The amount of beef in my sandwich was generous and tasty. It had a solid, meaty taste with a slightly sweet edge. It wasn't the most spectacular meat I've ever tasted in an Italian Beef sandwich, but it was pretty good. The beef was sliced super-thin into long, long strips. I prefer it when the meat is shredded, but oh well. The green peppers weren't really what I'd call "sweet:" They tasted just like any regular, raw bell pepper, which in my opinion, aren't very sweet. More like bland. I still enjoyed the crunch the peppers added, however. The onions, on the other hand, were very sweet! I love sweet onions, like yellow ones and Vidalias. I could eat those by the handful! But not red onions. When I eat those plain, I get this crazy burning sensation in my nostrils. Not fun. So yeah, Trolley Dogs definitely knows what it's doing when it selects its onions. The bun, I must admit, was not authentic Italian bread, which we all know is the building-block for a great Italian Beef Sandwich. It was your average hot dog bun. Its sogginess was pure evidence of this. Italian bread would've stayed crunchier over time. Despite not being Italian-style bread, the bun was tasty and soaked to the bone with savory gravy. A tasty and satisfying sandwich, indeed.

So, in conclusion, Trolley Dogs is a fantastic spot to hit up when you're craving hot dogs, fries, or even a hot beef sandwich! The prices are terrific, the service is friendly, the place is well-kept, and the food tastes great. The Italian Beef wasn't mind-blowing, but it was better than I expected from a place that's main focus is hot dogs. I'll definitely go to Trolley Dogs again and again. I probably won't order the Italian Beef next time, but its something I'd get every now and then.

RiRi Rates Trolley Dogs as: 8/10



Till' next time, this has been RiRi Ri-porting!