It was the end of another long and hectic day. The brood were tired, restless and demanding some type of food within the next several minute or things were going to turn ugly. Being burned out on Burger King, sick of Mc Donald’s and utterly unimpressed with Wendy’s, there were only two choices within a three mile radius; Jack In The Box and Wienerschnitzel. Having grown tired of the Jack In The Box commercials and extremely slow wait staff I made a quick right hand turn into the Wienerschnitzel parking lot and gazed over the menu. Hot dogs, burgers, fries and corn dogs – something for everyone!

The brood were less than enthused to be once again carted out of the vehicle, they had assumed we would get our food to go and be done with the red and yellow colored building that was more than just a little on the “loud” side aesthetically. They knew it was coming … Come on guys, let’s eat here, they have free refills. I am a sucker for free refills, especially when they have fresh brewed ice tea.

The Basics

I judge a fast food establishment on several different things; cleanliness, selection of food, taste, service, bathrooms and the state of the dining area. I’ll never go through a drive-thru unless I’ve stepped foot inside a place and checked out where my food is being prepared. Believe it or not, you can tell a great deal about a restaurant by the attitude of the employees, if the condiments and flatware is properly stocked and how much food is sitting under the warming lamps. You wouldn’t cook a meal at home and throw it on the counter for 15 minutes would you? So why should you order and pay for something that was made before you even entertained the thought of sitting down for a meal?

Realizing that you can’t write a good quality review from just one visit, I bribed the brood into the initial visit which was about 8:00 pm and during the lunch hour rush a few days later – roughly 12:30 pm. I have yet to make it there for the breakfast menu but I plan on doing so within the next week and will update this review accordingly.

The menu for Wienerschnitzel isn’t huge but there are enough choices so that you don’t feel cornered into ordering ‘the usual”. I didn’t notice any salads or fish sandwiches so this definitely wouldn’t be a place for vegetarians to gather and socialize. Hamburgers, Polish sausages, hot dogs, corn dogs and fries seem to be the staple of Wienerschnitzel so if these menu items are among your favorites, this might very well be a place for you to check out.

The beverages included the usual soft drinks and iced tea. Since we rarely drink carbonated beverages when we are out I didn’t pay much attention to the choices that were available but I did see Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Mr. Pibb [the west coast version of Dr. Pepper from what I am told]. The ice tea was fresh brewed and tasted great. Free refills are a must when dining out and Wienerschnitzel offers them providing that you have remained in the dining area or outside patio and it’s on the same visit. Sorry, you can’t come back three hours later and get a free refill and yes, someone tried that while we were eating.

The Dining Area

Overall it was clean but there were some ants crawling on a few of the tables. Now I know some of you will say how can it be clean if there are ants?. The answer is simple. People are pigs. They spill soda and never even stop to wipe it up, leave opened ketchup packets all over the place and don’t teach their kids proper table manners. I mentioned the little ant problem and it was almost immediately addressed by the manager who came out from behind the counter with a spray bottle and disposable rag – something you rarely see at a restaurant let alone a fast food establishment.

There were plenty of ketchup packets, sugar and sugar alternatives, salt, pepper and napkins near the front of the dining area. It was nice to see ketchup packets used instead of the squirt pumps, which are a breeding ground for fruit flies and ants. There were no salt and pepper shakers on the tables and I am assuming this is due to the fact that people tend to steal them.

Bathrooms

They weren’t the most luxurious or posh bathrooms but they served their purpose. The soap was a little too fragrant for my taste and I had to rinse my hands for a few minutes to try and get rid of the smell. The toilet paper and seat guards were well stocked but there was no cleaning schedule on the back of the door so I had no idea when the bathroom had last been cleaned. There was no baby changing area, which could be a definite strike against them if people with small children happen to stop by for a quick bite. I sent the boys in the men’s room to check out the situation there and they said it was clean, but a little stinky.

The Food

Since we only stopped two times we didn’t get a chance to sample everything on the menu but I know that the next time we stop I am ordering a chili cheeseburger – I can only imagine how sloppy that will be but aren’t your taste buds dancing with the though of a grilled meat patty layered with melted cheese and a thick glob of chili? If they were open 24 hours I might just head out the door and hit the drive-thru. I would have to say that their food is prepared much like other fast food places however you actually get something that somewhat resembles the picture on the menu – unlike Mc Donald’s that serves you a sloppy burger with the lettuce and tomato arriving a few seconds after the meat patty.

Chili Cheese Fries

These are one of the current promotions of Wienerschnitzel and in all honest- they are an acquired taste. I ordered these after having placed the order for out meal and received fresh french fries instead of ones that had been sitting for a while. I couldn’t really see any chili but it was there under a large glob of melted cheese. Personally, I don’t care for the fries since they are too skinny and most of the potato flavor and “meat” are cooked out of them when they are in the fryer. For .99 cents plus tax I got a rectangular box, fork, napkins and a nice case of heartburn. The chili isn’t all that spicy but it does have a little tang to it. If the fries were just a little bigger – meaning not sliced so thin – I am sure it would improve the overall taste.

Corn Dog

I am an official corn dog lover. Give me that batter dipped hot dog still piping hot from the fryer and I’ll be in heaven after the first tongue scorching bite. I didn’t find anything too amazing about the corn dogs at Wienerschnitzel, they were better than the ones sold at the deli counter at the grocery store but not as god as those sold at the mall in the food court. With the proper amount of mustard applied to the corn dog, it received six stars out of ten from this freak. I ordered two of these since they were on special for .79 cents [plus tax] and both of them were served hot, but not fresh from the fryer. Watch out for the last bite, for some reason the ends of them are rather hard and crunchy.

Hamburger Kids Meal

I was a little surprise by the size of the meat patty the brood received. Unlike most fast food places, you could actually see that it was meat and it covered the entire span of the bottom of the bun. The small fry and drink that came with the meal was enough to fill them up and the cute Wienerschnitzel toy [a zipper pull] entertained them for about five minutes.

Other kids meals include mini corn dogs, mustard dog or regular sized corn dog. These all come with small fries, small drink and a toy. The kid’s meals range in price from 2.29 to $2.59 so they are comparable to other fast food establishments in the price department. I couldn’t resist taking a bite out of one of the hamburgers to see how it tasted and to be perfectly honest, it was pretty damn good.

Chili Cheese Dog

For some reason I was addicted to 7-11’s 1/2 Pounder Hot Dog. You could add as much chili and nacho cheese to it as you wanted – which usually resulted in me sitting in the parking lot licking my fingers clean of the messy but succulent toppings. My son wanted a chili cheese dog – something he’s never had before. My kids aren’t the bravest when it comes to food experimentation and I asked him several times if this is what he really wanted. When it arrived he spent a good two minutes trying to figure out how to eat it – pick it up and dig in or eat the chili and cheese off of it with a fork then attack the hot dog. I knew that whatever method he chose, I would be breaking out the Spray ‘N Wash when I got home so I told him to just dig in an not worry about the mess. He said it was a little too spicy for his taste but he finished about 3/4’s of it before he gave up on it.

Weird & Helpful Links

In case you are wondering how many calories are in a Wienerschnitzel hotdog or how many carbohydrates are in a corn dog – check out this link for some nutritional advice. http://www.calorie-counters.net/hot_dogs.html

To receive coupons for Wienerschnitzel go to the website [http://www.wienerschnitzel.com/default2.asp] and head for the merchandise link. From there look at the information bar at the top of the page and click the ‘coupon’ area. The coupon / coupons will be emailed to you based on where you live – so print those puppies up and get ready to chow down.

I pondered this next entry, but since it’s inevitable I figured why not add it. For those people doing the Weight Watchers ‘thing’ here is a link just for you. http://www.healthdiscovery.net/restaurants/Wienerschnitzel.htm This will allow you to get you ‘points’ for food items. If you are on a diet I would assume that this would be the last place you would want to go, but hey, life is meant for living – not dieting.

The Bottom Line

As I sat back from having lunch at Wienerschnitzel I couldn’t help but wonder why it had taken me so long to stop and check the place out. Maybe it was the obnoxious yellow and red building. Maybe it was the fact that their mascot looks more like a cricket than a hot dog. Or maybe I was just too set in my fast food ways to try something new. Granted, this place isn’t anything life altering or orally orgasmic but in my honest opinion, their burgers are a little better than other fast food places and who can resist a thick corn dog? Certainly not me!

I’ll have to start paying attention to the weekly coupons that arrive in my mailbox on Wednesdays with the grocery store ads. I won’t say that this will become a regular stop when we are dining out but the are a slice above most of the other fast food places in this area.


As always, thanks for the visit!

^V^ Freak ^V^


© 2002 Freak369




Recommended: Yes