The best dogs on earth!
Written: Aug 25 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great value, great taste
Cons: if you blink you'll miss it
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| poseidon's Full Review: Colorado |
Hiding up in the foothills a mere 25 minutes Southwest of Denver on US Highway 285 is a little town called Aspen Park. This town should not be confused with Aspen, the world-renowned ski resort. No, Aspen Park is a hole-in-the-wall with nothing overly impressive about it. There’s a hardware store, a gas station, a feed store and a fire station. There’s even a City Market grocery store for the locals to shop at.
This little town is something that you would normally drive right by in your car, laughing to yourself at the local yokels who must live there, and saying while it has a nice view of some mountains that there’s just nothing special it has to offer.
And you would be very wrong.
As you’re driving by laughing, you’ll notice a parking lot that is bursting at the seams of a small yellow building with a hotdog on the roof. You’ll see a huge crowd of people standing outside, and a line of people pouring out the door and waiting in the street. It doesn’t really matter if it’s 90 degrees outside or 20 degrees. You’ll always see the crowd.
You’ll probably wonder to yourself if this isn’t the only restaurant for a hundred miles around – and if these local yokels are so stupid and inbred (think about the movie Deliverance) that they believe fine dining is hotdogs and tater tots on a park bench.
If you’d peek out the car window and check it out, you’d notice a few things.
You’d notice that the cars in the lot aren’t beat-up pick-em-up trucks with five colors of primer on the sides. Instead, you’ll see a Lexus or two, maybe a Mercedes, and certainly a bunch of new SUVs and pickup trucks. You’ll notice clean-cut people, young and old, waiting in that line. You’ll notice cowboys and road crews, people out on a day on the town – so to speak – you’ll notice $35,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and you may very well slow down.
After all, country bumpkins don’t drive those kinds of vehicles and generally don’t look like that, do they?
You see -- this town does have one real claim to fame. It isn’t nationally famous, but it should be. It isn’t even famous statewide, but that may change. If you go to Evergreen, Conifer, Bailey, Morrison or even in the western suburbs of Denver, everyone knows about the little yellow building off on the side of the road on Highway 285.
It is called Coney Island, and it will make you immediately think of the food stands at the county fair.
The building itself isn’t any bigger than a trailer. Once you eventually get inside, you’ll see its basically a hall on the left, wide enough to accommodate people, a counter in the middle loaded with just about every condiment in the world and a machine that’s cooking hotdogs, and a griddle and deep-fryer on the right. You’ll see two people behind the counter, desperately trying to keep up with the flow of customers. There’s barely room for the four small tables inside that could probably hold ten or twelve people in all.
Outside you’ll see a deck with four more tables. These tables work well in warmer months, and are pretty much worthless in colder months. However, you’ll understand that even with the deck open, you won’t find anyplace to sit down.
The menu won’t look impressive either. You have your choice of a regular hotdog, a jumbo beef dog, a foot long dog, chilidogs, kraut-covered hotdogs, french fries, onion rings, tater tots and burgers. There are a few sandwiches that are served as well, but they’re not why people flock here.
People come for the hotdogs.
These hotdogs taste better than anything you can grill at home does. They taste better than anything you’ll get at any ballpark does. They taste better than the one chain that is world-famous for hotdogs, Nathan’s. You will be convinced that if you go ahead and try it that these are the best hotdogs on earth.
And then you’ll be shocked at the bill.
The best hotdog on earth will cost you a measly $1.19. A drink will cost you another $0.99. Fries or tater tots will set you back another $0.79. In fact, the whole menu is priced so reasonably you’ll wonder just how they manage to stay in business.
The secret I’m sure is a simple equation of sheer volume leading to profit.
If you head on out during the lunch rush hours (probably 11:30-1:30), you’ll place your order and have it within five minutes. If you show up at off-hours, you’ll get your food much faster. It just isn’t possible for two people behind the counter to move any faster than they are already moving.
You’ll also get a smile and a “Thank You” from the staff. After all, they own the place. Their names are Lisa and Taylor Firman.
I don’t spend too much of my life eating hotdogs, and usually try to opt for something a bit more on the healthy side. I try to stay away from fried foods and the like, and unlike most men I prefer to sit down and eat a meal rather than standing.
However, knowing that Coney Island is a short drive away, sometimes that craving is overwhelming and I must hop in the car and take the drive into the hills. I’m all too happy to drop my guard for the best hotdog on earth.
There is no address for the restaurant, but their telephone number is 303-838-4210. Just remember they don’t take reservations!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
poseidon
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Jeffrey Schwartz
Location: Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA
Reviews written: 511
Trusted by: 1100 members
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