J Dawgs continues cranking out gourmet hot dogs in newest location
The "rated R" featuring a polish dog, sauce, onions, jalape–o pepper, banana pepper, sauerkraut and a pickle at J Dawgs in American Fork on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
A "double barrel" with two beef hotdogs at J Dawgs in American Fork on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
A beef dog with sauce, onion, pickle and mustard at J Dawgs in American Fork on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
If you are a person who has a hard time making a decision, J Dawgs may be the perfect restaurant option for you.
The most difficult choice to be made at J Dawgs is either which specific condiments to pile on your hot dog or which flavor of chips to get with your combo.
We stopped by the newest J Dawgs location, on State Street in American Fork, on a relatively busy Friday evening to peruse the spartan menu. We had actually attempted to visit a month or so earlier, but found the restaurant closed a few hours early with a sign apologizing for the inconvenience and noting that there had been such a huge run on “dawgs” that the supply of fresh buns were completely exhausted.
We get the impression that J Dawgs is often busy — and after one bite into a delectable hot dog Saturday it’s no surprise why.
But back to the menu. At J Dawgs, you order at the front counter. You bascially choose between a Polish or Beef hot dog for $3.50. You can add a bag of chips (several different flavors of Tim’s chips) for $1 and a fountain drink for $1.50. Or, get a combo (one of each) for $6.
After ordering, you slide around the counter and wait for your “dawg” to come up. When ready, the server asks what condiments you want on it (choices include pickles, onions, sauerkraut, banana peppers, ketchup, jalapeños, mayo, celery salt, relish and, of course, the J Dawgs special sauce, a sort of sweet-style BBQ offering). Once you get your hot dog, you can also put on mustard or some various hot sauces at a different counter.
The J Dawgs hot dogs all come with criss-cross cuts — the better to hold in the sauces. All we know is if you really love gourmet hot dogs, J Dawgs should be high on your list.
While the choice of a hot dog style is simple, deciding on your condiment options may be a bit more difficult. My own personal theory was just to pile on everything I liked. I opted for onions, banana peppers, mayo, mustard and the famed special sauce. It definitely worked for me. Everybody in our party tried something a little different. To each their own!
The restaurant is not huge, with seating for around 50. There was one flat-screen TV showing an NCAA Tournament game — the memorable upset of 2-seed Georgetown at the hands of 15-seed Florida Gulf Coast as it turns out — during our visit.
There were also three of American Fork’s finest (policemen) in uniform enjoying a dinner break. For all we know, J Dawgs may also be putting a dent in the local donut business.
The J Dawgs story is well-known locally, with the first shop opening in 2004 and being run out of little red shack just off the BYU campus by an enterprising student. A new and improved restaurant is now near the original site (858 N. 700 East, Provo), and a second location opened in Orem (287 E. University Parkway) a few years ago. The American Fork diner (80 N. West State Road) opened in August.
With spring upon us, tube-steak aficionados now have another reason to look forward to the dawg days of summer!
Where: 80 N. West State Road, American Fork, with other locations at 858 N. 700 East in Provo, and 287 E. University Parkway in Orem.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday (American Fork), and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday (Provo and Orem)
Prices: $3.50-$6
Info: (801) 763-9540, www.jdawgs.com