New hotdog joint in Riverside

[02roadking]

Anyone check these guys out yet?   http://www.alphadoggrill.com/#!

[ben says]

Walked by a few times...not a huge hot dog fan, but I'm all for new/different restaurants in Riverside. That being said, this idea seems more suited for a cart/truck catering to late night drunks, not a stand alone restaurant with a full service kitchen. While the name is ridiculous and the color of the building disgusting, I wish them well. Sad to see the authentic Caribbean restaurant go, though.

[John P]

That is a bad location for a restaurant.

[ben says]

That is a bad location for a restaurant.

Any reason why? I mean, I know 2-3 have failed there in recent years...but is it truly the location? Or is it poor management and half-assed business ideas gone awry? I know the Caribbean place had decent food, but the layout of the restaurant was terrible and being closed on Saturday kinda doomed them.

[5ptscurmudgeon]

$3.75 8/ lb. Hot Dogs $5.75  for the qt. lb. version. Hmmmm. I think we've eclipsed the most  expensive Manhattan pricing. No mention of any brand loyalty either. A must for us transplanted Yankees. Just calling it Kosher doesn't cut it.

[Dog Walker]

Someone told me that the "bright" colors were to represent ketchup and mustard.

$3.75 8/ lb. Hot Dogs $5.75  for the qt. lb. version. Hmmmm. I think we've eclipsed the most  expensive Manhattan pricing. No mention of any brand loyalty either. A must for us transplanted Yankees. Just calling it Kosher doesn't cut it.

Hard to top our own local Azar's for taste and quality.

[ben says]

Anyone actually eaten here yet?

[David]

The TU did a write up on it:

http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2011-12-08/story/dining-notes-alphadog-opens-riverside-serving-hot

As for the location,  it's just an odd layout. It feels like you're eating in someone's house and while some may find that charming, it doesn't do the trick for me.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The eat outside as I did today. 

I stopped by today for lunch, and I wouldn't say that it blew me away - it's a hot dog joint, but I can't sit here and say that I won't be back. 

In the words of Denny Green, "They were who we thought they were.  That's why I ate the DAMN hotdog!"

I had a philly dog (1/4lb beef dog, grilled onions/peppers/mushrooms/prov) that came with fries (hot, crunchy, awesome) for $6.  They have a few BoldCity brews on tap, 1901 for me ($4.75), so for $10 I had a good lunch with beverage + tip. 

For what it is, it's pretty good, and if you're heading back early from your King St. festivities, they're open until 2am on Friday and Saturday. 

I'd recommend trying it out if you're in the mood for something casual.

[RiversideLoki]

The TU did a write up on it:

http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2011-12-08/story/dining-notes-alphadog-opens-riverside-serving-hot

As for the location,  it's just an odd layout. It feels like you're eating in someone's house and while some may find that charming, it doesn't do the trick for me.

This was the chief complaint when it was "Bungalo on Barf" though. I kinda like cozy little places and never found the layout uncomfortable. Just "weird". I'll give it a shot this weekend and see how their dogs stack up.

[riverside planner]

I live around the corner from this place and honestly, I just can't get past the name.  I wish them well, but can't say that I will ever be able bring myself to eat at a place called "Alphadog".  The paint job is rather eye-searing as well.  Good luck to them.

[Lucasjj]

I just noticed this place for the first time last night when leaving European Street. I like me some hotdogs, but it is quite the march from the King Street drinking holes for me to make it a last call stop.

In the words of Denny Green, "They were who we thought they were.  That's why I ate the DAMN hotdog!"

From the looks of Denny Green, he said that a lot.

[peestandingup]

I dunno. The layout & color seems fine to me. Yeah, a little funky & it looks like a house, but who cares? Plenty of other southern cities have these same exact looking layouts & people are just fine with them. East Nashville & New Orleans comes to mind.

[ben says]

I dunno. The layout & color seems fine to me. Yeah, a little funky & it looks like a house, but who cares? Plenty of other southern cities have these same exact looking layouts & people are just fine with them. East Nashville & New Orleans comes to mind.

I agree about E. Nashville and Nola...that being said, those places seem to, well, fit in. Alphadog just sticks out like a sore thumb. And yeah, the name is terrible. That being said, like any small business in Riverside, I hope them well and wish they succeed.

[Brian Siebenschuh]

Had lunch there last week, I think it was like the second day they were open.  Layout is, yeah, really hard to understand.  They should have knocked out some walls and opened it up a bit.  The bar is way in the back, which I think is really going to hurt their street presence when it comes to being open until 2AM on weekend nights.  Food was perfectly acceptable.  Service was... well intentioned, but just not good.  Had to ask for salt and pepper.  Then napkins.  Then silverware.  Then ketchup and mustard.

But hey, based on everything I've heard, it can't be as bad as Domo Crepes :-)

I don't think the prices are out of line - a side of onion rings is like $2.50, and it was a massive plateful.  Unless you're starving, skip the apps AND sides - one of their signature dogs with the accompanying fries is a gut buster.