W.Va. Hot Dog Joint Review

T&L Hot Dogs

Bridgeport - Meadowbrook Mall

Just like any other mall, the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgpeort has a basic assortment of fast food places to grab a bite when the urge hits on those hikes between the shoe store on one end of the mall and the electronics outlet on the other. You can get your cheesesteak sandwiches, pseudo-Chinese cuisine, pizza, and of course some pretty good hot dogs thanks to T&L Hot Dogs.

If you've had hot dogs at any of T&L's other locations, you've pretty gotten the idea of what they're like at other locations. With the high traffic volume the mall food court receives, there is a high turnover of hot dogs being served up throughout the day. As a result, you're more than likely to get fresher dogs and fries here than other locations. The buns are always freshly steamed to order, and the hot dogs are usually boiled to standard for even the most picky WVHD fan.

I would, however, question how fresh the slaw is. It tastes just "alright"; common sense would suggest that the slaw would be prepped the day before in order to ensure there was plenty available in such a high volume area. Probably the same with the chili too. Seeing as how they offer the large quantity pints and gallons of their famous mild/medim/hot sauces for sale, it's a safe bet they aren't as fresh as could be. But this is all just an educated guess; who am I to speculate? I've only been eating their hot dogs for years.

Ingredients aside, there is one major flaw for this location, and that is the price. While a T&L version of a WVHD goes for about $1.55 at most locations, the version here goes for a budget-busting $1.89. I'm sure there are higher priced hot dogs elsewhere in the world, but just about every HDJ in the area manages to keep the price for a WVHD down under the $1.70 range. Seems as though T&L has taken the initiative to pass along the cost of their overhead directly to the consumer.

T&L Hot Dogs usually rate four weenies (with a couple of locations scoring five weenies), but I can't allow myself to give this location more than three-and-a-half weenies due to the excessive price. I'm not sure if it's a first, but I'm deducting a half weenie from what should've been a four weenie rating for what sure feels like some undue price gouging. I think T&L would be better served to lower the prices at this location a bit. Then again, I'm just a paying WVHD fan with an opinion, right?