On a recent trip out to the  Cumberland University football home opener, we were looking for something new as far as restaurants go.  After having perused the reviews on Urbanspoon, we were very intrigued by a new place, Cori’s Dog House.  Having been raised on Oscar Meyers with mustard and/or ketchup, but hearing the anecdotal stories of Chicago dogs, Pinks hot dogs, and other unique concoctions, it definitely seemed worth a try.

Not being able to decide between the more extravagant or traditional type dogs, I ended up starting with a Chicago Dog and the dog house’s fresh cut fries.  The traditional toppings made for more than I mouthful, but I felt up to the task.  So, where does one begin?  The dog itself was an all-beef Sabrett that featured a slight garlicy, beefy taste and most important of all, had a great pop from each bite due to the casing.  The toppings of tomato wedges, sport peppers, dill pickle spear, etc were each tasty in their own right, however the only thing I might remove next time would be the neon-green relish.  Just a bit too sweet for me, but I can see how folks would swear by it.

Another result of me never being able to decide is having eyes bigger than my stomach.  I also decided to give the Cincinnati (chili, ketchup, cheese, and onions – though I chose to go without those) a try.  The chili is very different from the Texas style chili I’m used to and featured a thick, meaty texture with a light hint of cinnamon.  A special thing to note at Cori’s is their use of New England style rolls that are buttered and grilled on the griddle before being filled with your choice.  The result is a crispy, buttery, soft texture that I could eat all by itself.  Cori’s also earns extra points for offering fresh cut fries, that are crisp on the outside, and light and airy on the inside.  Most places don’t even try to do those right, but even fewer succeed.

If hot dogs aren’t your thing, Cori’s Dog House also has sausages and sandwiches.  Since Sarah doesn’t eat hot dogs, she decided to try a chicken sausage.   The sausage had was full of apples and had a nice maple flavor.  Instead of french fries, she opted for fried pickles.  I think the breading had dill seasoning in it, which amplified the taste of the pickles.  The breading also contained a liberal dose of cayenne pepper.  The flavors were divine.

Will we be the next one’s on the Wall ‘O Wieners????? I doubt it, but we’ll definitely be back!