Zimbe Dogs (Anderson, SC)

206 W Franklin St, Anderson, SC 29624

Zimbe Dogs is a small hole-in-the-wall just outside of downtown Anderson, where you order through the window. They serve a broad variety of hot dogs but also burgers, wings, and various sides. The owner is friendly and very entrepreneurial, telling me all the specials for the next day.

I get a Chili Dog ($2.50), a Fire Dog ($3), and a Mammoth ($4). The Chili Dogs is just a hot dog with chili, which tastes a bit too sweet. The wiener is a overpowered by the bun. The Fire Dog turns out to be a Chili Dog with some crusted Fritos Flamin' Hot Flavored Corn chips on them. Tastes largely the same, just crunchier. The Mammoth is a sloppy joe, in this case a soft and sweet bun with yet the same chili. I’m happy I added jalapeños to it, as it is too sweet for me.

VERDICT: 80/100

Old school hole-in-the-wall with decent hot dogs and broad selection of other stuff. The chili is a bit too sweet for me though.

Billy Meadow's Station (Colbert, GA)

 6729 GA-72, Colbert, GA, USA

 

Billy Meadow's Station is a big house/shack off the GA-72 that serves only a few items: grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, coleslaw, and various chips/crisps. This notwithstanding, it has survived for a long time and I found out why today.

I get a Chili Dog and a Chili Slaw Dog (together $5.70). The bun and "dog" are pretty standard, except that they grill the buns on both sides, giving them a bit of a smoked flavor and nice crunch. Both dogs come with relatively light ketchup, mustard, and onions , but it is the chili that makes the difference. It has an excellent flavor, bit sweet and bit smoky, which means even a relatively modest amount does the trick. The slaw is chunky and not overly mayo-y, soothing the taste.

 

VERDICT: 92/100

I now know why Billy Meadow's Station survives: it does a simply thing really well. This is exactly the type of place this blog is about. Will be back for sure!