Food Review: Scooters Dawg House (Mentor, OH)

I don't usually start a food review with the goods first, but this is some serious culinary porn. Want to see more of this Super Dawg? Read on.

I had the opportunity to meet up with several Women On Wheels® members from Buffalo, NY on Saturday afternoon in a daytime journey to Mentor, OH. One of my friends who's a local to the area suggested that we try Scooters Dawg House (9600 Blackbrook Road, Mentor, OH 44060).

Its simple exterior only hints of the absolute goodness inside.

This corner dive has received multiple awards and is considered to be one of the best cheap eats in the northern Ohio area. I was about to find out why. After a few minutes waiting in line in a packed restaurant, I ordered their Super Dawg, their signature, pure beef hot dog smothered in homemade chili and sauerkraut. The dogs come in both regular and long sizes, and I went for the latter, a full 12" monstrosity of carnivorous gluttony. I threw in a "Junior" size serving of their fresh-cut fries and a bottomless drink for good measure.

Here's the Super Dawg with Scooter's smallest serving of fries. Yikes.

The weather was about as perfect as you could get in May right by Lake Erie so we ate lunch outside on one of their picnic tables. I don't know what else captures the essence of enjoying a hot dog than having one with friends on a beautiful day.

This Super Dawg required a lot of napkins, but was so worth the mess. The actual hot dog was a delectable 12" pure-beef wiener. I enjoyed the additional chunks of beef in their homemade chili which complemented the sauerkraut very well - and I don't even put sauerkraut in my normal hot dogs! That disappeared very quickly.

With the plethora of delicious toppings and preset combinations (custom orders welcome and unlimited condiments provided) I don't know how you could go wrong here. There's even a "Naked Dawg" for the purists out there - and with that fresh and distinct taste of a true beef hot dog, I don't blame anyone for just enjoying that.

This is, by far, NOT one of your ordinary hot dog stands. Don't come here and expect some off-the-shelf, generic taste (go to the food court at Costco for that stuff). And if you're a motorcyclist, it's one of the best places to take a break during a long ride or to cap one off with its easy-to-find location off OH-44.

I'll definitely add this to my list of delicious, cheap eats in Northern Ohio. Scooter's is a seasonal restaurant, so this is a MUST if you're up in this area between Spring and early Fall. The next time I come back, I want to top off my meal with one of their premium ice creams. Like a needed another reason to ride my motorcycle 170 miles one-way from Columbus for good food.

To check out their menu (and drool for a while), visit http://www.scootersdawghouse.com/.

Special thanks to my buddy in Mentor for the recommendation and the ladies of the Mz. Behavin' Chapter of Women On Wheels® for riding over from Buffalo, NY to enjoy this wonderful hot dawg stand with me yesterday!