Pal's

Johnson City, TN

This particular Pal’s is located directly across the street from the East Tennessee State University campus. However, I did see another Pal's just outside of town. So I am not sure if this is a chain, or just a particular college town joint with a few locations. Here, a dog is a dog. You order a dog and it automatically comes with chili, which is a good start, but it just lacks something. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. All I could say is that it’s missing ‘something’. I imagine hundreds of college students and townies pound these all day long, but it wasn’t that memorable…other than the 15 foot hot dog on the roof. C-

Atmosphere- A drive through hot dog stand is a pretty rare commodity, so they get bonus points for that. To be on or near a college campus and survive for many years is a nostalgic bonus too, but I got the feeling that when alma mater come back to ETSU the first stop isn’t Pal’s. There is no internal dining, just a kitchen and drive through windows. Have I mentioned yet the giant hot dog suspended on the roof? C

Value- For what I would consider a ‘fast food dog’, it was a very good bargain at $1.49 each. They for sure mass produce dogs all day long and the attention to detail was not evident. For the most part though at a buck and a half you can only have so many thrills and frills. After all a hot dog wasn’t invented to be frilly. A-

Side Dish Jody says…Side Dish Jody was at home while I was visiting Pal’s, but you can see the entire menu when you look at the picture and Side Dish Jody wouldn’t have been impressed.