Sunday, July 11, 2010

Tony Packos

Lady Lake, FL/ Anytown, USA

Tony Packos is a Toledo, Ohio restaurant that gained national attention from the T.V. show M*A*S*H as the place Jamie Farr (Corporal Klinger) raved about. We came across this Tony Packos restaurant in Central Florida after being told about it by one of our readers. Now be warned- this review may not be an accurate review of the original chain in Northwest, Ohio but it is the same chain with the same hot dogs. For such a nationally iconic restaurant to be buried in the back corner of a bowling alley was not the wisest of choices, but nevertheless, it needed to be reviewed. I had a pair of dogs which were the Tony Packos Orginal Hot Dogs. These were smoked sausage served under mustard, onions and their famous sauce. The dog itself, though not a true hot dog, was very tasty. A good firm snap to the casing and a good sausage inside. The sauce on top was very tasty as well, and I ate them just as they came-no other toppings necessary. Next time I have a Tony Packos, I will wait until I head to the greater Toledo area. C-

Atmosphere-
When we walked in the door at lunch time, we were the only customers, other than the sprinkled people bellied up to the bar. This Packos was themed to be sports bar-esque then at night it was set up with a DJ booth, dance floor and light show from the ceiling. Being the only customers, you would think we would have had great service. Contraire mon frere. Hopefully results are not typical for everyone, but our socially awkward server with the personality of a wet hot dog bun brought things out very slowly and did not even check on us. Bad things come in threes, right? Bowling alley hot dog place, dance club atmosphere, Revenge of the Nerds server. D

Value-
At $2.99 for the Tony Packos Original, this was worth the money. The dog is longer and thicker than a normal hot dog, but not quite the size of a 1/4 pound all-beef dog that many places serve. The sauce itself, which is sold in many grocery stores, is worth the price of the dog itself, so everything was saved with the cost. Maybe the cost is lower to make up for everything else. B+

Side Dish Jody says...
I ordered the taco salad which was bland taco meat, lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese and salsa in a deep taco shell. The taco shell was tasty and flaky but overall the whole salad was somewhat average. C

No comments: