The Wienery

The Wienery happily inhabits a role long considered the underbelly of the dining world—the dive. These are the places where the entire décor budget seems to have been spent on greasy cardboard boxes and one 25-watt bulb in the hall that leads to the unlit stairwell that leads to the bathroom. People often assume that the food must be great (how else could it stay in business?), and eventually brave patrons leave either gleefully validated or sadly wrong. Such is the mystique of the dive. There used to be a similar corollary involving truck stops, but Stuckey’s put an end to that one. Fortunately, The Wienery holds true to its axiom, and, as the name implies, serves up some of the best hot dogs in town. If nothing else, with names like Hairy Brain, Mr. Sunshine, and Upsetter, it serves as cheap entertainment. Owner/impresario Pat Starr not only has a way with words, but dull-knife cookery as well. Simply pick your meat or veggie-dog option and trust that the “Cleveland” is indeed “Ohio’s favorite slaw dog.” Most who brave entry into this pinhole of a hole in the wall agree that $2.75 to $3.50 is a pittance to have such tasty creativity slathered between velvety white buns. They are just too busy enjoying it to say so.

414 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls., 612-333-5798, wienery.com