The hot dogs at Spike’s Hot Chicken and Dogs are all served on a perfectly grilled New England style roll. The hot dog itself had substantial flavor and a meaty, thick texture. The “All the Way Dog” featured mustard, onion, cheese, slaw and their house-made, all-meat chili. The overall dog was tasty, but the chili kind of overpowered the mustard and cheese sauce. The slaw had good flavor, it was not too sweet or too savory, but it would have been better if it was colder.
The crinkle cut fries had a very nice seasoning, which was not very spicy, but could have been a lot crispier.
“The Fat Elvis” is Spike’s signature dessert: two wonton wrappers filled with banana, peanut butter, oreos and chocolate, deep fried. Just like the hot dog, all of the flavors seemed to meld together and just tasted like one ingredient, in this case, the peanut butter. It was pretty heavy like all fried desserts, but nothing was served with it to counteract it. Ice cream, whipped cream, or even a little powdered sugar needed to be served on the side or on top to cut the thickness of the peanut butter.
Overall, Spike’s Hot Chicken and Dogs was an overall ok experience. There were only a few aspects of the experience that were particularly special. This leads me to believe that Spike’s is really best for the person who is only searching for hot chicken as a specialty. None of their other items were necessarily some to write home about. I had the Hot Chicken in the tender form and it came on top of white bread, this was something new to me, since I have never had Hot Chicken before. I ordered mac and cheese and green beans to go with my meal. Both were just ok, I do not think I even finished either. The green beans were a little too greasy for me and I have simply had better mac and cheese, than what they had there. The chicken itself was a different story entirely. It was delicious, with a great mix between spicy, sweet, and salty. I did not particularly like the addition of the white bread, but that is more of a personal preference. I got my chicken at about medium heat and it was perfect, with just the right of spice. Another aspect that I did enjoy was the brussel sprouts, I tried someone else’s order of them, and they were amazingly roasted and delicious. Unfortunately they were only a special at the time, but they were definitely the best side they had to offer. The experience was not just based on the food, however, it also had to do with the service. I felt that the service was lacking, even as we walked in, there were maybe 2 other tables in the whole restaurant and we still received mediocre service. The service along with the lack of advertising for the restaurant led to it being fairly empty, until later into the night. This is pretty sad since the restaurant has a great atmosphere and is decorated perfectly for their theme. In the end, the main reason to go to Spike’s is for the Hot Chicken, but they do not have much else going for them. They are a fairly new restaurant, so perhaps a reorganization of management, the adjustment of a new chef, and getting their name out there could seriously improve the Spike’s experience.
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