OverBites: Woofie's Hot Dogs!

Here we go! The first restaurant in my OverBites: Eating Overland, MO series. What else would it be but a landmark: Woofie's Hot Dogs!

Woofie's has been around since the 70's, and you're very likely to know of it, or know someone who has fond memories there. The inside is lined with signed photos of celebrities who have woofed down the fanciful stand's all-beef wieners. The bright, kitschy exterior tells you everything you need to know. The weathering but still colorful, homespun interior is bound to entertain you while you wait for your order to come up. Sit at the narrow counter that wraps around the inside, or on the well-used concrete tables outside under the plywood hot dog-adorned awning. Or, drive through and bring your salty meat treasure somewhere to enjoy in private ;)

The classic Woofie Dog

I usually order the Woofie Dog, a take on the classic Chicago dog with bright green relish, onions, tomatoes, pickle and sport peppers. And, mustard, of course... the ketchup at Woofies is for the fries only! (Which are quite good... hot, thin, but not shoe-strings, dusted with seasoned salt, and portioned amply). The bun is always soft and adorned with cruncy little poppy seeds. The Dog itself is an all-beef Vienna dog, the kind that snaps when you bite into it. Perfect.

For this post, I ventured out of my comfort zone so I could tell you about the variety of encased meat creations Woofie's offers. I'm glad I did! I no longer dwell in a Woofie Dog bubble...

Corn Dog - fried to perfection!

The corn dog at Woofies is a good example of what a corndog ought to be. Served up piping hot, the Vienna dog surrounded by a crunchy on the outside, soft-and-moist-on-the-inside cornbread, that is just the right sweetness and has a bit of good cornmeal graininess. Dipped in mustard, this is a treat that will have you dreaming of ferris wheels and cotton candy (Woofie's has neither).

The Coney Dog is a glorious mess

The Coney Dog is smothered in a savory brown beef and bean chili, yellow cheese sauce, onions and (seemingly ever-present) pickles. This is a dog you gotta eat with a spork and knife (provided). Messy and satisfying. I don't normally like this kind of gooey yellow cheese sauce, but beneath the thick chili, wrapping around the dog, it really works.

Grab a cold root beer! It's the Fire Dog!

The Fire Dog has all the same toppings as the Woofie dog, but instead of the Vienna Dog it has a spicy Polish Sausage. I believe they deep-fry this red meat tube. It's got bite, but won't burn your face off. It will, however, rock your face off. Another to add to my regular order rotation (don't tell my doctor!)

Damn Right!

There are plenty more menu items... the Big Herm, The Kathy Dog, tamales, burgers, pastrami sandwich.... but I think I've whet your appetite to go try them for yourself. And let me know when you do... I can be there in 2 minutes!


1919 Woodson (or Woofson :)) Rd
Overland, MO

Introducing: OverBites, Eating Overland, MO

There is a definite correlation between the date I bought my first house and the date I started slacking majorly on this blog. Houses are very time-consuming...who knew? I love my home, but I miss blogging. I think I've come up with a good way to settle into my neighborhood whilst re-entering the land of the active bloggers...


That's right! A series on my favorite places to eat in Overland, MO, an unassuming, centrally-located, quiet little St. Louis suburb. And my new home.

You may be surprised on the quality and diversity of the food in this town... you may have OVER-looked it as a food destination. I look forward to bragging on it. But first? A bit of history.

Overland was first settled in the early 1820's by people traveling westward. Daniel Boone built a cabin here! It was a wagon train stop, hence the wagon imagery in my "OverBites" logo (we'll get to the hot dog in a bit). The original name was "Overland Park," but got shortened in 1919 to avoid confusion with the Kansas town of the same name.

Build-A-Bear Headquarters is located in Overland, as is the manufacturer of concentrate for Dr. Pepper! Cuddles and bubbles!

That's about the gist of it. Sorry, there's not much info out there that I can find, but hopefully I will learn more as I work on this series. As far as the hot dog in the logo, it represents Overland's most famous restaurant, Woofie's, which will be the subject of my first OverBites post. Stay tuned...