The River Dog Cafe is tucked back in a smaller strip of stores in Rocky River. Decided to check this place out on a Sunday afternoon. Looked to be two rooms to the place and one had a group of people gathered for a party. There was also a bar over there on that side but I never ventured back there.
I'm not a huge hotdog fan but it's in the name, so you've got to try one of their dogs. They've got about a dozen variations to try or you can build your own. I was drawn in by the Adam bomb, which is topped with brisket, bacon, and cheese whiz. It comes with chips and a pickle. I also ended up getting a side of chili cheese fries as well.
I had to laugh as soon as it came out. The "pickle" was literally a single hamburger chip pickle on top of the waffle cut chips. It must have been a particularly wet one because it made a bunch of the chips soggy and I'm not a fan when restaurants do this. The chips were my favorite part of the meal. The hotdog itself was just ok. The toppings were great. I wish I could have made a sandwich of that alone! Fries were nothing spectacular. Someone else has mentioned the chili being just 'meh' in their review and I agree. Was really hoping for more flavor or spice.
They really put me off when we went to pay for the tab. We bought the deal off of Yelp to pay $5 and get $10 off the total. They didn't want to honor it and said they weren't accepting those deals anymore. We had bought it online right before we entered the place. It's still available on Yelp now! Apparently a previous manager had started the partnership with Yelp and it wasn't agreed on by the current management and they weren't sure how to end it. Eventually they took it off for us but with a clear distaste. I appreciate the local vibe of this place but they could do better.