Opie's Famous Hot Dogs

If you have ever been to the Home Depot in Tyler during the day light hours you have probably noticed Opie's Famous Hot Dog stand conveniently located just outside. If you haven't seen them I guarantee you have smelled them, and if you haven't tried them what are you waiting for. We usually end up needing something from the hardware store almost every weekend, and we do our best to plan our trips around lunch time. It's become a tradition now in our household, it just doesn't feel like the weekend without an Opie dog.

(Katie just happened to lean in to apply the spicy mustard to her regular dog with onions just as I was taking the picture of the menu)

It's a cash only establishment and I would be lying if I said we haven't purchased something inside just to get the cash back to be able to buy our hot dogs but they are that good. Since you don't have a clear shot of the menu I will give you a run down. Katie has her usually, it's a regular beef dog ($2) with grilled onions (optional) with a bag of Nacho Doritos and a Dr. Pepper. Now I am a little more adventuresome with my choice of dog and I am not ashamed to say I have tried every single item on this menu. Usually I leave it up to the ones manning the grill to decide what looks the best at the moment and that's what I go with. Saturday it was a Bratwurst ($2.75), always with the grilled onions and spicy mustard.

If you are a first timer to Opie's, and you are headed there for lunch today after reading this post here is my ranking of every dog on the menu for your convenience.

1. Jalapeno cheese sausage ($3)


2. Hot Link ($3)


3. Bratwurst ($2.75)


4. Cheeseburger Link ($3, this one is strange, it's ground hamburger meat and cheese formed into the shape of a hot dog and grilled. It took me about 6 months to overcome to weird factor and try it, but it's pretty darn good)


5. All Beef dog (regular $2 or jumbo $3)


6. Polish ($2.75)


7. Sausage on a stick ($3, it's good but I prefer to eat my dog with a bun, and I wasn't sure how to make the grilled onions stick to it)

Chips are $.50 and $1.00 depending on the size bag, cokes at $.75 and a bottle of water is a buck. We can usually eat lunch for around $8 for the two of us including a generous tip to these fellas.

They were out there every day in the heat off the summer standing over a grill singing along to the ipod they have in one ear always wearing long basketball shorts and tall socks. They make us laugh. Since we frequent this establishment so often we feel like we have become friends with these gentlemen. They wave at us across the parking lot if we happen to stop by Home Depot during the week and occasionally ask if we will still come eat a hot dog when we are finished working on our house (like that will ever happen). Katie is more concerned about them leaving to find a real job once they graduate college. My hope is that they are going to school to study hot dog stand management and plan to take over this little place some day.

Opie's may not be your definition of fine dining in East Texas but if you are looking for a good quick meal on the cheap give if a try. So plan your next trip to Home Depot around lunch time and tell them the tall guy and cute girl who eat there every Saturday sent you. We are really trying to give this blog a shot and hope you are enjoying reading it. Our next post will be a DIY project over the weekend that includes this guy that has been laying in out garage for months. Stay tuned.