I've been to Dockside Willie's a handful of times over the years, but after my most recent visit, it's officially time to give them their Yelp moment -- because something truly unexpected (and incredible) happened.
An adventure buddy and I decided to stop in on a gray, cold, rainy Thursday night as a little "you can survive one more workday" pep talk dinner. Dockside's parking lot is...let's call it ambitious in size (read: tiny and always full), so we parked across the street in the much larger lot and played a thrilling round of "cross the road during rush hour and hope for the best." Character building.
We arrived around 5:30pm and found it busy but manageable. We were seated quickly at a booth near the bar, and our server was fantastic -- super friendly, attentive, and on top of drink refills the entire time. No complaints there at all.
Instead of going the full entrée route, we decided to split a few things to maximize the experience. We ordered boneless wings in River Sauce ($12.95), 10 River Rocks ($14.50), a crab quesadilla ($16.95), two Diet Pepsis ($7.00 total), and a slice of peanut butter pie ($6.95) for dessert. Grand total: $61.86 before tip -- which honestly caught me a little off guard. For what felt like more of a "snack-style dinner" with no alcohol, it added up quickly. Just something to keep in mind going in.
As for the food, everything was...good. The boneless wings were big, saucy, and satisfying. The River Rocks were tasty, though they felt a bit smaller (and pricier) than I remember. The crab quesadilla was massive, but leaned heavily on cheese, onions, and peppers, with the crab playing more of a supporting role than the star of the show -- a little disappointing at that price point. Overall, solid, but nothing that really stood out as a must-have.
And then...dessert happened.
We ordered the peanut butter pie -- described as "super rich peanut butter filling on an Oreo cookie crust with Hershey's chocolate syrup and Reese's crushed peanut butter cups." And let me just say...this pie absolutely stole the entire show.
The filling? Unreal. Dense in the best possible way -- like, block-of-cream-cheese-thick dense. Packed with peanut butter flavor, not overly sweet, and a generous portion that made every bite feel like a commitment (in a good way). This is the kind of dessert that makes you stop mid-conversation and go, "Wait...hold on...this is REALLY good."
For $6.95, it was easily the best value of the night -- and honestly one of the better peanut butter pies I've had in a while (and I do not take peanut butter pie lightly).
Next time? I might flip the script -- grab a lighter (and slightly less expensive) dinner somewhere else and head to Dockside Willie's specifically for that peanut butter pie.
Because while dinner was good...that dessert was the real main character. read more