I grew up with Tastee Freeze, the first soft-serve ice cream I can remember. I loved that you could…read moreget your cone "dipped" in chocolate or butterscotch. They also had pretty good burgers and hot dogs. The chain started in Illinois, and at its peak had over 1800 locations. There are only 22 stand alone spots now, 6 in Virginia, 1 each in North Carolina & South Carolina. We were on our way back from Richmond when I saw this little place, and we swung to grab a snack. We ordered a cone of Vanilla, and a Chili Dog. The chili dog was very good, but the ice cream was outstanding, as good as we'd remembered it being!

We rented a cabin at Staunton River State Park and were looking for some ice cream and found this…read morespot within 30 minutes of the park. Our 8 year old girl got a banana split and really enjoyed it. Our other 8 year old girl got an Oreo milkshake and said it was as good as Dairy Queen. Our 5 year old boy got a cone with chocolate ice cream in a chocolate shell and really enjoyed it. I got a Reese's Cup blitzen and it was very good with the vanilla ice cream and Reese's Cup mixed in and was hard. The blitzen was way better than Dairy Queen. My wife got a hot fudge brownie and there were two brownies with vanilla ice cream in between. She said it was good but the brownie could have tasted better. Overall, we all really enjoyed it. It is now call Sundae's Restaurant now which was why our phone map app didn't recognize "Tastee Freez" when we typed it in.

I'm not sure why I love Carolina hot dogs like I do, but I do. And I'm on a never ending quest for…read moregreat Carolina-style hot dogs--not all hot dogs here in the Old North State are Carolina dogs. Discussing my passion for great dogs, my aunt mentioned a grill in the back of a convenience store in Butner. I set out around lunch time one Monday to see if her recommendation would make the cut. Her food has always been fabulous, but some time in the 80s, she married a man who preferred canned biscuits to her perfectly made biscuits of love. But I'm digressing again, as I'm apt to do. Anyway, I had to ask her a couple of times to be sure I'd know I was in the right place. The convenience store has gas pumps and apparently a car wash. In fact, the only signage I could find was "Tom's Car Wash" along the side of the building. There is a restaurant attached, but that's not the grill I'm reviewing. Once inside, it's a typical convenience store, circa 1975-80. It's not an old country store, and it's not a bright and shiny Family Fare. It's local and friendly. Lots of folks seemed to know each other, and to be honest, I probably knew at least five or so folks they know, but I decided to be in cognito. The grill is in the back. It's mostly to go, but there are two tables. If you want sweet tea, you can purchase it at the grill, but if you want a Coke or anything else, you have to purchase that at the convenience store check-out and buy your food independently. The grill serves several sandwich-type items and a main dish or two a day. I was there for the hot dogs, though the idea of home-made chicken and dumplings was rather tempting. Their hot dogs are regularly the best priced I've seen in the Triangle in a LONG time. Less than 1.50 per hot dog, including mustard, slaw, chili, and onions. But I hit it just right. On Mondays, hot dogs are just 99 cents! I can't say these were the best hot dogs in the world but they are pretty darn good, and the price just can't be beat. The location is a bit out of the way, but if you find yourself in Butner with a hankering for a darn good Carolina dog, you know where to go.

I was pleasently supriseded to find the premium gas here last week, cheaper than the other stations…read moreby almost 0.25 per gallon? They may have just been been late on price changes, but it was still a treat!

That was a fun evening. The team there was fabulous and treated us like friends. Good selection of…read morebeers and food at reasonable prices. But the staff made the difference between an ordinary evening and a great time. Will come back if we are ever down here again.

I visited The Backyard Brews and Bites as part of my effort to get a hot dog in every county and…read moreincorporated city in Virginia. BBB was my Mecklenburg County stop. We arrived around 11:30 on a Sunday and a crowd was just starting to build. You park and walk around the back of the building (backyard...makes sense) and enter that way. We each got a hot dog, a bottled soda, and we split an order of pretzel nuggets then took a seat outside. The food is brought out to you. It was the beginning of fall and just a perfect day to be outside. It didn't take long before our food arrived. I think we both wished all the food was a touch hotter. My friend would have preferred spicy mustard on her dirty dog as opposed to yellow (in the New York style) and a touch zippier sauerkraut. My speckled pup was LOADED and, while everything tasted really good, the bun didn't stand a chance. A sturdier bun that was slightly toasted would have made this a perfect dog, imo. The pretzel bites were fine. A good enough side order to split. I preferred the mustard and my friend preferred the beer cheese, so we were both happy. The outdoor space is really pretty cool and I bet it's a great spot for live music on nights and weekends. Would recommend.

Great service, hot dogs and ice cream. Make sure you have cash. They only accept cash.read more

Dairy Dell is the place to go for great hamburgers and incredible desserts. You just can't beat it!"read more

I stopped in here because the parking lot was full and so I assumed they must have really good…read morefood. I ordered a double bacon cheeseburger with fries. This place is definitely not fast food, took nearly 15 minutes just to get a burger and fries. I was expecting it to be phenomenal after waiting so long, but the burger was very plain and had very little flavor. And the fries were undercooked, they weren't crispy at all. The prices are good, but I really don't think I would waste my time coming back here again.

Good food and good service. Had a Carolina hot dog. Chili was good. Slaw was ok. I prefer it cut a…read morelittle smaller. Cute little hole in the wall that was pretty busy. Nice area to eat inside.

Great hotdogs and friendly service! Will definitely return and check out the bar next time.read more

I was craving a hotdog after dropping my daughter off at the airport, and we decided to give this…read moreplace a try. The Carolina dog was spot on, and my husband got a spicy sausage dog, which he really enjoyed. But the best part was the conversation!! We sat at the bar (had a really good Long Island Iced Tea) and chatted with the owner and his wife for a lot longer than we had planned. I'm definitely bringing my whole family back to this place!! Something this great just has to be shared!!

This was a great experience and the cause that it supports for the community is amazing…read more The location is simple to access and as very well maintained/clean. The staff greeted me as soon as I entered and within a few minutes someone became available to take my order. Pricing was reasonable to me with the cost of food today. Everyone was friendly and ensured my order was placed correctly. The wait time wasn't bad either - I was in and out in no more than 15 mins. You can tell everything was made fresh. The food was packed with care for travel - made it easy to enjoy later without mess. Each hotdog had great taste. You could tell it was of good quality - not the cheap chicken hotdogs you get from some places lol Will definitely be back!

We loved this spot!! We visited 1.5 ago after a trip to Myrtle beach and still talk about this…read moretheir food. Originally, we were stopping by to see the Whirligig Park but ended up dining in. Everything we got was delicious!! We ordered 3 hotdogs and 2 Mac and cheeses. The service there was so welcoming and kind. The owner explained her mission to provide job training to adults with disabilities. It was very clean and family friendly. This place is definitely one of our stops when driving to Myrtle beach.

Great taste, but too messy. Loved the flavors, but the toppings kept falling off. Still, one of the…read morebetter hot dogs I've had!

if one is as into seeking great hot dogs as I am, one goes where ever the trail leads - even to the…read morefront of a Lowe's Home Improvements store in Cary, and this trip was definitely worthwhile.. There Jim Rivers has been setting up his steel hot dog stand for nearly 14 years now, and is there almost everyday beginning at 11:30 - he misses some days because he also sets up at the North Carolina State Fair each year. He steams his weiners - Red Hots (neon red Southern weiner)for $1,50, Nathans All Beef for $2.00, Jalapeno (with the pepper already in the weiner) for $2.50, and a Sausage dog, also for $2.50. His toppings(whatever you want at no additional charge) include mustard, ketchup (ugh!), chili, onions, slaw, mayo (double ugh!), cheese, sauerraut, red onion (foo foo), and relish (we get visitors from the far north). The Red Hot is your basic Southern Chili dog with a weiner of questionable parentage, chile, onions and/or slaw, on a nice, soft bun. This is a very good hot dog. The chili is not home made since the All Knowing, All Seeing Wake County government has decided that only brick and mortar restaurants can prepare such items in their duly and regularly inspected kitchens - this apparently is true even if the rating is not particularly good. Jim uses Patterson's Grand Slam All Beef Chili, which is available in 5 pound tubs or #10 cans. This is very good commercially prepared chili, right up there with Matinee brand used by Allen & Son in Chapel Hill. The Nathan's All Beef hot dog with chili, mustard, and Jim's slaw is an outstanding slaw dog - one of the best I've tried, and I've tried more than a few. The quality of the weiner reals comes thru, and is very well showcased by the soft bun, tasty chili, and not too sweet mayo based slaw. On my next visit, I'll try the Jalapeno dog and the Sausage dog instead of the All Beef - well, probably in addition too it. Jim is friendly and personable, the service is quick, the pricing reasonable - there is no seating available, but sitting in an airconditioned auto munching several dogs ain't at all bad.

Food was awesome and made fresh quickly and owner was really nice and helpful too…read moreThey have the best hotdogs in town!!!!

My favorite lunch quick grab on my run on errands any given Saturday or Sunday. Make sure you try…read morethe spicy sausage plain, my topping choice just speaks to how good it is. And they're very friendly everytime even when I have came at the last minute to order. The fresh lemonade is always a good add on as well. They are typically located at Lowe's Thursday 11-4. Make aye you stop by.

We usually call in an order on our way to picnic at a park. Our last time I called repeatedly. No…read moreone picked up. Lucky's was open but staff would not answer the phone. We placed our order for bacon cheeseburgers with lettuce and tomato at the service window. While waiting we couldn't help noticing how dirty the surroundings were. At the pickup window we were told they didn't have any bacon. When we opened our burger at the park neither had lettuce. Very disappointing.

I've been going to Lucky's for 60 years starting when I was about 3 years old. I have very fond…read morememories of their hamburgers and ice cream. It has gone through multiple owners over the years, but it still has the best soft serve ice cream, sundaes, milk shakes, and real banana splits. It's near Kerr Lake/Kerr Dam on the Virginia side. I highly recommend it!