7/29/13:
Stars: 4.4 out of 5
Pros: Décor, Service, Food
Cons:
I will admit the
following freely and with no shame, I devote 30% of my tv watching to sports
and 70% to Food Network. I can’t help it, I love food. I think one look at me
would indicate this. I can make no apologies. That being said, I follow the
places that Food Network ventures and strive to go there. One such place is in
the north side of Richmond. Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives visited Dot’s Back Inn
on one episode and I have been dying to go there myself. My friend AK was in
town so I figured now was as good as ever.
Dot’s Back Inn is
located in a quiet residential section of Richmond. It’s sandwiched between an
apartment building and what looks to be some sort of theater? I couldn't really
tell. Dot’s has a nice big front porch which looks out on the quiet street. It
is an ideal place to enjoy a drink late on a summer afternoon. Unfortunately
for us, the porch was full which led us to sit inside. Not that that is bad necessarily.
Dot’s Back Inn is
very much eclectic old school diner-esque. It is decorated like such as well.
There is a big long counter (I hesitate to call it a bar) that has old-fashion
bar stools. It doesn't have a ton of tables and I’m sure it gets packed on a
Friday night. The walls are covered with old posters, metal signs and the like.
It’s just a cool place to sit and look around. I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for
old metal John Deere signs. Dot’s has plenty of them and that hit me right in
the heart-space.
Our server was very prompt and polite. She provided us with menus and joked with us a bit before taking our drink order. She returned while we were pondering the menu. AK was pondering a bowl of chili as a starter. The waitress confirmed it was worth it. So, AK went with that and a steak and cheese sub. I went with a Mexicali burger (salsa, jalapenos & Provolone) as rare as humanly possible. I know that is not most people's bag, but I feel like you only really experience the meat when it's rare. We started chatting as the kitchen set about preparing our meal.
They were super quick with the chili, which is appreciated with a started. It came out covered in a bright yellow slice of good old fashioned American cheese. It was served with a side of tortilla chips which are perfect for dipping in the chili. Our first few mouthfuls had us puzzled. There was a flavor to the chili that it took us a minute to put our hand on. It wasn't spicy. It wasn't tangy. And I wouldn't say it was really sweet. More so just a different flavor. I am about 89% sure it was cinnamon and 11% unsure that it wasn't nutmeg. Either way, it lent a pleasing and not terribly over-powering taste to the chili. I would potentially get it again.
While we were finishing up the chili our waitress brought us our meals. They smelled very good, I'll say that much. The steak and cheese sandwich looked wonderful. It was heaping with both steak and cheesy goodness. AK was very very pleased with it. It was big enough that she couldn't finish it. My burger was fantastic. It was rare to the point where it might have still been alive. I couldn't have asked it to be more perfectly cooked. There was plenty of jalapenos on top providing a nice heat to it. The salsa was not even noticeable, which was a bit disappointing. Overall, great burger. I was a giant fan and will certainly order it again.
The meal was excellent. The decor is old-school. The servers were polite and nice. Over all, Dot's Back Inn is the classic neighborhood joint that you should be sad that you haven't visited yet. It's the place you never think about going to, but you'll be glad when you remember it. Give it a try. Worst that happens is I was wrong... I'm never wrong.
Our server was very prompt and polite. She provided us with menus and joked with us a bit before taking our drink order. She returned while we were pondering the menu. AK was pondering a bowl of chili as a starter. The waitress confirmed it was worth it. So, AK went with that and a steak and cheese sub. I went with a Mexicali burger (salsa, jalapenos & Provolone) as rare as humanly possible. I know that is not most people's bag, but I feel like you only really experience the meat when it's rare. We started chatting as the kitchen set about preparing our meal.
They were super quick with the chili, which is appreciated with a started. It came out covered in a bright yellow slice of good old fashioned American cheese. It was served with a side of tortilla chips which are perfect for dipping in the chili. Our first few mouthfuls had us puzzled. There was a flavor to the chili that it took us a minute to put our hand on. It wasn't spicy. It wasn't tangy. And I wouldn't say it was really sweet. More so just a different flavor. I am about 89% sure it was cinnamon and 11% unsure that it wasn't nutmeg. Either way, it lent a pleasing and not terribly over-powering taste to the chili. I would potentially get it again.
While we were finishing up the chili our waitress brought us our meals. They smelled very good, I'll say that much. The steak and cheese sandwich looked wonderful. It was heaping with both steak and cheesy goodness. AK was very very pleased with it. It was big enough that she couldn't finish it. My burger was fantastic. It was rare to the point where it might have still been alive. I couldn't have asked it to be more perfectly cooked. There was plenty of jalapenos on top providing a nice heat to it. The salsa was not even noticeable, which was a bit disappointing. Overall, great burger. I was a giant fan and will certainly order it again.
The meal was excellent. The decor is old-school. The servers were polite and nice. Over all, Dot's Back Inn is the classic neighborhood joint that you should be sad that you haven't visited yet. It's the place you never think about going to, but you'll be glad when you remember it. Give it a try. Worst that happens is I was wrong... I'm never wrong.
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