I think about a world to come where the books were found by the golden ones, written in pain, written in awe by a puzzled man who questioned, "What are we here for?" All the strangers came today and it looks as though they're here to stay.

-David Bowie "Oh! You Pretty Things"

Monday, July 19, 2010

Yesterdog


So far as I know, Yesterdog is the only restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan that people across the nation and perhaps the planet may know of. If you need evidence, all you need to do is set foot in the door. For as long as I can remember, the walls of Yesterdog have been covered with pictures of people wearing Yesterdog t-shirts while exploring the vast world beyond its wall: The Great Wall of China, The Colliseum, Delaware...

I find it hard to believe that there exists a person in West Michigan who doesn't have some amazing experience from visiting Yesterdog. One of my favorite days of my youth was going to Yesterdog with my good friends Elliot Mayo and Dave Rogers only to hear a lippy Yesterdog employee berate a man who changed his order some five times after his food was cooked. The employee repeatedly called this man a RENOB, which I later learned was the word BONER backwards.


Yesterdog is good, cheap and sloppy. Something something something my women. Am I right?

Possibly the best creation to come out of Yesterdog is called the Ultradog. It's a hotdog with chili, cheese, onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. I often order a couple of these and satisfy my adult fixation on sauerkraut with a Krautdog. While perusing Yesterdog's web site, however, I found that there is an elusive hotdog called the Killerdog which is essentially an Ultradog with sauerkraut. If this dog really exists I cannot know. It certainly has never made its way to the wooden board that I order from. This would be the best kept secret in Grand Rapids were it for real.


Yesterdog
1505 Wealthy St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506

2 comments:

  1. The Killerdog is real. There are a number of secret dogs that are only known to the seedy sub-hotdog culture of eastown. An old favorite of mine is the Yesterslut--a yesterdog, with two wieners (go figure). The workers will fulfill the order and give a silent nod of approval if ordered correctly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My girlfriend just texted me asking what I want to do today. I think "getting a Yesterslut" has just moved to the top of that list.

    ReplyDelete