Denmo’s Snack and Dairy is located on south Main Street in Southbury and has been serving the area for over forty years. I heard mixed feedback about the food, but I kept reading a few positive anecdotes on their hot dogs, and given its proximity and my build-up of internal curiosity I decided to drive to check out the burgers, dogs and fries. While it was an not extraordinary experience, it was a decent visit. There was nothing wrong with the food, per se, but there was nothing good about it either. It was basic burgers and dogs with a couple of bright spots.

When I arrived, I saw the chalk board menu with lots of additional items from the on-line menu. I first noticed a significant difference. While the website still touts the “foot long” dog, the chalk board eliminated any reference to a quantifiable dimension, but now stated “long.” I ordered with relish, mustard and sauerkraut (this is “the works” less the raw onion). I also ordered a single cheeseburger with fried onions and a side of fries.

The dog – The chalkboard is correct, the foot-long is gone. The dog juts a bit from both ends of the roll, so my guess would be a 10”. The roll is a New England meets Texas toast that has been nicely griddled on the exterior. The mustard, relish and mustard were nicely applied. The dog, itself was split and there was a bit of a char. On first bit I was non-impressed. There was nothing to speak of on the flavor from. No smokiness, no saltiness, no pop, no nothing. It was a mildly bland dog. The mustard was not Gulden’s but some run of the mill variety and I would guess the somewhat tasteless relish and kraut were as well. There was nothing bad, just nothing good.

The burger – I have to commend Denmo’s on the preparation. The meat was loosely formed into the patty and even given it’s 4-ounce pre-cooked weight, they were able to have a tinge of pink in the center. Likewise, the cheese was nicely melted. The taste was, or should I say tasteless, aspect, of the burger was its downfall. Again, nothing bad, just nothing to really like. Now here is my one “I liked” and it was the grilled onions. They were very flavorful, soft and the highlight of the visit.

The fries – if you want to talk about zero love, think these out of the freezer, into the oil, fries. No seasoning, no nothing. My guess is some middle schoolers were assigned to the frier and they were tik-tok’ing. And Denmo’s did not help by offering the cheapest ketchup packets their purveyor could sell them.

Overall, I checked the box, went to Denmo’s, tried their burger, dog and fries and can move on. While others may enjoy the treats, I will probably not place on my return list.