Big things in Springville

Many months ago James Grigsby posted a reply on one of my posts saying how he had discovered the Hot Dog Tour and have enjoyed the read. He went on to say; "I would like to invite you to my place in Springville, Al. We're 13 miles up I-59 from Trussvile. My place is called The Shack Burgers & BBQ. Although we're not "Dog" stand we serve what we think is one of the best around! www.shackburgers.com"

It took a while but I finally got around to visiting the Shack. He says 13 miles, but it's more like 30 miles from where Robert and I work out in Shelby County. The occasion for the visit was a short trip that the lovely Caroline and I were making to Chattanooga this past week. When we left it was getting close to lunchtime so we planned on getting something on the road. Our default stopping place is all too often "Chick Away" as one grandson once called it. I was able to convince her that we needed to find The Shack in Springville, so here we went. Caroline is a colon cancer survivor so her tastes in food are not quite as adventurous as mine, but she indulges me. It turned out that finding The Shack wasn't as easy as I thought. It turns out they have recently moved and the sign giving the new location might communicate to locals but not me. I had no idea where the old "Big Bolton's" had been. With a little assistance I found the new location up a side road very close to the I-59 interchange at highway 174.

Now for The Shack; this place is worth the time it might take you to get there. Their web presence is Here.
They have just moved into a much bigger building that they reportedly have already filled up on occasion. The Shack is run by James and Chauntelle Grigsby. James is the cook and really knows what he is doing. It clearly isn't just a hot dog stand and never was; but they fit very well on our agenda since they very clearly take pride in the hot dogs they serve.

The sign on their old location bills them as "The Shack, Burgers and Bar B Q". They also include south Louisiana Cajun food on their menu. This is an area they hope to emphasize as they grow in the new location. I just hope they keep their old products including the dogs.

I wasn't real hungry and knew that I would have a big dinner with a desert that night so I only ordered one chili cheese dog with a side of potato salad. It's good I only ordered one dog because it was giant when it came. This has to be a quarter pound hot dog topped with a very generous portion of hearty chili. Just take a look. There is no way to pick up this hot dog and eat it with any sense of decorum. I didn't even try but resorted to a fork and knife.

How was it? Outstanding! This is another unique product that the owner has clearly placed his mark on. I love it when I find the unexpected or unusual hot dogs,and this is clearly one of those. Then it gets even better! I had asked the waitress to tell James that the "guy from the hot dog blog" was there since he had invited us, so he came out to talk a little. As we talked he told me; "I want you to try our shack sauce,this doesn't come on the hot dog unless you ask for it." The Shack sauce is a Southern Louisiana style bar B Q sauce that is very sweet and spicy. I have never had a sauce quite like it, but it was sure good added to that chili cheese dog. Caroline had a chicken salad sandwich with a side of slaw which she reported as very good. (It's hard to get away from that chicken sometime).

Here are James and Chauntelle Grigsby the owners.

I wish them great success.

It is clearly worth a trip to Springville for one of these dogs; but I can hardley wait to go back some evening for a cajun dinner. Cajun food is another favorite of mine.

My advice to the reader is; "Go to Springville and try this place!" James knows what he is doing in the kitchen. They have made a big move and we should all want to make sure that this place makes a go of it and is around for years to come.