A Reminder from Rover

No, I don’t mean the Rover on the radio. I mean the chef-hatted mascot of Ilene’s Dog ’N Suds (above), who wants you to pay a visit to the classic Lorain County drive-in out on North Ridge Road near Route 57.

At least Ilene's is off to a good start this year. Every time I go by it out there in Elyria Township, it seems to be pretty busy. The carhops have confirmed this to me.

The scene out at Ilene’s about a week ago

I’m doing my bit to help. It’s only the first of May – and I’ve already eaten at Dog ’N Suds twice.

Actually, I carried out both times; I don’t eat there unless I have a newspaper or something to read in the car. Plus, one of the days was truly too wretched weather-wise to have the window open with the tray hanging on it.

Since coney dogs are always in rotation on the Brady menu at home, at Dog ’N Suds I tend to order the Texas Burger: a double-decker charco-broiled hamburger that comes with the signature coney sauce as one of the toppings. It’s kind of messy and it’s probably better that I eat it at home, where I can scrub up afterwards. Both of my sandwiches were great.

The menu boards at Dog ’n Suds are down this year, so the carhops have to do more ‘splaining to the drive-in customers to go over the menu. So as a public service, here’s the current Dog ’N Suds menu. (I couldn’t resist adding the classic Rover graphic.)

Anyway, there are only 14 Dog ’N Suds still in operation in the U. S., making Ilene’s outlet on North Ridge Road rather special just for surviving this long. 

So, if you want to enjoy some good food, and the nostalgia of having a carhop serve you, head on out to Ilene’s Dog ’N Suds.

A seagull was playing “King of the Hill” during my last visit