That dog don’t hunt.
Sorry, we wanted to like Yummy Dogs. We were excited, even, when we heard about a hot dog place opening in downtown Laguna Beach with an arcade to boot. Wow, what’s not to like?
Well, let’s start with the dogs.
At $10 a pop, these are not cheap hot dogs for the after-school crowd that was originally pitched to the city.
But OK, it’s downtown Laguna. There’s rent to pay. Let’s see if they’re worth $10.
At first glance, they are attractive. We got the Chicago dog (mustard, onion, tomato, pickle spear, sport pepper, sweet relish, and celery salt). Presentation is good, but what is that skinny thing in the center? Is that the dog?
It’s more like a puppy.
We expected a fatter weenie.
Despite all that, the flavor is good. The ingredients are fresh and tasty. It delivers on the “gourmet” label, but at $10, it better.
There are cheaper options – sort of. A “plain” dog is $8, but if you want any toppings, they are $0.50 cents each. You can do the math. Ouch.
There is also a Laguna Beach High School special for $8. Students can show an ID and get a plain dog, chips and a soda for $8.
But overall, the prices are steep. A mac-and-cheese hot dog (a dog with mac and cheese on it) is $11. A breakfast dog with eggs is $11. A corndog is $6. See the full menu.
So what about the arcade?
Meh.
It’s a small space, so this is not Dave & Buster’s. But why waste it on THREE of those grabby claw reward games?
Perhaps the highest profile game is Minecraft Dungeons Arcade. For Boomers, this won’t mean much, but to the youngins, it’s a decent game.
Other than that, there’s really nothing to speak of. No classic games (Ms. Pac-Man, Tetris, Asteroids, or Donkey Kong). No air hockey or pin ball.
There’s no other way to say it, the arcade is boring.
Again, we wanted to like this place, so we don’t take joy in writing this review.
We strongly suggest they revisit their pricing and swap out some of the games. Maybe then we can recommend it.
