The Root Beer Shack is great! They have a wide variety of specialty hot dogs, including some really unique ones, and the toasted buns are very good. There are several other categories of meals on the menu, but I went specifically to try what my grandpa described as "the best hot dogs in the country." The root beer is delicious and refreshing.
What makes this place is the people! Some of the nicest service I have ever received in my life (on par with 5 star restaurants and Disney dining service, yes people, I said it!) and you know what, they deserve the credit for the hard work they put into that part of their work ?. Not only did they all remember my name, but they remembered it throughout my time there and it was over an hour. They're a very small place, but they came by to check on me, asked if I needed anything else, offered to top off my Root Beer slushy, asked how my meal was and everyone at the counter/kitchen said goodbye to me (by name) and wished me safe travels when I left. They make you feel like you're an old friend coming over for lunch. You feel sooo welcomed. And I saw them do this with every customer that came in. Kudos to the cashier because I never remember names. And it was a busy lunch rush. They kept the tables quickly cleaned and turned as well. Now, as far as the food is concerned, I would agree with a lot of other reviews that mention the hot dogs as being the best thing there. I'd never been before so I tried a chili cheese dog, a corn dog, chili cheese fries and slaw. The corn dog was on point. Loved it! The chili cheese dog was good too. What made it for me was the toasted roll they put it on, buttery and crispy! Love that they used freshly grated cheddar cheese on them too. For those of us westerners (like me), I wasn't sure what the sweet or spicy sauce choice was for the hot dogs because we would call that the chili. Well, it's sauce here. So I ordered my chili cheese dog as a dog with "sweet sauce" and cheese. Loved the "sauce" it wasn't really that sweet which was great. I love that you get a little container of mustard on the side instead of packets of mustard like some places provide, because I can dunk my corn dog directly into the mustard ? . I did not care for the slaw because it was chopped up too small for my liking and was no longer crispy at all, it was more on the mushy side. Some people might like that but I like mine with a little crunch and not so sweet. I miss that vinegary bite that is usually in coleslaw. This was missing that. As for the chili cheese fries, well, I'm sure the fries alone are good, but since they use fresh cheddar on their dogs I assumed that would be the case for the fries as well but instead they used a cheese sauce and that made for an incredibly soggy fry. And the cheese sauce was not like a nacho cheese sauce or a homemade roux based cheese sauce it was a thin, yellow colored kind of sauce that really had no cheese flavor. The root beer slushy did it for me, pure nostagia. Not a root beer float, but a slushy. Like when you were a kid and couldn't afford a 7eleven slushy so you put some soda in the freezer and took it out at just the right time so it was slush and not completely frozen, that kind of feeling. It was great! They do have a drive through as well. My sit down service was quick. They also have a dmall patio with seating but it had rained earlier in the day and still overcast so that was closed. Visit for the service, hot dogs, and slushies. All those were awesome!
Super friendly staff and awesome food. Their hot dogs are yummy.
Service was fast and friendly. Food was good and was exactly what we went there for. We ordered the Mackey which was 2 grilled cheese sandwiches with a hamburger between them dressed as you order. Also.had onion rings french fries slightly seasoned and a corndog! Price reasonable and food is well worth the stop! And then root beer float was killer!
Service is slow for dine in. Drive thru gets first priority. Had 2 hot dogs fries and drink. Root beer very good. Fries hot and crispy, very good. Hot dog, spicy sauce was good. Shame on the rest. Wiener was the smallest I have ever seen on a bun. Way too much bun for this tiniwieny. The onions finally bested DQ for worst. Huge nasty bitter hunks. Not worthy of price and tip I left.. should have waited on tipping.
There are better places to stop. Too bad you only get one chance to make a good impression. Spicy sauce is good. Quality of the wiener and size is poor. Should put two in bun or try to find smaller buns. Course chopped bitter onions made it worse. Fries were golden brown spot on. Do not dine in unless you are ready for an hour lunch. Very pricey for the quality.
The food was good. But kinda pricey for 4 cheese sticks. I have big kids it cost me a fortune to fill them up at this restaurant. Oh. This was the first time we had been there and I was so hoping they'd have Fried Cauliflower ? ? but they didn't. We didn't try any too dramatic. Taco in a bag and mozzarella sticks. So my advice would be atlest make a order if mozzarella sticks 6. Maybe lower the prices a little. I'd like to go back one day... just to try the hot dogs. Theres no good hot dog places in Parkersburg so maybe I'll try this place out again. Also would like to mention the service was very friendly ?
First time back since the recent change in ownership. We were not disappointed. I had a couple dogs with spicy sauce and slaw. The fiancée had the same with sweet sauce. The girl had one dog plain. We all split some onion rings and spicy fried pickles. 1/2 gallon of root beer slush to wash it all down. Made for a nice treat on a snowy day. There were no complaints about anything. My only suggestion would be to eat there or as quickly as possible as the nature of their food is that time does not treat it well.
Perfect dog. Chili and coleslaw. Chill and cheese. Added O rings, fries and root beer. WV has the best hot dogs and this shack represents. Can't wait to have an excuse to head South to go again
I have been eating here for years and always had great service and food. They now have new owners. we got a large order for multiple people. the pickle fries are undercooked soggy and disgusting the fried mushrooms are also undercooked and gross! so bad we could not eat them. We called just the let them know and the woman who answered the phone was rude and said there's a food shortage and said "I dont know what to tell ya" will not be back.