Johnnie's Grill

While on a storm chasing trip last weekend, I was searching through the restaurant listings in El Reno, OK and checking out the reviews on Yelp. El Reno is not a large town, although very quaint in nature. We decided on Johnnie's Grill because of all the rave reviews it received on Yelp. The only bad ones were about not going during the rush hour because service was lacking. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon when we stopped by and there were only 4-5 other tables of guests in the place. Just having burgers the night before, we decided on the famous coneys. The Hubby ordered his with chili and cheese and I ordered mine plain, along with a large side of tater tots to share. This was after we were assured they were all beef hot dogs (we don't eat any pork for health reasons - that stuff is ridiculously bad for us!). A short time passed when one of the cooks brought our food by - Greg's was smothered so we couldn't see the hit dog, but since my were plain, we got to see the actual meat and we were so glad we did. The hot dogs were PINK. I was shocked and astounded. I asked why they were pink and he said it's a color that the distributors inject into the hot dogs.

Why do hot dogs need to be colorful?

I told him I could not eat them and neither could the Hubby since we have food coloring dietary restrictions for our health. Neither of us are allergic to food coloring, but there is honestly no need for it in our food. People say we eat with our eyes, which I agreed, but food can be just as colorful naturally. Pink hot dogs that were supposed to be all beef? Ummmm, no.

Service was cordial, but no smiles or helpful suggestions. I'm sure questions and requests like ours (no pork or food coloring) don't happen very often. Management should really train their staff to be more open to the needs of the guests and respectful. The whole thing felt off some how - couldn't really put my finger on it. To add to the feeling I had, they did not accept debit or credit cards, cash and check only. I know some Mom and Pop places are like that due to the fees credit card companies charge, but I also know the less ethical ones do it so they don't have to claim all their sales. I'm not saying I know the facts, just stating my opinion. Something didn't feel right to me, and we were glad to leave that place and find another restaurant to share our business with. Zero stars for food and service for Johnnie's Grill. Disappointing to say the least.