Since 1976, as a Grand Rapids, Michigan mainstay, Yesterdog has delighted locals and tourists with their hot dogs. Yesterdog hot dogs have no special, secret sauces, no extravagant recipes, just great tasting dogs with delicious add-ons. Inside the kitschy restaurant, the fun, charming ambiance is free.
Award-Winning Dogs
Not merely a friendly eatery, Yesterdog has garnered the Gold Townie Award a multitude of times. Grand Rapids Magazine included the Best Hotdog category in 1991. Yesterdog has won that award every year since the category’s inclusion.
Toss a Tip
Inside the whimsically decorated restaurant, guests are treated to an array of vintage posters and signage from the 1930s and ’40s. Other period pieces include an antique jukebox and an ornately designed hand crank cash register. Instead of a standard tip jar, customers can toss their tips into an amusing “tip target,” which is an old-fashioned gramophone horn. The fun challenge is just one more quaint element of Yesterdog’s charm.
A Little Extra Fame on the Side
In addition to having served such public luminaries as Senator Levin and Janet Jackson, Yesterdog was somewhat featured in a 1999 movie. In the smash hit comedy American Pie, written by Adam Herz and co-directed by Paul and Chris Weitz, Herz’s High School days are comically chronicled. In real life, he attended East Grand Rapids H.S. In the movie, the town of East Grand Rapids took on the fictitious name of East Great Falls. In the film, Yesterdog was renamed Dog Years.
A Menu to Love
Naturally, Yesterdog features catering services. Well known throughout the area, Yesterdog has a huge following with frequent requests to cater birthday parties, picnics, office parties and luncheons, graduations, weddings, rehearsal dinners and even retirement parties. Americans love the taste of good old-fashioned hotdogs with all the trimmings, and Yesterdog literally brings it on!
Their menu is minimal and easy to select from, and includes:
- Yesterdog: Chili, Onion, Mustard, Pickle, Ketchup
- Ultradog: Chili, Cheese, Onion, Pickle, Ketchup, Mustard
- Cheddardog: Chili & Cheese
- Veggiedog: Cheese, Kraut, Onion, Pickle, Ketchup, Mustard
- Krautdog: Kraut, Pickle, Mustard
- Killerdog: Chili, Cheese, Kraut, Onion, Pickle, Ketchup, Mustard
Each is a delightful dive into hotdog heaven. Drinks and chips are also available.
Customers who purchase a Yesterdog T-Shirt are urged to send in pics of them wearing it as they travel around the world. Many are featured on their website.
Well worth a visit when visiting the East Grand Rapids, Michigan area, Yesterdog is indeed a local culinary treasure.