Lil Gus's — Restaurant in Grottoes

Back in the mid 60s, when my dad ran the Sherwin-Williams paint store on Main Street in Harrisonburg, he would send me with a dollar bill to get 3 hotdogs and 2 sodas from “Jess’ Quick Lunch”. I would come back with lunch for both of us, and change. I understood that Gus Florio came to the United States from Greece back in the late 40s and opened this little lunch counter for the postwar Shenandoah Valley workforce. He had about 10 stools against a typical diner counter. When I was in high school (HHS) and on the wrestling team, we would go there and eat our weight in hotdogs after a successful match. Later when I became a house painter, working my way through college, painting houses and barns around the valley, I would go there for lunch. I was splattered with paint from head to toe, typically. Gus remembered me from my childhood and during that time frame would call me “Picasso“. He eventually opened additional locations around the valley and became a millionaire. Only one little franchise is left and Gus is long gone. It remains my favorite hotdog to this day: hotdog, catsup, mustard, onions and chili. Get a side of fries and a Coke and you are all set. The buns don’t seem to be steamed any longer but the unique Gus Florio chili sauce, remains the same. The location is a bit remote for those of us who live in Harrisonburg, but worth the drive. Ample parking, friendly waitstaff, comfortable and clean seating, and as always, one of the hallmarks of any Gus Florio restaurant, very quick service. Outdoor lawn dining and service are available, weather permitting. Highly recommended. To anyone else who grew up in another part of the country eating a different type of hotdog, I suppose a Lil Gus‘s hotdog would be unremarkable. But to me, the taste is an ancient memory and remains...

|||THIS WAS FOR A SCHOOL REPORT FOR CULINARY CLASS||| The restaurant that I had chosen to make a food critic report about was LiL' Gus's. LiL' Gus's is classified as the third generation of Jess's Lunch. It reminded me more of a bar than a place to get lunch or dinner, for how big the actual bar was compared to place to sit and eat. The time for the waiter to get to the table was about 5 minutes, and to receive the food was addition 10 minutes. Quality; the meal that I had chosen was chicken tenders and fries, it was great for the proportion size given. On the other hand both of my grandparents meals were about the same except for the toppings; which were two hotdogs and fries each,they were cold and hard. As I looked around the place, up front looked clean and tidy, but as soon after getting to the table it was sticky, the cushion for the booth had a hole/dip which made you feel as if you were sitting on the floor. The windows were covered in a yellow stain, also had cobwebs and dead bugs such as flys and stink bugs along the window seal. They had music playing in the front and also the back. The music in the front was apparently cranked up to full volume, because they didn't want to hear the people sing in the back to a entire different radio station. Service; the waiter seemed to be in a rush to get us out of the place when there was only three other people. In less than four minutes of having our food, the waiter was handing our bill for us to pay without asking if there was anything else that was needed. The value rating that my family had chosen was a two out of five, because of the quality and service that was given. I DO NOT recommend this place unless you want...

After 50 + years of eating Jesse's Quick Lunch dogs, I feel I am well qualified to review my first visit to Little Gus's just last week. I had looked at the photos online and one of the pics posted, showed a dog in a soft bun, smothered in chili (grease on the serving paper from the chili)...sadly nothing close to what my sister and I were served. We both ordered two with everything, requesting the mustard and ketchup bottle be placed on our table. As I was sitting in the bar, we sat inside, I could not smell the chili. I should have been able to smell the dogs/chili when I opened my car door! 😔 When we got our hot dogs with everything, mustard/onions/chili, I knew this what not a Jesse's dog. The buns were not steamed, in fact they were large, not fresh, and therefore nearly dry. There was very little chili on the dog, nothing like the pic I had seen online. The chili was the correct recipe, but was also dry with little or no grease. Lastly, once I bit into the dog, it seem boiled and not fried on a flat grill. It was very disappointing😥 If you want to attempt to serve a dog worthy of the name Gus Flores 1- Steam fresh buns 2- Whatever makes the chili greasy, add more and do NOT skim it off the top. 3- Cook/grill your dogs on a flat grill till well done. It wouldn't hurt to have one or two sets of mustard and ketchup bottles, instead of small, plastic, to go-like containers. Sadly, I cannot recommend this place for hotdogs until they buy a...