Chris' Famous Hotdogs — Restaurant in Montgomery

The hot dogs at Chris aren't really anything special. The frankfurters and buns are of a quality approximately what you would expect to find at a New York city hot dog cart, which is to say you aren't really asking many questions. Chris makes them unique by adding a generous portion of their chili sauce, which is nice but nothing mind-blowing. The main appeal for me is the building itself - weaving your way to the counter, wedging into one of the seats, and watching the utter chaos that these people put up with on a daily basis.

You have one burner and one flat top situated right at the end of the counter. One lady's working the burgers on the flat top, and another lady's putting the dogs together. Despite this cramped space, they can really crank them out - if you're in a hurry, you can get a couple of dogs ready to go before you finish paying.

And that guy you're paying? He's working the one register in the place, handling takeout orders, working the counter customers, and making change for the servers that are handling the booths in the annexed dining rooms that were added some time in the last 75 years. There appears to be no set structure for handling orders, nor does it look like the restaurant is capable of putting such a structure in place - servers are constantly running around, the line cooks stop to work the register if the manager is refilling a drink at the counter, and things just generally get done.

What does seem to trip them up is ordering a side. The fryer is all the way in a room in the back, and requesting a side of onion rings or fries will increase your wait time by an order of magnitude. They can't really speed up that process, though, nor would I want them to try; just something to keep in mind if you're in a rush.

Chris' is a piece of Montgomery history, good for a quick (really quick) lunch, and the dogs, while not extraordinary, go down pretty easily. It's worth checking out...

Chris' Hot Dogs is a Montgomery institution. Open for 100 years as of 2017, it's a piece of the city's history! We were excited to stop by and try it on our way home to Huntsville.

Like many other reviewers have noted, the restaurant has seen better days -- it's rather dirty and grimy and funky inside. However, that doesn't bother me too much. Dives are fun! But if that's not your thing, stay away.

We were surprised to see that waitresses actually take your order. Totally expecting to order at the counter. There appeared to be two women working tables. Ours was a bit slower and less friendly than the other, but she still did a fine job and our food came out quickly once we placed our orders.

Chris's offers hot dogs, hamburgers, tenders, fries, onion rings, and homemade soup. They're famous for their hot dogs, so that's what we got.

The prices are still pretty good. My parents split a two hot dog combo, I had one plain, and my boyfriend had a hamburger/hot dog combo. The hamburger was fresh and pretty tasty; note that it's a little on the small side, like many old timey diner hamburgers.

Everyone liked the hot dogs well enough. Nothing eye-popping or wildly delicious, but just a good, solid dog. They remind me very much of the red dogs popular in the Carolinas. No casing, disconcerting bright pink color...yum. My parents thought Chris's sauce was unique, sweeter than they were expecting, but enjoyable.

The onion rings were better than the fries. The fries were extra greasy, tasted like they'd come from the freezer, and some of the larger crinkle cuts were under cooked, and therefore hard and mealy in the center.

While Chris's doesn't really wow on its own, it's definitely worth a visit to soak in a piece of Alabama history for a...

I took my wife to eat here today because she used to come here with her grandparents over 60 years ago. She told me how good it was and how good the chili was that they had there. When we got there and went in, the place was in horrible condition. When we got someone to wait on us and we got a seat, the cushions in the seats were worn out and the springs felt like nails sticking into your backsides. We were sitting where we could see in the kitchen, the floors were horribly dirty and there were French fries laying on the floor. We ordered 2 hotdogs apiece with everything on them and my wife ordered an order of onion rings and I ordered an order of French fries. Our food was ready in about five minutes. The French fries were nearly burnt and the onion rings could not be eaten because they had been cooked so fast that they were not done. The hot dogs were horrible, the buns and the sauerkraut and the chili sauce was not even warm or heated up. The meat did not have time to cook and it was not warm either. This was the worst meal that I have ever had in the city of Montgomery. How this restaurant gets by with the county health department with its dirty and filthy kitchen, I cannot understand it. To top it all off, they bring your food to you in disposable plates that are too small and plastic forks. As far as condiments go, they have bottles of Winn-Dixie mustard on their tables instead of a high quality mustard. This was my first and last trip to Chris's Famous Hot Dogs. It probably was a great place to eat in back in the old days, but I would not let even my own hound dog eat...