The Family Dog — Restaurant in Orono

Wife and I were up in Orono, ME for a weekend and decided to try out The Family Dog. It had a cozy atmosphere and the staff were extraordinary. When I visit a new place I always ask if there's anything on the menu that they believe is done better there, than at other businesses. The guy out back heard me and walked up, giving us some suggestions on his favorite items to make. After we ordered and received our food (which was amazing), he walked over to us with an extra platter of fries. At first we thought this was just something they did for their customers, but then he put 3 different dipping sauces on the table stating he hand-made two of them. They were amazing. If anyone sees this review, I 100% suggest you get the ranch dipping sauce they make. When we come back next year, we will stop in again...

Ok, so we are from West Virginia and frequently visit family in Maine. As West Virginians, we are hot dog snobs, but we really love red snappers! We were spending the day in Bangor and decided to try the Family Dog because it high ratings and it has a West Virginia Dog! We ordered a WV dog and a red snapper. The waitress said “what is a red snapper?” I’m sorry, I thought the red snapper was famous and MADE IN BANGOR!? Anyway, so we got some regular hot dogs with mustard and relish. The WV dog was well below average. The chili was canned which in my opinion is totally unacceptable. Total we got 5 hot dogs, 2 drinks, an order of fries, and an order of onion rings and it was $35!!!! This is crazy!!!!!

TLDR - food was well below average and the prices...

I've had the food here a number of times (mostly the dogs) and while "nothing to write home about" it's been tasty and fills the hunger bill ... (full disclosure): I mostly come in when I'm thirsty and the last couple of visits seems like I've been overcharged for my beers. Tonite I got four beers and the tab came to $36, before the tip. That's a bit high, "imho". I have no complaints with the staff, they're college kids, very nice and polite and doing their best with the random summer tourist crush that Orono is being blessed with (!), but either my math is off or I'm paying a bit more $$$ than I should on my bill. Otherwise...