Hot Dog Ranch — Restaurant in Pittsfield

From the hundreds of amazing reviews, my partner and I expected so much better...

When we drove up to this restaurant, we noticed a lively cute outside seating area, but no seats were available, so we opted to sit inside. It was like pure night and day between the two. Inside was awkwardly quiet, dull and sad feeling inside.... there was no sign about seating, or the etc, so we waited a minute or so. The waitress told us we could sit anywhere we'd like. We sat down, and then it was about 3-5 minutes before we were greeted at the table.

One waitress seemed new and overwhelmed. The other waitress was nice and took over the room a little bit. Our waitress greeted us, was friendly and nice! When we got the menu, we were surprised there weren't many actual hot dog options...... hot dog ranch, you'd think there'd be quite a few hotdog options...

We ended up ordering plain mac & cheese, plain baby hot dog, fried chicken sandwiche, fries, and chili cheese tots.

The pictures are quite deceiving..

The baby hotdog was excellent, with a great flavor on the hot dog, bun, and great snap to the hot dog.

I read so many reviews about their mac & cheese being the best people have ever had; sadly, for me, this was the most bland mac & cheese I've ever had in my life... typically, I don't have to add much salt or pepper to my Mac. I had to add more salt and pepper at least 3 or 4 times to give it some sort of flavor...

The tots were good. The chili was decent to me, but my partner said he felt like it was burnt & canned chili. The cheese sauce was somehow already super cold once it was at our table.

The fries were regular fries

My partner got the fried chicken sandwich, and he said sadly it was one of the worst he'd ever had. It was just a frozen chicken patty type sandwich, and half his bun was burnt.

Overall, the atmosphere inside felt sad and awkward, the waitress we had was very nice and friendly, but I don't think we'd return.... between half cold food, bland mac, and bad chicken sandwich..... great hot dogs, but not many actual hot dog options. I'd vote to take all the rest of the items off and become a true hot...

I was in today, lady at the bar completly rude. Terrible customer service from her, her name is heather. She snatched a keno paper out my aunts hand. Continuously giving looks, not acknowledging her customers, eating, chatting. Looked over at us and then went back to what she was doing as she could clearly see that we were there. Called tried to complain , asked for owner manager wasn’t in. Then the girl goes and gets someone and says that he is the manager, then by the end of the conversation he claims he is the owner. couldn’t even get a “my apology “ ended up as a “I’ll talk to her later “ and he is very”busy” she treated her other customer very differently and had a complete personality change when we came to be served. The manager or whatever he is was very UNHELPFUL and completely disregarded what was said and showed no care whatsoever. Completely astonished by this customer service smh! I’ve never had problems with this place, I’ve had some rude bartenders but not as rude as this one. Also have had a fair share of uncaring managers but this one was utterly rude. Very unprofessional. If that guy that claimed he was the owner is actually the owner I can only his staff. I see why the staff is rude as well, waitresses completely different so kind...

A neighbourhood standard. This place has a long history - generally full of families and locals who know the menu inside and out. The big story here is small 'Hungarian' style hot dogs served with cold beer. While not as spicy as the ones you would find at a place like Tony Packo's Cafe in Toledo Ohio - these are honest and served with pride. We generally eat at the bar - often mid day on a weekday or weekend. There is a lot of television / MA lottery activities above the bar - understandable for those who love sports - but I always find it very distracting and unnecessary. This is no calm oasis. Also, given its age and construction, the place is a bit stuffy but there is an outside patio option (also more functional, less natural in its setting). Pittsfield has a distinguished history as a working town, and this place is so much better than your typical fast food options. Also proximity to gas and u haul (for antiquing, or road tripping) can't be beat. True relaxation and Shaker history / culture is just a few more miles West on 20 (W Housatonic Street) and Highway 41 West from here is one of the most lovely...