Dilly’s Corner

By guest blogger Emily Trostle

I’ve never been one to get excited over hot dogs and hamburgers, but there’s one place I’ll travel the distance to when I need to get my fix: Dilly’s Corner, on River Road in New Hope, is the place for burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and an overall good time.

Celebrating 25 years, Dilly’s Corner is always buzzing. Porsches, Harleys and SUVs all cram into the tight parking lot to experience this delightful blink-and-you-miss-it restaurant. There’s a covered patio with tables so you can sit out of the sun or avoid bad weather. For nice days, there are wooden tables placed around the parking lot.

For my spread, I got the Dilly Cheeseburger, Dilly Dog, a vanilla milkshake, and curly fries. The cheeseburger is a 1/3 of a pound patty, yellow American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. The awesomeness of this burger lies in its simplicity. It doesn’t sound too different from anything you might make at home, but the cheese is perfectly melted, the lettuce is crisp, the tomato ripe, and the onions flavorful but not overpowering. The burger is cooked just slightly pink in the center and is superbly juicy.

Then there’s the Dilly Dog. Topped with peppers, onions and French fries, this quarter pound hot dog is served on a toasted torpedo roll. I topped it off with a healthy serving of relish – because if I’m going to have a hot dog, it’s got to be the messiest hot dog for miles. (I admit I had to surrender to my plastic fork for the first leg of this adventure.) The fact that Dilly’s toasts the Dilly Dog’s bun is what really made it for me. Like I’ve said, I like my hot dogs messy. This usually leads to soggy buns that won’t support my hot dog toppings. The toasted torpedo roll manages to hold all those peppers, onions, fries and any additional toppings without fail.

Dilly’s is popular for its ice cream, as well. While I would have liked to have gone all out and gotten a sundae to top off my meal, I couldn’t justify it after the burger and hot dog. BUT since a milk shake is made with milk, and milk is good for you, well, a milkshake would be a good thing.

I’ve had my fair share of milkshakes, but there’s just something about one from Dilly’s that raises the bar. It’s more like really thick, creamy milk than watered down ice cream. It’s not so thick that you can’t drink it through a straw and for some reason it’s not so cold that it gives you a brain freeze.

If I could come up with a theme for Dilly’s it would be “keep it simple, but do it well.” I have yet to try their salads or veggie burgers, but I’ll bet they’re just as good as the burgers and dogs.

If you crave a good burger and milkshake and don’t want to deal with diners or sit-down restaurants, Dilly’s Corner is ideal. Or, if the entire family wants ice cream, pack them up and take the scenic drive. The grill is open most nights until 9, and ice cream is served until 9:30.