Two-Minute Review: Merle's

Small space, big taste.

Merle’s Hot Dog Emporium (3191⁄2 E. Walnut St., 417-862-3902) is everything you’d expect from a store that sits in a space reminiscent of a narrow, enclosed alley on Walnut Street downtown. Built for downtown dwellers hungry for take-out, most of the lunch and dinner menu is made up of hot dogs, sandwiches and things covered in chili. There are roughly 34 pieces of St. Louis Cardinals flair adorning the walls. (35 if you count the saying scribbled on the dry erase board menu: “Talkin’ bout my redbirds… Free.”) There are more countertop pastry display dishes full of St. George’s donuts (five) than there are seats at the small, in-store dining counter (four).

Merle’s serves all of its specialty hot dog in three sizes, with prices ranging from $1.99 to $3.99. If you don’t see a combination you like on a dog, most of the 22 toppings are only 25 cents each to add. I tried a flavorful Southern Sam dog, medium size, split and grilled on fresh bread with onions and peppers, pepperjack cheese, spicy ketchup and mustard and jalapenos. Add a 12-ounce bottle of Orange Crush soda and you’ve got a filling, hand-made meal for $4.52. Flavorful, spicy and much better than what you’ll find at the Hammons Field concession stands a few block away (but a lot more cramped).