The Food Idea: Dotty Dumpling's Dowry

Most couples have a song special to them. This is almost universally known as "our song," the song that plays at that perfect moment, striking a mood that lifts the collective spirit and brings about a feeling of togetherness and romance in the duo. While we have songs we like to think of as tailor-made for us, "our song" is slowly being replaced by "our burger joint," Dotty Dumpling's Dowry.

Dotty Dumpling's Dowry (or just Dotty's, for short) is a burger-and-fries style restaurant with a solid foundation in the woodwork of Madison, WI. Based on the extraordinary yelp reviews (I feel like I use that phrase in excess), we checked this place out about three months ago for the first time. Our first impression was that the food was flat out incredible, and our opinion of the restaurant's quality has only improved since. The burgers are, in as appropriate words as I can muster, the proverbial bomb-diggidy. After our three visits, we've begun honing in on our meat-sandwiches of choice: The Melting Pot (a Smörgåsbord of cheese, meat and garlic) and the Gladiator (pretty much the same idea but with onions) for Clara and me respectively.

A cross-section of Dotty's "California Burger"

The food is all reasonably priced as well, leaving money in our university-standard budgets for other essentials, like food for the other six days of the week. A burger will generally run you about $7, and the fries (or any other side order) tends to be around $4 for enough for two or three people. Oh man, oh man- the fries. I haven't even mentioned the fries yet! Okay, so, brace yourself. I might just geek out here a little bit.

Dotty's. Fries. Are. Great.

Not just good, these fries are 110%, giant tiger mascot-worthy Great. Crispy but not without substance, always freshly fried, and good with whatever you want to put on them (we've had great success with the English Garlic sauce they prominently advertise). Furthermore, as an amateur chili-cheese-fry connoisseur, I will gladly place Dotty's chili-cheese-fries among the greatest ever to grace my taste buds.

Look how legit those fries are. Just look at them!

Above all else, Dotty Dumpling's Dowry is reliable. It's casual (but not too casual), it's consistently delicious, it's fast, and it's cost effective. In the end, though, all these factors are nothing compared to why I really love this place: because it's ours.