402 E. Highway StreetThere’s nothing like delicious quick fried chicken. There are so many days I go to the Shell station on the corner of Michigan and Westnedge because they have Chester Chicken. It’s always ready. It’s always hot. It’s cheap and it’s quite tasty.
My colleague and I were driving through Vicksburg last week on our way back to Kalamazoo. We didn’t plan on stopping in Vicksburg but I was thirsty and I got an idea for lunch.
I knew there was an old IGA Store across the street from the high school that has a deli inside. I stopped in there a couple of months ago to check it out but there was a wait on the chicken because it was after the meal rushes. I just grabbed a Pepsi that night and figured I come back on my next stop through Vicksburg.
The Dawg House is on the corner of Highway Street and Davis Avenue on the southeast side of town across the street from Vicksburg High School. The little building is an old IGA store that used to be known as Fink’s Butcher and Deli Shop.
The small grocery store doesn’t have a lot of groceries anymore. There are still a few things but most of the business is cold drinks and hot food. The floor is pretty wide open with one rack in the back of packaged food and drink coolers lining the open walls.
The deli is in the back with the hot food in to the corner. There is a menu written on a chalkboard hanging on the wall to the side of the warmer cabinets. I stopped in for lunch this time so there was a large selection of chicken and sides to choose from ready to go. The lady working the counter mentioned a couple of specials for the day but I was there for the chicken.
I ordered the two breast meal which comes with two sides and a dinner roll for a little over $8. I grabbed a couple Pepsi’s out of the cooler and paid for it all at the cash register near the front of the store. There is a place inside with a few tables that you could sit and eat at if you wanted to but we needed to get back to the office so I took my Styrofoam container of chicken back to Kalamazoo.
I started with the chicken as soon as I got back to the office. I was a little shocked at what I found. It was really good. The chicken was crunchy, and juicy, and there was a seasoning salt of some sort on it that just really made it pop. It was similar to the crack seasoning so popular in Lansing but it wasn’t put on nearly as heavy as they do over there. I was really just expecting typical greasy fried chicken but I can still taste this chicken a week later and I’m still kind of craving it.
For my two sides I chose the potato wedges and the mac and cheese. Neither were anything special but both made the meal very filling.
The wedges were cooked pretty well. They were crispy on the outside but light and airy in the middle. Sometimes you get raw centers with wedges this size but that was not a problem here. They were cooked all the way through.
The mac and cheese was…just kind of there. There was nothing wrong with it. It just didn’t have a ton of flavor. Pretty simple cheese sauce and standard macaroni noodles. Basic but tasty and filling.
The chicken from The Dawg Pound was quite a surprise. It’s amazing how something as simple as a little seasoning can really make the flavor of something so simple become something so memorable. The sides were just on the OK side. Simple, basic sides, but nothing to write home about.
I drive through Vicksburg more than I realize and The Dawg House will definitely be on my radar next time I roll through town.