Ray’s Red Hots

Have enjoyed Ray’s Red Hots from their mobile cart at Ann Arbor Derby Dimes’ home bouts at Buhr Park. Both their No Dog (vegetarian) and Diablo Dog are tasty. The Diablo dogs are like potato chips– you can’t have just one! A mildly spicy flavor of jalapeño balanced with cheddar cheese in the dog leave you wanting another one. Yum!

As Americans, our soul sometimes cries out for hotdogs, and we must oblige. This urge hit me recently, and I decided to fulfill it at Ray’s Red Hots.
Ray’s is a hole in the wall kind of place situated in the middle of a college town and decorated with lots of American kitsch. I feel as though this type of environment is ideal when consuming hotdogs, though others may disagree.
For me, there were two aspects of Ray’s marketing that pulled me in: hotdog happy hour and the promise of real Chicago dogs.
The happy hour brings their regular hotdog and veggie dog down to about a buck. You can get a variety of toppings for free and some for an extra charge. Without the happy hour pricing, I feel as though the place leans on the pricey side for what you’re expecting, so watch out for that.
As for the Chicagoness of the place, I was a little disappointed. Their chili is advertised as being Vienna, but their Chicago hotdogs are not Vienna themselves. To those not from Chicago, this may be small change, but my fellow Chicagoans will want to be aware of this before shelling out extra money for a non-​Vienna dog (don’t worry, you can still get a poppy seed bun).
Overall, though, I really enjoy this place. The food is satisfying and of pretty good quality (I enjoy the slaw style toppings in particular), and its hard to beat the pricing of happy hour dogs.

2/​10, would not bang.
Red hot lovers used to be amazing. Since then it has changed management/​owners like 50 times and is now a shadow of its former self. The prices have gone way up, a regular hot dog is now like 3 or 4 dollars (compare to costco which is way better and includes a drink for 1.50), the service is really slow and not very friendly (the staff always had a sort of non mainstream punk vibe but rudeness is something else… or maybe I just got old. Well definitely I got old but still…) One of my favorite things there was always the cheese fries– waffle fries covered in a huge amount of delicious cheese. But they have definately changed cheeses and now skimp on it pretty bad. When I got a large to split maybe ¼ of the fries actually had cheese on them. Sad that a cultural staple has fallen so far.

I’m not normally a hot dog lover, but the dollar dogs here from 2 – 5 PM are the best deal in town! And the burgers are damn good. I’d recommend getting the sweet potato fries and loading them up with hot sauce.

Waited 25 minutes for a dog worth 1.25. All the while I watched 4 people receive their orders before me despite arriving after. Good music tho.

The chilly cheese fries, and milkshakes are to die for. The way they melt their cheese on top makes the fries a delectable treat. And a nice tasty chocolate cheesecake shake is the perfect partner for this awesome meal.
This restaurant is definitely Ann Arbors best kept secret. I don’t think any other restaurant in Ann Arbor has food, and costumer service like Rays. I felt welcomed like a friend from the moment I walked in to the moment I walked out. I’m defiantly coming back.
Pros: fast service
Good food
Nice employees
Great atmosphere
Cons: none that I can think of

Pros:
— Selection + # of combinations of milk shakes
— Fries
— Quaint atmosphere/​staff
Cons:
— Hot dogs are a tad forgettable
Best fit:
— Grabbing milkshakes

I had the Starvin’ Student Special, which gives you a basic hot dog with up to 4 toppings, waffle fries, and a soda for $ 5. They have a ton of variety on their menu, includes Italian and Polish sausages. I wasn’t super impressed with my meal, but I liked the fries.

Been going here for years now. They make some great hot dogs =). During the hours of 2 and 5pm they’re also the best deal on this side of ann arbor with their $ 1 hot dogs. Pick up two of those and a large drink for less than $ 5. Also recently they started accepting credit card orders! In store or over the phone you can now pay with a credit card!
Good people, good food and a nice chill atmosphere make this one of my favorite places for lunch.

If your want lousy coney island dogs look elsewhere! You will not find dogs of this quality without making them at home from meat deli style franks.
Ray’s dogs are franks are made from high quality ingredients, from poppy seed buns to homemade coleslaw. Their frankfurters have firm casings and are delicious in flavor.
I have seen complaints about prices, but dogs start somewhere around $ 2.50, which costs only a little more than gross miniature-​diner dogs. Rays dogs are as good as it gets, and a great value! If you’re thinking of stopping in, go for it!

Cool throwback décor! Stepped in after a long day and the lonely person working the counter was super friendly, even letting me know that after a certain time, I think it was 9 or 10pm, they have a special for hot dogs for $ 1 each.
The person fixed my hotdog for me, it was fresh and fast and easily portable in its container. I was in a hurry at the time but I would like to come back sometime to enjoy the decoration and the other stuff on their menu.

Hot dog! Well, not quite. I know my dogs. Im not a competitive eater, but I have taken down 20 dogs in my glory days. I can probably do about the same here with these small guys. But for the price, Ill pass.

The Chicago No Dog is insane… I bribe myself with it when I have to do something I don’t want to do. It’s so good!
Love the Reggae music playing in there too! Chillin…

It was much better under the old ownership.
The quality is down, the atmosphere is destroyed, and the prices have gone up.

wow wow wow — can’t believe theres such a little spot like ray’s red hots !
this place is an epic classic spot in the a2 !
i’ve really only eaten the chilli fries and fries plain — typically drunk as well.
they aren’t the best waffle fries of my life — but they get the job done of what a waffle fry is. they aren’t too crispy or too salty or too undercooked.
the chilli is not like coney chilli — its like beans and chunks of meat and tomatoes

Had a Mighty Dog and an Italian sausage from here last night as a late night snack.
I have always subscribed to the idea that hot dogs can only be so good… but Ray’s Red Hots really is better than grocery store quality!
I think it’s the bun… the soft poppy seed bun is such a nice touch.
Anyway, I think it’s sort of expensive for what it is, $ 9.50 for two hot dogs? But still, it’s really worth trying if you’re in need of a quick, yummy meal.

Saw the sign for Ray’s Red Hots and thought… «I could eat one of those». Turns out they have quite a selection of «Gourmet» Hot Dogs and trimmings. I went for the Chicago Dog and it was good… Just not real good. I think I saw enough and don’t need to try again. It was just OK and a little pricey. Only 2 stars and I probably won’t be back…

If you like hotdogs, don’t eat here. Eat, instead, at Wise Guys, Zingerman’s, or even Amer’s.
Here’s why this is not the best choice:
1. SMALL HOT DOG. Compared to the size of dogs at Wise Guys, this is unimpressive. This is a standard-​sized hot dog (without casing), but for the price, it’s pretty eh.
2. SOGGY, LIMP BUN. The buns fell apart while we were eating.
3. MEDIOCRE FRENCH FRIES. We were happy for waffle fries, but they were over-​cooked, and completely unsalted. By the time we got them, added salt, and tasted, they were just «eh.»
4. OVERPRICED. A hotdog with simple toppings was $ 4.25. For a mediocre hot dog, that is just too much. For what you get, a price of $ 2 – 3 is more appropriate.
5. THEY ONLY TAKE CASH. It’s time to accept credit cards. Besides, their hot dogs are expensive enough that the usual merchant complaint of card-​for-​under-​$ 5 doesn’t even apply here.
6. DINGY INTERIOR.
And for those fellow celery-​haters out there, be careful, they put celery salt on hot dogs without telling you!

Went here for the first time 2 nights ago and was deeply dissappointed by the quality of food/​restaurant. The Sausage was average, the fries taste like regular ruffles, and the cheese on top of the fries wasn’t done right. My Girlfriend had a rueben dog and she said «it was ok, i could of made this at home, to me that’s enough said. Probably will never go here again

Went back to Ann Arbor for the Commencement weekend, Obama + 70C weather + great friends = amazing weekend! Not to mention when I found out Red Hot Chili Lover is open again! Though the restaurant is now white + red instead of yellow + red, the resemblance to OSU can’t possibly help the business…
So, lazy Sunday afternoon, we decided to give Ray’s a shot. Will the new owner stand up to the name /​reputation as THE Hot Dog place-​to-​go in Ann Arbor?
Upon entrance, nothing appeared to have changed (I still despise the White + Red exterior, as any true Wolverine should be). The counters are still greasy and the black chalk board menu featured favorites like the Slaw Dog, Chili Fries and other greasy details. The service was a lot better though, the young kid behind the counter was eager and friendly, taking our orders nicely & even served the hotdogs at our stand!
Taking a bit into my seemingly smaller Slaw Dog, I was happy to see the quality hasn’t changed. The slaw was fresh and chilled, without excessive mayo (like all the other coleslaw which I hate), and with enough crunch to satisfy my desires for the old Red Hot Chili Lover menu. The chili fries were greasy as the norm, but hearty and freshly fried!
They seemed to have updated their fountain selection, with a new Gold Peak Ice Tea dispenser that now features 4 flavors!
All in all Ray’s Red Hots still featured the popular dogs with the right oomph and diner-​style stands. I loved that the service is 300times better, but cannot justify a 4star with the Red & White paint! Common, you know Maize & Blue is the way to go!