Dining Guide: Chili Dog Express

Colby Mason has always loved to cook. He decided at an early age that he was either going to culinary school or opening a restaurant. In 2007, one of those dreams came true when he and his wife, Jessica, opened their first restaurant in Edmond, Colby’s Grill. And in March of this year, they opened a second restaurant, Chili Dog Express. Colby’s learned the secret that often takes years to discover: When you love your job, it never feels
like work.

Colby’s Grill serves up delicious home-style breakfast and lunch entrees. Whereas Chili Dog Express will tempt your palate with 100% all-beef American hot dogs topped with your choice of almost anything edible. Selections from Colby’s Grill inspired the Inferno Dog that’s topped with homemade relish, mustard, jalapenos, chili and pepper jack cheese and the Cowboy Dog topped with bacon, fried onions, cheese and barbecue sauce. Of course, old fashioned plain or chili cheese dogs are on the menu as well. An unusual but popular selection for children is the PB&J dog. “The previous owner said a lot of people bought it, so we’re keeping it,” Mason says.

They’re also keeping 50-cent Wednesdays that are a big hit among college students. “Being across from UCO, is a huge advantage for us. We have game nights with specials for the college crowd. Right now we have a dart game area and eventually we’ll have more TVs and a Wi-Fi sitting area,” Jessica says.

A hot dog eating contest also is planned for the future, patterned after the Rumble Challenge at Colby’s Grill. At Colby’s, if you can eat the 3 pounds of hamburger meat, 6 pieces of bacon, 6 pieces of cheese and a triple order of fries by yourself within an hour, it’s free and you get a free Colby’s T-shirt.

Mason’s favorite part of owning a restaurant is getting to know his customers and making food they enjoy. “I love seeing a customer’s smiling face. We have regular customers that come in once or twice a day. I like getting to know them. They know us and know our kids. Our customers are like family, we take pride in that. We hope some of our Colby’s Grill customers will join us at Chili Dog Express,” Mason says.

Chili Dog Express is located at 321 E. Second Street next to the UCO campus. They are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For take out, call 285-7011.

‘Like’ Chili Dog Express’ Facebook page for specials and event notifications.