Published: July 05, 2007 05:41 pm      

GOOD EATS: More tasty meals to come at the Misty Dog Grill

SERVICE: Decently quick pick-up window service. It would be nice to have order numbers instituted; our burger order brought two groups of diners over to inspect.

FITS IN A LUNCH HOUR?: Fits easily in a half-hour, but taking the time to watch tourists board the nearby helicopters and balloons is fun.

KID-FRIENDLY?: Definitely. Spring-mounted horses and ample room to run in the well-kept greens.

AVERAGE COST: Just under $10 for a grill item, side and bottled iced teas.

RATING: B+

The Misty Dog is dead — long live the Misty Dog.

It’s a dramatic way of looking at what has happened to the iconic tourist-luring food stands in the heart of downtown Niagara Falls, but it’s also appropriate. The gigantic food menu, the soft-serve-shaped roof, the lure of sweet potato fries — the Misty Dog Grill and its dessert-serving sister, Twist of the Mist, are warm-weather institutions for locals and regular visitors alike.

So when a food fan read that the Misty twins were likely closed forever last fall and then, less than seven months later, bought and re-opened, he made it a mission to see just what, exactly, had changed.

The answer at the Misty Dog Grill is not a lot — at least, not unless one set down a major goal of getting through all 25 varieties of heavily-topped hot dogs. The menu is noticeably reduced, but the kitchen still turns out satisfying meals.

This reporter failed to photograph or otherwise document the formerly vast menu when it stood taller than he did, so a comprehensive report on what’s missing will have to wait. For now, fans can take solace in the presence of deep-fried pickles, a few familiar burgers and hot dogs and, thankfully, sweet potato fries.

I brought a co-worker with no prior Misty Dog experience along on a recent visit, and his first glance at the menu yielded an arched eyebrow. “Fried macaroni and cheese,” he remarked, “is something I have to try.”

He also opted for a Black and Blue Burger, ($4.29), a spiced patty topped with crumbled blue cheese, and I decided to cover the other side with a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich ($5.75) and those sweet potato fries ($2.95).

We waited about 10 minutes for our orders when there wasn’t a lot of business, but it gave me time to pester my guest with stories about how aggressive finches, nurtured for generations by clumsy patrons, will swiftly grab a few bites from any meal that’s left unguarded for even a second.

The sweet potato spears were fried to perfection, but served with a thin mix of honey and butter that seriously endangers light-colored pants. I had thought the previous incarnation served them with actual honey.

My companion and I agreed on how good the rolls were on each of our sandwiches, and he described his blue-spiked burger as “not a knockout, but not overpowered by cheese, either.” I thought I would regret my choice of chicken, but it was surprisingly tender and juked with just the right amount of hot sauce and veggies, meaning somebody keeps a watchful eye on the grill.

The fried macaroni and cheese ($2.75) comes packed in thick, heavily-breaded triangles. “It’s a serious appetizer, and you could probably just eat this for a lunch,” my guest observed.

“Yes,” I said between bites of the gooey, crunchy pockets he offered to share. “But if you’re going to eat this badly, you might as well keep going.”

All in all, the Misty Dog Grill is marching forward in its mission to provide the smile-inducing treats of summer to visitors and locals looking to take a walk down by the falls. Look for, as the menu tells it, “More to come,” and be glad the twin spires of the Mist are with us.

Contact reporter Kevin Purdy at 693-1000, ext. 107.