Dog Team Tavern - Customer Service

Customer Service

The Dog Team had an unusual system of serving. Upon arriving at the restaurant, the menu was presented on a board just inside the entrance way. Customers gave their names and orders at that time, and went inside the building to wait. Waiting times of an hour or more were not uncommon during busy times.

Customers could wait within the front parlor, where old overstuffed couches were provided along with old copies of such magazines as Life and Saturday Review, or they could go through the serving area to the bar and wait there while enjoying horseradish cottage cheese dip with ridged potato chips. There was also an outside porch and in earlier years a gazebo and tables set up in the back by the rushing New Haven River. Benches out front read "Vermont Democrats" and "Vermont Republicans".

Much has been made about their relish wheel and sticky buns (which were strictly rationed), but they also served little loaves of homemade bread and a fresh salad featuring a choice of three of their own dressings (including an "Alsatian" French). This did not include the appetizer (typically a glass of juice or soup du jour) which customers ordered when they came in. First-time customers were usually full before the entrees even arrived. Food was served family style, with mashed potatoes and the vegetable du jour. There was even a dessert menu, but only the biggest appetites had any room. Customers who could not eat everything could take the remaining food home in a "doggie" bag (though the restaurant did have styrofoam boxes).