Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom

If you only come here to watch the dancing waters while you have half a dog stuck in your pie-​hole, then you have lived a full and examined life. It is sort of like the Venice of old, though elevated to conspicuous –consumption suburbia territory. Lots of freaks, lots of foot traffic and lots of good people watching.
Dogs are good quality and the other components are fresh. I do love the grilled peppers. Still, you’ll need lots of water to offset the nitrates in these pups.
I just can’t get over the pricing here. Go with a Groupon or other coupon because the prices will leave you breathless.

This store is located in a fun environment. It’s a good idea to have someone in your party save a place to sit because many people take up the tables and chairs simply to enjoy what is going on at Americana.
I enjoyed my Chicago style hot dog. My son ordered one of the sausage sandwiches. Unfortunately, he doesn’t like vegetables so he had a sandwich that was about half the size it would have been. If you like peppers, onions, etc. you will really like their sausage sandwiches.
It was a little expensive, but that is to be expected based upon its location. Their rent must be high.
Be prepared for loud music. Americana could use some professional help setting up their sound system.

I wanted to give this place a try, just because it is supposedly a very famous sausage spot. They have them all over and it seems like everyone has heard of them before. But I have yet to really think of this place as anything special.
Waiting in line I found out that a worker has came in late so the food and the service is going to take twice as long as it is suppose to. One server boy is at the window taking the order and making the food. I felt really bad for him. It was pretty much a sad and frustrating day for this dude.
When you order the food you wait to pick it up. The place has some outside seating but this place doesn’t have indoor seating.
Got the Italian Sausage just plain with some chili cheese fries. The chili was a bit cold and the cheese actually didn’t melt onto the fries. Blah overall this place to me is a skip it and never go back !!
I guess I realized that sometimes even the most famous places are just not good at all! I can’t believe anyone would think it was decent! :/

I am so disappointed with Jody Maroni. I have to admit, I was excited to try this place because the descriptions of their different sausages and hot dogs sounded so appealing. However, after attempting to eat their food, we have vowed to never come here again.
Polish sausage order:
— «grilled» onions were not grilled. They were barely even cooked. It seemed like all they did was dab some pepper on it and put it on the grill for a minute before putting it on the sausage.
— bell peppers were the same way. Some were even cold.
— sausage was mediocre. Not much flavor.
Bratwurst sausage sandwich
— onions were also undercooked and far from being «grilled»
— no sauerkraut like the description said
— sausage was also mediocre
Fries with «premium» topping of garlic and parsley:
— fries were undercooked
— the garlic was old
Bread for both sandwiches:
— COLD… the bread was literally cold and tasted odd
— I dont know if it was if the bread was old or if that’s how the bread is but the bread kept breaking. Crumbs were everywhere
My bf and I didn’t even finish our food because of the lack of taste and quality. The prices are also ridiculous for the type of food being served. like I said earlier, I will never come here again. I’m sad I wasted a good $ 19 that could have been spent on better food. :(
p.s.
don’t let my photo fool you… although it LOOKS good, it doesn’t taste good… and that photo was taken and uploaded before i bit into their food.

I have nothing bad to say about Jody Maroni’s at the Americana.
Considering we used our Groupon for 2 sausage sandwiches, we still needed to buy extra sandwiches for the others in the group.
We ordered the:
–Bratwurst
–Sweet Italian
–Sausage with Bacon
–Chicken Andouille
–Chili Fries
Everything was good. It was a bit expensive though even with the Groupon. But not a problem. The lady who took our order was nice too. Good stuff!

I remember back in the day, when I was a kid, my dad would take me to Jody Maroni’s on the Venice Boardwalk and I loved going there. I agree with Lisa V. when she said «what a difference a couple of decades make.»
I had a couple of Groupons and went to this location twice. Both times the food took way too long and both times the food was mediocre at best. Additionally, the customer service was at a minimum as is the seating. Each time there was only one person working the stand which made the process take a very long time.
The first time I had a brat with peppers and kraut… no bun. It was very ordinary. I also ordered chili fries which were limp and the chili seemed almost burnt.
The second time I ordered a Louisiana hot link and a Sweet Italian with peppers and kraut… no bun. The female in the kiosk forgot my kraut. When I mentioned it she gave me a side container of kraut. The sweet Italian was neither sweet nor Italian and was actually just bland and uninteresting. The Louisiana hot link was not spicy at all and was lukewarm and kind of mealy… I couldn’t eat any more than one bite. It was kind of disgusting.
The regular price of the above mentioned items is $ 5.69 which seems completely unreasonable, and even with the Groupon it wasn’t worth the discounted price. You can get fabulous food and service at places like Slaw Dogs and Dog Haus for the same price instead of eating at this sad shell of what used to be a great brand. If you are looking for a quick bite at The Glendale Galleria/​Americana do yourself a favor and eat at the In N Out around the corner, you’ll be much happier.

You know that picture on the window looked a whole lot BETTER than the food itself. The hot dog bun was kinda hard and kept breaking! I ordered the fries with chili cheese and it was WAY TOO greasy! Had me kinda sick. The best thing about it was the diet coke. I did get a $ 2.00 off coupon for my next purchase but doubt I will be going back.

I went back today to use the second groupon. After my first 1-​star review, I got a private message from Courtneyrose, the «owner». Actually from what I was told today, she is a marketing rep; but if Unilocal wants to call her the owner; that’s OK by me.
Anyways, here is what she wrote me 5 months ago.
Hi Bill,
Thank you for your review. While I am utterly dismayed by the poor quality sausages and stale buns you were served I am truly appreciative that you took the time to write about it.
As a company, we are taking these negative reviews very seriously. We just recently adopted an active presence on Unilocal,and are grieved to realize had we been on here sooner we may have caught some problems before they became widespread issues.
Regardless, I want you to know that we are taking great measures to revamp the Glendale location, including hiring a new and experienced restaurant manager and quality controller. I am also looking into the beverage pricing dilemma you brought to light. Your comments have not fallen on deaf ears, and we hope to see vast improvements at the restaurant in the coming months.
As an additional apology, I would love to send you some complimentary sausage sandwich coupons. If you are willing to give us another chance please reply to me with your mailing address. You will be able to use them at any of our current locations.
Again, thank you for your honest review. My hope is that the next time you decide to go to the Glendale location (if ever), your experience will be not only positive and satisfactory, but actually enjoyable!
All my best,
Courtneyrose
— — — — — — –
Let;s see, the buns were still stale and falling apart. When I complained the manager, remade the sausages, with buns from a new bag. They were stale too. Note. I have reviewed 52 hot dog/​sausage places, the other 51 get it right; but between my 2 visits, I have had 3 sets of buns, they were all crumbly. Halle, the manager told me that «the buns dry out in the air» «this was what the bakery sends» and it happens at other places.
Sorry Halle, if the first two excuses are true; you need to fix it rather than rationalize it. When a customer gets a crappy, stale bun; he doesn’t want to hear excuses about the bakery, he wants a fresh bun. As for the fact the that other paces do it; I have reviewed over 50 hot dog places in SoCal; if it was true, I think I would have noticed it. I will give Halle credit for one thing; she was eager to fix me new sausages when I brought back the ones with the stale buns. She even opened a fresh new bag just for me. They still sucked. Dry crumbly and stale tasting.
I also asked about the Unilocal sticker at the counter. Halle looked me in the eye and told me that they have a 4.5 star rating. FAILLLLLLLLL They could double their rating and still not be there. In fact, since none of the 22 reviewers have given them a 5; it is mathematically impossible for them to have ever had a 4.5. In fact, I can’t even think of a specialty restaurant with 22 reviews as low as a 2.0. People come here because they like hot dogs and sausages. This isn’t a bunch of vegans who are rating them so poorly.
The Italian Sausage was quite flavorful, and would have been a decent sandwich. The veggies and sauerkraut was fresh. The chicken tequila sausage of the month; not so much. It had a piece of gristle in there. I understand sausages use the lesser cuts of the bird; but c’mon let’s keep it edible.
Courtneyrose, also promised she was «also looking into the beverage pricing dilemma (I) brought to light». Apparently she liked what I enlightened her on. Water is still $ 2.69 for a 16 ounce bottle, and a Coke is still $ 2.97 plus tax (REFILLS EXTRA).
Oh and guess what, Courtneyrose promised to send out some free coupons, so I sent her my address. That was about 5 months ago, and I am still waiting on them. I am not excited about getting them, I just want to see if she keeps her word.
ONE MORE UPDATE. (written 2−9−11) WHEN I WROTE THIS REVIEW ON FEB 8, 2011 The star breakdown was as follows
***** 0
**** 2
*** 5
** 5
* 10
But apparently they improved greatly later that evening, as 2 new people joined Unilocal*just to give them 4 star reviews that same day.

Terrible. Ate there on a Friday night at about 6 p.m. Hot dog and bun were both cold. Ordered a side of garlic fries. Also limp and cold and not very garlickly. Service was unfriendly and unhelpful.
I see another reviewer says that Jody Maroni’s contacted her and said they heard her, but they obviously didn’t do anything about it, so it’s hard to believe they care. As my husband said, they get a lot of tourists through there so if they can unload one miserable meal a piece they’ll still do well.

A friend told me it was great and as I live a few blocks away I finally tried it. Got the apple chicken sausage. Meh. The bun was the greatest disappointment. Soft and processed. The meat was OK, but nothing memorable. And it’s in a crappy neighborhood. Oh, wait. I live there. Ah, well.

wow. So not impressed. the «Spicy» sausage was bland. it tasted like… a big, bready bun. DAMN! i really wanted it to be good. way overpriced for a silly sausage. the best thing about this place was the very friendly lady behing the counter. She gets the star. I wont be going back.

Gave them another shot… my original review sticks.
Received his comment from Jody Moroni’s. It is awesome to know that someone is actually listening and cares. If the revamp takes place like promised… I’d revisit them. How about you?
«Comment from Courtneyrose K. of Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom 10/​25/​2010
Though we are dismayed by the negative reviews the Glendale location has been receiving, we hear the problems loud and clear. We have listened, and are taking great measures to revamp the Glendale location including bringing a new and experienced restaurant manager and quality controller on board. We plan to see vast improvements at the restaurant in the coming months. Thank you for your honest review. I hope you’ll be willing to give us another chance.»

Oh, what a difference a couple of decades make! Once upon a time, before I had even reached legal gambling age, I thought Jody Maroni’s was the greatest thing since peanut butter. Now, that I eat mostly almond butter, I found myself so put off by the pricey & mediocre-​at-​best weenies.
Moral of the story: this is what happens to a Unilocaler when they employ bad time management… IE: we didn’t have enough time to go anywhere else before a movie! :(

decent dog in the los angeles area. i lean towards the less trendy basics. brown mustard with warm kraut and i’m satisfied. on this day it was a polish craving.

You could pay way too much for a crappy, half cold hot dog in a generic bun… or you could go the grocery store and for the same price buy your own buns and hot dogs and make 8 way better hot dogs.
Even for mall food this is horrible.
Also, where’s the strawberry in the strawberry lemonade?

You can see my other review for an overall Jody Maroni’s experience; but I must comment on this location specifically.
Jody has let me down at the Americana location. The service is s l o w. The stand is poorly lit, the order takers are zombies, the seating area is next to the trash, and the overall look at feel of the entire experience does lend itself to good branding. Hide the kitchen from the counter, hire friendlier staff, speed up the service, get better seating.
It’s too bad this location is not better, as the Americana needs more affordable fare.

Needed a little bite while the wife wandered around in Anthropologie. Made the mistake of ordering garlic fries. Took forever to prepare, only 2 people working and only 1 was cooking.
Once I got them, they had no salt but a bunch of garlic. Should have sprinkled some Viagra on them too, as they were extremely limp. Never again.

Growing up as a boy in Boston, Mass, we would pass by the Italian sausage-​and-​pepper vendors in the North-​end and the smell of those onions sautéing on that metal cart, wafting up with the smokey sausages and toasty buns was pure ambrosia.
As such, I have always wanted to try Jody Maroni’s– with their healthful claims and cool graphic presentation.
I ordered the chicken and pomegranate sausage. Though I cannot recommend the flavor– it was cooked perfectly. It came with sautéed onions and peppers, but I have a suspicion that I was given frozen onions and peppers that were pre-​fried (before freezing) and heated in a microwave. The result is probably a healthier sandwich, but only a partially delicious one.
I might say the same thing for the garlic fries. I liked them– but I think I may have fallen for some kitchen-​sorcery. If you told me that there is a frozen garlic-​parsley mix that is being thrown on the fries after they’re cooked– I’d believe you.
This isn’t 1983 and I’m not a boy at Fanueil Hall anymore. I don’t expect anyone working at «Maroni’s» to be Italian. Hell, I don’t even expect them to even FRY anything. But I’m also not gonna pretend that a sausage with microwaved onions and freeze-​dried garlic is good. It’s passable. It’ll do in a pinch. I’m glad you exist Jody. I’ll see you again. I’d suggest that you include French or whole-​wheat buns, but I think we both know how that would go. You’d have some guy in the back, unzipping baguette-​shaped forms from an air-​pump just to simulate good, hearty, French bread. And you know what? I probably wouldn’t even know the difference. Almost.
Wish I knew you when. Keep up the good work

I ordered the Chicken Pomegranate sausagedog and it was really yummy! I’d love to try their other dogs next time. I wasn’t too crazy about the bread — it was kinda blah and just fell apart. I got it w/​garlic fries — when they say garlic they MEAN garlic. Unfortunately, they were kinda blah as well.
It was a Tuesday evening so the Americana wasn’t crowded and we were able to sit comfortable in front of the water fountain munching on our dogs. I’d eat here again, but not in a hurry.

Just came home from seeing my beautiful mom and guess what’s on my Unilocal page?! Yup, the tiny small red rectangle with ’08 under my pics… yes, I’m an Elite! :oD Wait a minute, this review is not about me being an Elite, it’s about Jody Maroni’s weenies.
Jody Maroni’s is a small shop which specializes in gourmet sausages and hot dogs. We had #1 Jody’s Sausage Combo and #2 Jody’s Smokin’ Dog Combo.
The #1 comes with any sausage and the #2 comes with their signature all beef weenie. Both combos come with regular fries and drink for $ 7.99 (#1) and $ 5.99 (#2). You can always make the regular size soda to large for just 80 cents more. Also, you can convert your regular fries into chilli cheese fries for additional $ 1.30.
Overall, I thought the doggies were just a little bit better than okay. On the other hand, the fries were stale. eeewwww.
It’s a solid 3.5 rating.