Celebrity burger, hogs and ribbing at Voltzy’s Root Beer Stand

Connie Post is one of the Dayton Daily News Dining Divas in search of the best culinary experiences in the Dayton area to help you save time and money. Have ideas for other places for her to try? She welcomes your recommendations at life@coxinc.com

The place: Voltzy's Root Beer Stand, Moraine.

Menu highlights: Interested in inexpensive outside dining? Look no farther than Voltzy's. Sit at one of two large picnic tables on the covered dining patio and make friends with the other customers.

“We’re getting ready to install ceiling fans out here,” owner Rick Volz said. If you want to catch some rays, there’s another table in the sun.

Voltzy’s specializes in hamburgers, sandwiches, wraps, dogs, floats and lively banter. From November to March, Volz makes soup made from scratch – potato, cabbage, chicken tortilla and cream of “Vandalia” onions.

Volz has been in business for 23 years. “Will you ever retire?” I asked him. “When I’m dead,” he replied.

What I tried:

  • Fried Mac & Cheese, $4.50: You get six golden brown triangles of breaded and deep-fried macaroni and cheese. The outside's crunchy and the inside's warm and gooey. Served with Sweet Heat sauce.
  • Orange Crème Float, 20 ounces, $3.25: Hmmm! Cool off with the taste of an old-fashioned Dreamsicle. You're given a bottle of Orange Frosty & Crème, and if you're lucky, Volz will pour it into the frosted mug full of vanilla ice cream for you.

What other people tried:

  • Adam Opava of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was in town visiting friends. Having been stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the airman said he always makes a trip to Voltzy's whenever he's in town. On this day, he had the Tyler Hog, a 20-ounce cheeseburger with peppers, onions and banana peppers for $8.50. "The sauce is incredible," he said.
  • Khoa Tang of Destin, Fla., had accompanied Opava to Dayton. Also an airman, Tang will be stationed at Wright-Patt later this summer. It was his first time at Voltzy's and he ordered the Murph Hog, a 20-ounce cheeseburger with peppers and onions, for $8.50. Did he eat the whole hog? Yes, he did. "I was hungry. It was hot. It was tasty, and the sauce was good," he said.

Extras: Be prepared for some good-natured teasing. Volz likes to entertain his customers. "Whaduya girls wanna eat today ?" he might say to a couple of guys.

Volz gives everybody the star treatment. He sat across from me, waiting for me to take my first bite of the fried Mac & Cheese. "Now, isn't that gooooood?!" he said.

The info: Voltzy's Root Beer Stand, 4668 Springboro Pike, Moraine; (937) 299-1440.

Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner, Wednesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 8 p.m.

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