Picture your typical hot dog. Now picture it all dolled up and ready for a black tie affair. That’s how I would describe a hot dog at Frank. They’re all about artisan sausages, and if you want to get a little crazy with your dog, you can “flapjacket” it (aka, splitting your dog in half, dipping it in cornmeal batter and frying it instead of pairing it with a bun). Genius.
Photo by Vicky Nguyen
I ordered the Carolina pork it: a bacon wrapped, cheese stuffed hot dog that’s deep-fried with grilled horseradish coleslaw and house-made pimento cheese. Overall, I thought the hot dog was good, but it didn’t rock my world quite like I wanted it to. Don’t get me wrong, the bacon wrapped, cheese stuffed, deep-fried dog was awesome. But I couldn’t taste the cheese that was stuffed in the beef frank, and I forgot the pimento cheese was even in there.
The slaw was a little overpowering and it kind of distracted me from everything else going on in the dog. On the plus side, the bun was thick and kept the hot dog in place with room for toppings, which is definitely a plus in my book. Nothing is worse than having all your toppings fall off your hot dog.
However, all was forgiven when I dove into the massive plate of queso fries we shamefully ordered. Possibly the best decision I made all week. Waffle fries are my weakness. I can’t see them on a menu and not order them, and when they are smothered in queso? Come on, no brainer.
Photo credit: lunchwithbrian.net
TBH, I would go back just for the fries. They have plenty of tasty variations including pizza waffle fries and poutine fries, which are fries with cheese curds smothered in brown gravy that are popular in Canada. Come on, that’s kind of awesome.
For your dipping pleasure, Frank has a huge selection of sauces. I would definitely suggest picking a few to go with your fries, with or without cheese. I got the bacon buttermilk ranch, which was great on everything, and the chili mayonesa, that I smothered all over my hot dog, was all kinds of good.
And of course I had dessert. We ordered the chocolate chip and bacon cookie and the chocolate-covered bacon with some house-made chocolate milk. The cookie was soft and chewy, but we couldn’t really taste the bacon. The chocolate covered bacon was way off, proportionally. Seriously, way too much chocolate, not enough bacon. But the chocolate milk was a lightly sweet flavor for the end of the meal.
Chocolate Bacon Cookie | Photo by Vicky Nguyen