To Be Frank, It's Delicious

Frankly, this place has been on my radar for quite some time.  I would suspect my mouth's been watering for months upon months.  Yes, I wanted the perfect occasion and time to visit Frank, Austin's premier gourmet hot dog joint.  This isn't just your average hot dog stand, you know.

Frank is located at 4th and Colorado in beautiful downtown Austin, Texas.  You'll know exactly where it is by the huge name written across the historic but updated structure the restaurant is located within.  And, from our experience, you'll also pass by it half a dozen times before finding a place to park.  But don't worry, the franks are worth it.

We entered and was surprised to see how busy the place was at 2 o'clock in the afternoon!  The hostess said there'd be a 20 minute wait.  We sat down on this old blue booth seat situated just past the bar, up against the wall.  I went for a quick diaper change - of our son, that is - during the wait.  For families, and especially fathers, there is not a changing table in the very nice and clean bathroom.  But no worries.  We made do by tucking ourselves away in a stall with a louvered door and plopped ourselves down on the toilet.  I made do with changing the tyke upright, and it actually worked well.

Skip all that, and we're back to the blue booth seat, but the wife was already seated at a table!  Hey, not bad considering how crazy it was in there at the time.  I opened my menu and became overwhelmed.  Despite studying the menu online quite a few times before coming, I still found myself confused for my upcoming order.

The waiter, however, helped me narrow my selection.  In fact, he encouraged me to get TWO dogs instead of just one.  After all, why limit myself to just one.  This seemed like a time to go all out and be creative with my hot dog daring self.  I ended up with a Chicago Dog (poppy seed bun, 100% Vienna beef, pickle, tomato, onion, day-glo relish, sport peppers, celery salt, mustard)  and the Beer Soaked Brat (Hudson’s local brat, kraut, spicy deli mustard).  The wife had a plane dog and dressed up with relish and caramelized onions.

Can I just say - wow.  I believe my exact words after biting into my Chicago dog was, "I don't think I've ever had a hot dog this good."  The beer brat, well, it was good.  But my favorite was clearly the Chicago dog.  The flavors really blended well together and provided just the right amount of spicy, and I love spicy.

We didn't have any beer, but I had a diet coke and the wife had a tea.  Plus, we got an order of waffle fries with a spicy dry rub sprinkled across them.  They came with a small cup of ranch dressing, which we could have used more of, but the dry rub was good on its own too.

All in all, great dining experience.  I've never paid that much for hot dogs before (and the prices aren't even that bad!) but they were darn good and well worth it.  I highly recommend Frank for any occasion, but especially a hot, shiny day.  You can cool off with a cold one and kiss your cares away with a wiener or two!

I previously said I waited for the perfect opportunity to come in, but the best time to hop on in is when it's least expected, and when you're with the ones you love.

ACS gives Frank: 4 out of 5 spheres!