Frank-ly Speaking

"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa

I originally blogged about Frank back in late July, on my first visit to what was then a relatively new restaurant. For one reason or another, I never made it back there, although I really loved everything about the place (why, oh why don't I still have an office downtown?!?).

Yesterday, I finally had an excuse to pay them another visit - they hosted the kickoff party for Launch 787's new FLAVORS of Austin series. What's FLAVORS of Austin, you ask? Well, Monday through Wednesday of each week for 52 weeks, one featured restaurant will offer a discounted, exclusive, multi-course menu for FLAVORS diners. It's like having Austin Restaurant Week all year long! Best of all, a portion of every dollar spent at a participating FLAVORS of Austin restaurant will be donated to the Sustainable Food Center of Austin.

At any rate, Frank has upped the ante since my last visit; they've just added a brand new coffee shop serving Intelligentsia coffee and a little store that offers locally-focused sausage, nostalgic candy, funky gifts, and other goodies TBD (they're accepting requests if there is something special you'd like them to carry). They're also serving breakfast items and are on the verge of rolling out a Sunday brunch, as well.

We got to taste a nice sampling of what Frank has to offer at the kickoff party. Although I didn't save you any, I did take some photos for you.

First up: cocktails. Frank has a pretty unique cocktail menu, featuring several original creations as well as a few classics with a Frank-esque spin. I tried two different cocktails, the Red Headed Stranger (Frank's version of a bloody Mary - house-made, bacon-infused Dripping Springs vodka mixed with Frank's ultra-spicy bloody Mary mix and garnished with a big slab of bacon, a pepperocini, an olive, and a chunk of cheddar cheese). I know this sounds a little unconventional, and perhaps even slightly unbelievable, so I offer you proof:

It's a meal in a glass, baby. Check out the half pepper/half salt rim.
Oh, and did I mention the big slab of bacon?

By the time I was ready for my second cocktail, I wanted something a little lighter, so I tried the Daytripper: fresh watermelon juice, St. Germain, Tito's vodka, and mint, garnished with a big chunk of watermelon. Soooo refreshing.


My kind of day trip. I could've done without the
salt/pepper rim on this one, though. Maybe a sugar rim?

Now, the food. Oh, the food! The good folks at Frank were very generous about giving us a good cross-sample of the menu to taste. We tried two of their new breakfast bierocks (an Eastern European filled pastry), the chorizo, potato & cheese:



And the Elvis (peanut butter, banana, and bacon). This sounds ridiculously gross (and doesn't look all that pretty, either), but it had my number. Seriously, I LOVED it - it was hot out of the oven and the peanut butter was just all melty and smooth and just oozed yummily in your mouth with the banana and bacon. I can see why Elvis' gyrating ways weren't enough to keep him super slim if he was eating this decadently on a regular basis.


This Elvis may well inspire women to throw their panties.

Also on the breakfast menu: beignets! Not quite Cafe du Monde, but delicious.



Moving on to Frank's specialty - hot dogs and sausage - the latter of which is made in-house on a daily basis.

Of course, no Frank tasting would be complete without a classic Chicago dog. I was so pleased to see that my beef (insert knee slapping here) from my previous visit about how they were building the dogs all wrong has been remedied - the pickles, tomato and sport peppers were wedged very nicely between the dog and the bun. Perfect.



We also sampled the Italian sausage, served with fennel mustard salad and aged provolone and topped with balsamic barbecue sauce:



The jalapeno venison sausage, served with butterkase cheese and bluberry coulis:



The crawfish & pork sausage, topped with cajun tartar sauce and lappi cheese:



And the Foie Gras - sausage made from foie gras, paired with pickled onions and an orange slice:



As if that weren't enough, we also savored some Gator Boudin fritters, dressed with a bit of hatch remoulade:



I don't know where I put all that food, but I feel sure I'm going to pay for that at some point.

I'm hard-pressed to pick favorites; I think it would all depend on my mood on any given day. But I really don't think you can go wrong, no matter which sausage you choose (there's a life lesson in there somewhere).

I even got to chat a bit with one of Frank's co-owners, Daniel Northcutt, and was so impressed with his passion for the food and for the unique adventure that he and his co-conspirators are creating. I'm sure Frank Zappa would have agreed that their unconventional approach to food is progress, indeed.

Frank's FLAVORS of Austin menu features a flight of FIVE mini-dogs/sausages for the ridiculously low price of $12. The promotion ends this Wednesday, September 30th, so hurry in! But in the event that you must miss it, Frank's great grub is very reasonably priced all the time.

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In Dog We Trust

Another review I'm cross-posting to Yelp - here, with photos.
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I've lamented many times since moving to Austin that there are no really good Chicago dogs to be had here. I came close when I discovered Chris' Little Chicago on South Lamar, but the environs (an overgrown field, which is both hellaciously hot and high on the allergen and bug factor this time of year) left something to be desired. Plus, I think Chicago dogs are best eaten with waffle fries, and Chris' Little Chicago serves theirs with seasoned fries.

So I was cautiously optimistic when I started seeing very positive buzz on Yelp and elsewhere about a new dog place in town, aptly named Frank. Frank's tagline, "Purveyors of Artisan Sausage," hints at its upscale-ish nature, but happily, it doesn't take itself too seriously. The space is attractive, yet casual, and the pricing is surprisingly good considering its high-rent 4th and Colorado location - a Chicago dog runs just $3.75 and a small order of waffle fries is $2.50. Of course, you could easily exceed your food bill with a single drink from their awesome cocktail menu, but having that option available to you just adds to the experience, in my opinion.

The exterior of Frank - housed in the former location of Starlite (see the star remnant in the upper right?) - appears to be a work in progress.


Looking from the bar area into the main dining room.

I arrived at Frank right during the busiest part of the lunch hour on a Friday. There were people waiting for tables, but the bar is first come, first serve, and I was able to immediately snag a seat there. There were two bartenders working; both were super friendly and attentive - as well as being noticeably inked - which lent the service a "cool-but-not-too-cool-for-you" vibe.


I can't tell you how much I was wishing I could sample one of their cocktails.

In addition to a more predictable range of dogs - the obligatory chili cheese dog, a plain dog, the Chicago dog, a beer soaked brat - there are a couple of more interesting offerings on the menu. For example, the Jackalope ($7.00) begins with an antelope and rabbit sausage and is served with huckleberry compote, sriracha aioli, and applewood smoked cheddar. Or, you could spice up a more run-of-the-mill dog by making it into a Frank Flapjacket - wrap it in corn batter and load it up like a bun. Better yet, you can "Pork It" by splitting it, stuffing it with white American cheese, wrapping it with bacon, and deep frying it. Because hot dogs aren't bad enough for you already.

For vegetarians, anything on the menu can be made with a veggie dog. They even offer veggie chili and a portobello cheesesteak.

After grappling with the menu and my taste buds a bit, I finally decided to try a Chicago dog so I could have an apples-to-apples point of comparison. It arrived quickly (along with the side of waffle fries I just had to get), and I staved off my eagerness to dig in for long enough to document the meal.


Hot diggety.

I'd say the Chicago dog is roughly comparable to the ones at Chris' Little Chicago. Delicious, to be sure, but not the best I've ever had. I thought the bun was a little on the soft side, and the dog itself was ever-so-slightly less firm than I like. Also, I don't think Frank's chefs quite have the knack for building a Chicago dog, which is an art unto itself. It is KEY that you wedge the larger toppings (the tomato, sport peppers, and especially the pickle) down into the cracks between the dog and the bun; otherwise, they have a tendency to fly everywhere when you bite into your dog. As you can see from the photo, this was not done at all, so eating this dog was a bit of a mess. Despite these minor issues, however, the dog was great flavor-wise.

The waffle fries were perfect. Crisp and hot, and they come with your choice of interesting dipping sauces (ketchup, mayo, peanut sauce, buffalo bleu sauce, punchy sauce, and horseradish sauce). I tried the buffalo bleu sauce - a combination of buffalo sauce and chunky bleu cheese - and it was absolutely fantastic. These fries and the excellent service in very comfortable surroundings earn Frank that fifth Yelp star that Chris' Little Chicago missed.


Potato perfection.

Frank is my new go-to place for Chicago dogs. I'll be back frequently, without a doubt.

Frank
407 Colorado St
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 494-6916
(5/5 stars)

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