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Frankie's Hot Dogs and
Hamburgers Reviewed by
Mark
 The
Frankie's in Tampa isn't historic like the one pictured below,
but it is nonetheless one of the best inexpensive places to
grab a quick lunch between downtown and Westshore.
We
tried Frankie's restaurant on a busy Friday at lunch. The basic fast
service order at a counter and take a seat method worked out
fine and in no time we were drowning in fries, burgers, hot
dogs, onion rings and our bottomless cups of Diet Coke and root
beer.
It
used to be that all onion rings were made from real slices of onions.
Today the chains that built their reputations on onion rings
(you know who they are) turned their back on what customers
really want
and now serve up some kind of shredded or chopped concoction
that only resembles an onion ring because it is somewhat round,
battered and on the menu described as such. Well, that's not
the case at Frankie's. I loved it when I bit into the onion ring
and the whole slice of onion slithered out and burnt my chin.
Ahhhh. A real onion ring in a fast food place at last!
 When
you order one of the famous "Frankie's" hot dogs you're in for
your next treat. The hot dogs are made just for Frankies with
choice meats, special seasonings and each one is grilled to
perfection. Not may places toast the bun, most steam them.
Toasting is a better way to warm the bun because the
carmelization on the sliced side of the bun keeps the condiments
from sinking into the bread. Steamed buns and liquid condiments
turn the bread into a mess of mush.
You
can get your hot dogs made Mexican with Chili, Italian with
Peppers & Onions, Portuguese with Mushroom & Onions, French with
Hot Cheddar Cheese, Irish with Bacon or Wisconsin with American
Cheese. I just went for ketchup, mustard, relish and onions. I
think that's a traditional Midwestern version popular somewhere
between Chicago and Kansas City. Maybe I had one like that in
Elkhart Indiana or Sioux Falls Iowa. Whatever! I liked it like
that then and I like it like that now.
While
the burgers aren't as famous as the hot dogs, they are quite tasty and are in fact
far superior to the typical fast food mega-chain fare (you know
who I mean). They also serve rib
eye steak sandwiches, wings, chicken strips, fried clams, fried
shrimp, grilled fish and a lobster roll. Sides include fries,
onion rings, cole slaw, soups and all sorts of fried veggies
like cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms.
Did I
mention the hot dogs are foot long? And there's a little bit of
history as to why. Having opened during the great Depression, in
the beginning, Frankie's wasn't as successful as Frank and his
brother had hoped. They started serving second cups of coffee
for free to keep cars in the parking lot. That helped, but Frank
thought of a better way to get people to stick around, make the
hot dogs longer! The rest is history.
So,
next time you're up on Kennedy in Tampa, look for Frankie's just
a few blocks west of the University of Tampa. |
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