Franks ‘N’ Dawgs

We’ve been looking for a go-​to hot dog place and this seems like it. The prices are reasonable, the food is top notch, and it is BYOB two blocks from Binny’s. The Julia’s love child was delicious, with a sausage that seemed more like steak than any encased meat I’ve ever had and a perky sauce that lightened the whole thing up. The wife got the Mac and cheese dog, which boasted a Mac and cheese that could easily stand on its own and one of the juiciest sausages I can remember. The cheese curds are solid, but I’ll probably try the fries next time. Service was prompt and courteous. If you’re looking a comfortable place and want better portions than some other specialty sausage places in town, I’d highly recommend Franks N Dawgs.

I visited Frank n Dawgs about 3 – 4 years ago. I was planning on making a review of the two dawgs I’ve tried but I noticed their menu changed. Thank god the triple truffle fries are still there, finger liking good. Frank n Dawgs started a trend for me, I tried truffle fries everywhere after having it here.
Since I don’t remember the names of the dawgs I tried I’ll just base my review on what I remember. The dawgs were so juicy & had a nice snap to it. The toppings were unique & suprisingly didn’t mask the flavor of the dawg. The only downside to me was the bread, it reminds me of a Texas french toast, really soft & too thick.
The pricing is a bit high but they do say it’s homemade, so it’s worth it.

This place hits the spot for me. Gourmet hot dogs for all different types of taste buds… the hot dogs here range from 6 – 9 $. The have quite a variety, and no matter what you like, they have it. Well, except for a Chicago dog, which would have garner this place a perfect rating. I got a chance to try a variety of their hot dogs, and the only one I didn’t like was their smoke dawg, which was a little too sweet because of the BBQ sauce. Their triple truffle fries was delicious but, they could have given a little bit more for 6 $. Their corn dog was on the savory side, so if that’s not your thing, be sure to skip that. Overall, I love the food and ambience, so it is a definite must try, especially their kimichi hot dawg

Honesty? The hot dogs here are unexceptional. We got the bacon mac n cheese dog and a hot dog whose name I don’t recall but had little corn bread bits on top. The concept is creative but the flavors just don’t…meld properly. There’s a spark that’s missing — I feel like I’m eating a bunch of random sides all showed together, but there’s still disparate entities as I eat them. Plus, the sausage itself isn’t anything thick or spicy or juicy.
But the buns? Please just wrap me in one of those and let me eat my way out. They do their buns lobster roll style and there just ain’t a better way.
Finally: the truffle fries (if I see truffle fries on the menu, I’ve got to get them). Waffle truffle fries? Genius. Triple truffle fries? Genius — but I have learned there is indeed such a thing as too much truffle salt. These were overly salty by a lot but still very enjoyable to eat and packed with flavor — and the fries themselves were excellent.

Interesting hot dogs rates it self as 5 star on a bun. The question is while we wait, will it be 5. Clean and bright and very traditional burger shop. A bit disappointed not five star experience. Bahn mi was unbalanced the spice just killed the flavours.

This place is quite legit. My love for their food is exemplified by the fact that after having eaten there once two years ago (I live in LA) I made sure to go back and remembered exactly what i had ordered so I could be sure to get the lamb Burgini dog again! I always get two everytime because the flavored are creative and they surprise you with their gourmet dogs and sausages.
In short, just go here and eat. The prices are not super cheap, but you are getting gourmet ingredients and the flavor is something that will have you craving a chance to come back. Until next time!

What is this garbage? I got there at 2pm and they’re closed because they ran out of buns? 1) How do they let that happen? And 2) There is a Trader Joe’s and an Aldi right across the street. Go buy some buns you lazy jerks!

Hot damn that’s delicious. Look, I love a good old fashioned dog just like any red blood American badass, but; this right here is some culinary karate ready and willing to mix it up with your mouth parts. Get in, order up, sit down and salvage.

Superbly unexpected. I came here wanting a Chicago dog and left eating a bun mi dog. It was delish as was the truffle fries. Oh and the buns, holy Moses, they are baked tighter together so the crust is only on the top and bottom, leaving the sides to be buttered and toasted.
As for the Mac and cheese side, I seriously think there’s crack or something in it. It’s so good I’m sure someone is going to make it illegal. Get it while you can, little slices of heaven never ever lasts long enough.

Franks ‘N’ Dawgs do not serve Chicago style hot dogs but craft artisan sausages aka gourmet aka fancy hot dogs. It was featured on the Travel Channel, Food Network, and Cooking Network. They have a laundry list of specialty sausages and serve a few things with truffle. It’s located in Wicker Park and you enter through a walk way.
We arrived right when it opened and were in a rush to get inside to avoid the Chicago wind. It was only meant to be a snack but a «snack» has a different definition when it comes to two overeating fat asses like my buddy and myself. It’s a little small shop and has a very divey and hipster feel to it. The two chill workers had a lot of recommendations and pretty cool even though they looked like hipsters. Totally judging here.
Now, the food. We had the following items:
1) Triple Truffle Fries — The Yukon Gold waffle cut fries includes freshly chopped herbs, truffle salt, truffle oil and truffle butter. To be clear, it’s not the Nicki Minaj type of truffle butter. It’s golden waffle fries with a crunchy outside and a soft inside. With anything truffle, the aromas of the truffle is very apparent and strong. It had the slightly garlicky taste associated with truffles but it was missing the earthy flavor. I still prefer my truffles shaved versus being drowned out with other ingredients.
2) The Southerner — It’s Slagel Farms pork loin, caramelized onions sausage, corn bread, cherry bourbon BBQ sauce and scallions. This was definitely flavorful and the sausage had the juicy bite to it like a Chicago Hot Dog. This was an overall sweet hot dog in taste with the caramelized onions, corn bread and cherry bourbon sauce versus the usual tangy and sour taste of a Chicago hot dog.
3) The Brunch Dog — It’s Slagel farms pork loin breakfast sausage with Cobb smoked bacon, fried egg & drizzled with maple mayo. The smokey bacon wasn’t overly smokey per se. I didn’t taste it and it wasn’t overpowering the other ingredients. However, I really like the sunny side up egg and the maple mayo was a nice touch. It looked like an aioli sauce. I always have mayo in my hot dogs cause that’s what Southern Californians use as a condiment. I definitely enjoyed the Brunch dog over the Southerner.
Overall, Franks N Dawgs provides a great alternative to Chicago Hot Dogs. I’m sure Chicagoans were ready to hang Franks N Dawgs for breaking away from the traditional Chicago dogs. People were probably scratching their heads like how the Hip Hop community did with Meek Mill’s Drake diss track «Wanna Know» but at least Franks N Dawgs food was good.

The lamb-​orghini was amazing and I’m not even a big fan of lamb. The house giardiniera was refreshing. Truffle mac ‘n’ cheese was also amazingly yummy. Honestly, I prefer this place over Hot Dougs. Their dawgs are much more cohesive and balanced and explosive with flavor whereas Hot Dougs while still very good was somewhat cheese heavy and two dimensional sometimes with their creations.
The only drawback for Franks ‘N’ Dawgs is that their hours are kinda odd. I wished they opened past 5pm, especially on the weekends.

They make outstanding and interesting hot dogs here — my favorite was a Korean dog with kim chi, short rib and toasted rice on top of a house-​made and interestingly-​spiced beef sausage; though I also sampled the «brunch» dog with is brilliant in a bacon/​egg/​syrup kind of way, if a tad under-​salted. There were at least a half-​dozen other dogs on the menu I wanted to try too. This is the kind of place where you stand slack-​jawed staring at the menu because you want to order all of the things. (They’re friendly about slicing things in half, though, if you want to share.)
I am sad to say that I didn’t ever make it to Hot Doug’s before it closed (those lines!) but my friends who have say Franks N Dawgs might be as good or better on many axes. And unlike Hot Doug’s there was basically no line on a weekday, even in the middle of what could be the lunch rush. My only fear in writing this review is that too many of you will come and change that.

What happened? Did I pick the wrong sausage?
I ordered a Julia’s Love Child which the menu says is «Steak au poivre sausage, garnished with shallots pickled with a bouquet garni, sauteed asparagus in a shallot, garlic and butter, arugula and finally, our pièce de résistance, a Dijon cognac crème fraîche»
Tasted like dry ground beef liver mixed with sand.
I’ve been here before… no problems.
Too many other places to get a $ 10 sandwich without a side or drink.
Thanks

I had the tur-​doggin, after a lot of changing my mind and being unable to pick just one. I was pleasantly surprised at how fantastic it was — truly delicious and I will gladly return to try other menu items in the future.
Downside — I was the only person in placing an order at the time and it took the cook approx. 20 min. to make my order. I’m in-​between on this, as someone who is experiencing cooking in the industry at the moment; while I thought the dog itself had a lot of components that might take a bit to put together (so understanding of having a bit of a wait), I couldn’t help but feel as though the boh was taking his time a bit too leisurely.

The truffle fries are what got me. Those were the best fries I’ve ever tasted and I wished I grab some to go. I got ‘The Kid’ hotdog and man was the spice no joke. It was so spicy I learn not to get that ever again, way too spicy for me! It’s extremely unbearable spicy. Can’t wait to try other things on the menu! So I’ll be back soon to give it another chance.

This place is a great local spot.
First off, I love the atmosphere. It’s young and hip without the pretension that hangs around most Lincoln Park spots. The staff is very friendly and the table markers are hilarious!
The menu is eclectic offering over 10 different types of sausages. Personally I love the Brunch dog (it’s breakfast in every bite). The Lamb-​orghini was equally tasty. The lobster roll was not my favorite but was good enough.
My favorite things on the menu are the sides. Amazing! You have to try the brussels sprouts salad, the truffle fries, and the cheese curds. Yummers!
The only negative about this place are the prices. Though typical for Lincoln Park it feels weird to pay $ 50 for dawgs and fries.

Franks ‘N” Dawgs is a good alternative if you have enough of Chicago style hot dogs and want to have something else.
The varieties here is really good. Even hard to pick which one to try as they are all really interesting combination. But it is quite pricey for what you paying for sausage and bun in a land of hot dogs,
Hot Dog VS Sausage? or just a Hot Dog dressed up with exotic toppings with fancy topping?

I’d give this place a 3.5÷5 stars.
If you know what to expect, I think this place is quite good. They do not serve Chicago style hot dogs so go elsewhere for that.
BUNS. Their dogs are served on a Texas Toast sort of thick, garlicky bread. I love it. It does tend to fall apart while I eat it though.
This is a hot dog joint. It’s obviously not a five start restaurant. They let you choose a person from their Wall of Shame. You stick this star’s picture on your table (instead of a table number. It’s unique). Their hot dogs aren’t cheap. For two hot dogs, two fries, and two fountain drinks the total was just under $ 40. Just remember though, that they put a bit more effort and ingredients into their dogs.
Overall, they have really unique hot dogs. I enjoyed both the Krazy Kimchi and Lamb-​orghini hot dogs. Their Triple Truffle Fries are delicious.

REALLY? I visited Chicago and was sooo excited to try this place because hot dogs is a must here! SO SO disappointed! Here’s what I got:
Bacon truffle Mac and cheese hot dog: Mac had absolutely NO flavor (which means no truffle) and it was borderline cold. I’m assuming they made it before opening because we were the first customers to arrive for the day. The dog itself was alrite — very sausagey and not like a typical hot dog. Meh.
Tur-​doggin: please skip this hot dog!!! The taste of the dog was weird and NOT good! The herb aioli sounded better than it tasted. The flavors did not mesh well and was just randumb. Skip skip skip.
Waffle fries with triple truffle: um okay I tasted no truffle oil, no truffle butter, no truffle salt. Literally just crispy waffle fries. If you don’t dip it in ketchup and really concentrate on the taste, you might taste a light hint of truffle.
DO NOT COME HERE!

So if you’re in the mood for a hotdog, this might not be the best choice, since there’s even a sign saying they don’t do Chicago dogs. They also don’t do anything else recognizable as a conventional hotdog. But they do make some interesting gourmet dogs.
We tried three that were somewhat similar: Banh Mi, Tur-​Doggin and (the day’s special) Quiche Dawg. All were based upon interesting sausages with a number of savory toppings, and all tasted somewhat similar. Interesting, but perhaps not gourmet.
We also tried the mystery corn dog platter. To me, the mystery was how anyone could mistake these for corn dogs! There isn’t a conventional cornbread coating, just a thing slurry of paste that has been deep fried to a crunchy consistency. There were several different sausages involved; the only clearly identifiable one was lamb.
The best dog was actually not a dog, it was the Slammin’ Salmon, which was sort of like lox on a bagel but in a bun.
Speaking of buns, that’s probably the best thing about the place. Rather than conventional hotdog buns, they use squared off chunks of bread that are grilled with butter to a nice golden brown.
If you’re looking for something different – and by that I mean different from a hotdog – it’s worth a try.