Route 12 Famous Franks

Great find off I395!!! The Hawaiian and Smoke House are insanely good! Creative, delicious and the owner makes you feel right at home!

A good hot dog… stopped in a few weeks ago and had a chili dog a kraut dog (not in picture) and a coney. All were very good. This is a pretty cool spot frequented by very nice locals. Worth the detour off of 395 for a quick bite.

On our way back from MA. My husband and I were just looking for a hot dog place. Seen Franks on Unilocal and decided to give it a try. I had the Hawaiian and my husband had the Smoke House. These dogs were awesome. Going back for more.

Came here after the warrior dash and it was exactly what we wanted. We both had burgers, which were delicious, and my husband’s had pulled pork n top that was also super tasty. The guy at the counter was friendly and two big burgers with lots of toppings plus two drinks was just $ 12. All in all, just what we wanted after a hard race!

Average hotdog. The buns are grilled which is a plus and the staff is quick and friendly. The two dog /​chips /​can soda (pepsi products!) special is a good cheap deal. I did not try their coney chili sauce.
They do not offer a natural casing dog. I’ll never understand why a place that specializes in dogs doesn’t offer a natural casing dog. The taste and experience is superior to standard machine-​formed dog. Frank’s is not alone in this either.

One of the best hot dog diners that you will find. It is tucked away in the small town of North Grosvenordale, in North East Connecticut just before the Massachusetts. if you are flying down Rt 12 you can easily miss it. Keep a good look out for the large maquee hanging ourside.
When you first enter, you will see its a tiny little place. Maybe 8 – 10 seats at the counter and a few tables you can sit. They have black and white checker floors and a 1950’s look. Like a blast from the past.
When I found this place, like normal I love a good hot dog place so have to check it out, it was hoping! There was a good number of people in the joint. First thing I noticed that «Famous Frank» was talking to the customers while making everyone’s food. It seemed like he knew all the people in the place and had some jokes going, keeping everyone in smiles.
I took a few minutes to go over the menu. They had a number of hot dogs to choose from. No specially ones like I prefer, like a Chicago or Cinncinnati, but I did see Coneys!
They had a number of house special dogs, but I decided to get one of my favorite hot dogs of all time and see how it racked up agains’t some others. I also got a bacon and cheese dog.
I walked up to the counter and gave my order and Frank talked to me like he was some long lost relative. just a great guy. He had me laughing with on antidotes in no time. Even though he was pretty busy, he got my order up in no time, showing that he some years of whipping out the dogs.
I have to say that Route 12 Famous Franks was almost a true Coney. No celery salt added, but that was the only thing left out. Frank told me that he makes his coney chili every day. I think it was one of the best coney chilis I’ve every had. One of the things that nailed it for me, was the buns were toasted, not steamed. It made the coney that much better. Both hot dogs were great. I added a bag of chips and soda and when I was ready to pay I was shocked at how little it was.
Great place to eat. Super people! Great little day drive to get to, very scenic. I will be going back to Famous franks over and over!

One of my favorite things about Connecticut is that the state has some great hot dog places (Super Duper Weenie, Central Lunch, etc). So I was excited to see how Famous Franks staked up to some of the other Hot Dog joints. Though their dogs weren’t bad, they simply don’t compare to many of the other hit dog places that Connecticut has to offer.
The dog itself is nothing special. It’s a standard Kayem dog. If you’re looking for natural casing, move on. I’ll never understand why someone would open a hot dog shop and not offer natural casings. It’s like opening a coffee shop and only offering freeze dried coffee. One of the reasons why Connecticut is known for great hit dogs is that many hot dog joints in CT serve Hummel natural casing hot dogs, which are, afterall, made in CT.
Famous Franks offers an enticing variety of toppings. As for meat sauces, they offer chilli and coney. Don’t bother with the chili sauce; it wad quite possibly the worst I’ve ever had. The coney sauce had great flavor, but had an odd texture, it was almost squishy.
On a final note, I love that they toast the buns.

Blink and you’d probably go right by this cool little place. Only about eight seats at the counter and about five tables (one large enough for a group). We walked in on Saturday afternoon and seated ourselves at the counter. A young lady came right over to help us. Not being that hungry, I split a lunch special (2 hot dogs, bag of chips, and a can of soda) with my four year old daughter. The dogs came on grilled rolls. Being that we were eating in, we got to put our own condiments on them, no worries about having enough onions.
The staff was pleasant and hanging out at the counter for a bit, it was obvious that they had a large regular clientele.
They serve burgers as well as a few different sandwiches and definitely worth stopping by if in the area