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Dirty Frank’s Hot Dogs, a casual hot doggery and neighborhood bar is set to open mid-July in Downtown Columbus, Ohio bringing another fun and affordable lunch option to downtown workers and dwellers. Partners Elizabeth Lessner and Harold LaRue look to bring quality hot dogs and some whimsical sizzle to downtown Columbus.
“Columbus has hot dog envy. People visit New York and Chicago and eat at some of the finest restaurants in the world but come back raving about the hot dogs,” says Lessner, current CEO of Betty’s, Surly Girl Saloon and Tip Top Kitchen and native of Chicago, famed for their outstanding “slap your forehead” scrumptious red hots.
Dirty Franks will feature delicious all-beef Vienna franks, Polish sausages, Kielbasa and Tofu dogs served in steamed poppy seed buns topped with fresh ingredients prepared to order. Sides will include Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Butter, Sriracha Cole Slaw, Roasted Sport Pepper Mac ‘n Cheese, India Pale Ale Dredged Onion Rings, and Hot Dog Cornbread. Salads and a few casserole dishes will also be available.
To complement your dog, locally brewed Frostop Root Beer on draught, plenty of Pabst Blue Ribbon and the house specialty drink, Dirty Frank’s Bloody Mary which contains Sport-Pepper Infused Vodka with Celery Seed Bloody Mary mix.
Jesus! Of course the downtown place is somewhat derivative. “Gourmet” hot dog places are a ten year old concept (think Hot Doug’s in Chicago, Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack in NYC and Rosamunde Sausage in SF). Guess what, the Westerville place was also derivative. All they did was copy a growing trend in Chicago-NYC somewhat quicker than the downtown place.
Hell, has Cameron Mitchell ever opened a single one of his godforsaken restaurants that WASN’T a weak-assed copy of what he “researched” in the big cities. The only difference with the hot dog places is that they’ll be doing their operation with a lot more authenticity, quality and soul than CMR could ever conjure up.
I wish both of them success, and people should stop the petty bitchfest and just be glad that upscale encased meats have finally found their way to our little corner of the world.
Of course, we’re losing our symphony at the same time, so all is not well in Columbus.
What’s wrong with Cameron Mitchell restaurants?
1) None of his “concepts” are original ideas.
2) He buys very low-quality ingredients and has mile-high mark-ups
3) He even rips off Columbus restaurants with his own versions in Columbus.
It’s cheap.
It’s cold.
It will get you drunk.
And it tastes delicious with weenies.
That’s enough reason for me to drink it.
Amen. Granted I can be a bit of a beer and liquor snob, but PBR hits the spot when I am in the mood. Gonna have to check out Tip Top’s specials one of these days.
Wow, I’d seen some interesting arguments while lurking, but this one is just too funny. The whole conversation is making me miss Yocco’s Hot Dogs in Allentown, PA, where the only beverage acceptable with their signature meal was a chocolate milk. I’m drooling at the thought.
Liz can do no wrong and Harold should be a great co-producer (for lack of a better term)![/b]
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Yum, Yocco’s. With a side of fried pierogies. Our last trip to PA, we brought a doggie pack back from Yocco’s with us. Downright addictive.
9 pages of hot dog convinced me to grab some hot dogs and kraut after work.
+1
I’d like to see a varied selection of mustards, too. :-)
Did the same to me, a couple of days ago. Those in need of a hot dog fix because of this thread might benefit from my experience. I grabbed a couple of Bahama Mamas from the guys at the hot dog cart at 17th and Neil on campus. That’s a nice hot dog. Meaty and savory, with just enough spice to enhance the flavor — really delicious. I added spicy mustard and salsa for some extra sizzle, which wouldn’t have been enough for the serious fire-eaters, and probably would have been too much for those not inclined toward spicy food, but for a casual chili-head like me, it was absolutely perfect. They’re there, I believe, from 10am until sometime around 3.
Dangit you guys are really making me crave Dirty Frank’s high quality hot dogs.
Man I shouldn’t read threads about food that I can only eat in the FUTURE when I’m hungry. 8)
Did the same to me, a couple of days ago. Those in need of a hot dog fix because of this thread might benefit from my experience. I grabbed a couple of Bahama Mamas from the guys at the hot dog cart at 17th and Neil on campus. That’s a nice hot dog. Meaty and savory, with just enough spice to enhance the flavor — really delicious. I added spicy mustard and salsa for some extra sizzle, which wouldn’t have been enough for the serious fire-eaters, and probably would have been too much for those not inclined toward spicy food, but for a casual chili-head like me, it was absolutely perfect. They’re there, I believe, from 10am until sometime around 3.
CSCC has a hot dog cart too. Pretty good there.
ZHC, finally got a chance to stop by your store today. Now I know where to get my gatorade for the ride home.
2) He buys very low-quality ingredients and has mile-high mark-ups
3) He even rips off Columbus restaurants with his own versions in Columbus.
I don’t think I have ever had a bad experience at a Cameron Mitchell restaurant. I don’t go there expecting to be surprised by anything. But as far as mid-ranged every day restaurants I think he does a fantastic job. I wouldn’t put the fish market up against (well I can’t think of a good seafood restaurant in Columbus to make my point exactly) Basi. Basi is obviously going to come out on top on taste, atmosphere…. but against the sea of other chain restaurants I think he takes the cake.
2) He buys very low-quality ingredients and has mile-high mark-ups
3) He even rips off Columbus restaurants with his own versions in Columbus.
I don’t think I have ever had a bad experience at a Cameron Mitchell restaurant. I don’t go there expecting to be surprised by anything. But as far as mid-ranged every day restaurants I think he does a fantastic job. I wouldn’t put the fish market up against (well I can’t think of a good seafood restaurant in Columbus to make my point exactly) Basi. Basi is obviously going to come out on top on taste, atmosphere…. but against the sea of other chain restaurants I think he takes the cake. But the thing is, it is the same price as Basi, Alana’s and what not, so why would you ever go? (That said I go to brunch at Cap City now and then :oops: )
Well we only routinely go to the Fish Market. We had our wedding reception there, in fact. And, like I said, I couldn’t think of a different local seafood place to compare them to.
Banana Bean? Kihachi? Aki Hana? I guess I put value in what is in season and local and we kinda lack an ocean so there is good cause to not have great seafood. But given that, Banana Bean does a great job!
Right. But none of those are actually seafood restaurants. They are all restaurants that serve seafood.
Edit: unless that person might happen to be a certain restauranteur who has been known to frequent this board and vent his bitternesart os by slandering his more successful competitors…
+1 Give me a break.
LOL…I’m guessing this refers to me.
If so…for those who are wondering, my “slander” was saying that I thought Surly Girl and Tip Top suck based on my experience.
I’m not bitter, and I don’t compete with those places…and they do, frankly, suck.
I laugh because group dynamic here that has already declared Frank’s “the greatest place ever” before it opens.
I don’t post here as a restaurant owner (oh…a very successful one so far LOL) I post as a person. Poster here are so brainwashed that “liz could sell poop on a stick” that they decide any criticism must have some other motivation. Well…it doesn’t: I think those places suck (love Betty’s tho) and that’s all there is to it.
Just because other people use this forum as advertising…I don’t. I wanted to remain anonymous, but there are stalkers here in cyberspace who “outed” me.
Oh…I’m a big dog fan, so I’ll definitely be there to try ‘em…and I expect to love ‘em…but I’ll wait till I actually go there to make that decision. ;)
What restaurant do you own?
*crickets chirping*
For future reference, if you wish to remain anonymous on message boards, I’d recommend a name that is not based on your real name. It’s a small world and I don’t think anyone here took the time to “stalk” you, we all know a lot of people, are pretty smart, and can put 2 and 2 together. Just sayin’…..
Back to hot dogs. I wish someone would come up with a hot dog bun version of the pretzel roll that makes that avacado chicken salad sandwhich at Tip Top to die for. That would be awesome!!!