I have been a Frankies fan for decades. How could I not be, when I like the name so much? There are two Frankies I patronize most frequently: the Chase Avenue location in Waterbury and the Boston Post Road location in West Haven. (There are seven Frankies in all, including a far-flung one in Tampa, Florida. Some are franchised.) But I patronize the Frankies in West Haven by far the most frequently, because it’s only 15 minutes from home.
Lately, what brings me to Frankies is church. My lovely wife needs a ride on Sunday morning,
and I need somewhere to hang for 90 minutes. Frankies is just over the hill.
I settle into a back table
where I can eat, read some Clive Cussler and observe humanity.
Surrounding me are old posters, but by now I’ve examined them all.
The only “fancy women” here are the well-dressed gals who come in before or after church, and I’m pretty sure that’s not what the poster means.
For those who haven’t been to a Frankies, or who have barely scratched the surface of its surprising menu, Frankies is more than just foot-long hot dogs and juicy hamburgers. The West Haven location, for instance, offers three square meals a day.
It serves terrific, affordable breakfasts, including omelets and blueberry pancakes. It has a tremendous fried seafood selection and even offers lobster rolls. It serves wings and chicken dinners. Shakes and soft-serve ice cream. Even barbecue.
With an eleven o’clock church time, I can elect breakfast or lunch. For a recent breakfast, I ordered a loaded farmer’s omelet, which came with hash browns and toast.
For a recent lunch, I enjoyed a fat juicy cheeseburger
and curly fries.
I’ve tried most, possibly all, of the foot-longs over the years, which come in some nice combinations. But most often I order them plain and head to the fixings bar.
Then they tend to come out looking something like this. Yum!
I do have a cautionary note to sound about the West Haven Frankies, however. It’s a mostly humorous tale mixed with a small serving of irritation. During my most recent visit, I used the bathroom stall and found afterward that I couldn’t leave. The rotating door lock was stuck. I applied so much force trying to escape that I pulled a back muscle, which continues to pain me two days later and make it difficult to lie on my right side.
So I pulled out my cell phone and called the restaurant. In less than one minute, an older gentleman was in the bathroom, handing a vise grips over the top of the stall. In seconds, I was able to release myself from my unintended prison.
But it didn’t escape my notice that the fellow, although pleasant, didn’t apologize for my predicament. Nor, because of the speed of the response and the equipment at the ready, did it escape my notice that this had obviously happened a number of times before.
Needing a cup of water after the effort I had expended, I headed to the counter a few minutes later. There I found four women behind the ordering counter, and two men (including my rescuer) behind the higher counter, laughing or trying (not nearly hard enough) to hide their laughter. I can take a joke, and my sense of humor often tends toward the self-deprecating, or else I wouldn’t even repeat this story. But I have to point out how terribly inappropriate it is to fail to make a simple repair and then to laugh at your victims to their faces!
Frankies of West Haven, 1151 Orange Avenue, West Haven; 203-933-6631; www.frankieshotdogs.com