Frankies Hot Dogs: Best Hot Dog in Connecticut?

Is there anyone who doesn’t like a good hot dog? 

Steaming hot, wrapped in a bun, the hot dog, frankfurter, red hot, tube steak, wiener, frank, weenie, dirty water dog, dachshund, all relate to spiced pork or beef stuffed inside a casing, then fried, grilled, smoked, boiled, steamed, and placed in a long roll, topped with numerous toppings and devoured. They are so popular that Spotify offers over 300 songs about hot dogs, from Elvis to Zeppelin, Joey Chestnut is a household name for eating 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes, and outrageous antics of flamboyant athletes are called “hot-dogging.” 

These tubes of joy are rich in history. While sausages are mentioned as far back as the 9th Century B.C. in Homer's Odyssey, we need to fast forward 2,500 years to Europe in 1487, five years before Columbus set sail for America where the real hot dog discussion begins. Several European cities lay claim to creating the frankfurter, from the German towns of Frankfurt-am-Main, and Coburg and to Vienna, Austria. 

In the United States, there is also disagreement on its origins. Many believe Coney Island was the birthplace in the US when, in 1871 Charles Feltman, a German baker opened and sold almost 4,000 dachshund sausages in his first year in business. A different version has a German immigrant selling them with rolls and sauerkraut in the 1860s from a pushcart in the Bowery. In the 1880s, hot dogs appeared at ballparks, whether St. Louis or New York was the first is also a subject of discussion. The Colombian Exposition of 1893 brought thousands of visitors to Chicago, where, in addition to the introduction of electricity, hot dogs were sold inside a bun.

In Connecticut, the year was 1933, the US was deep in the Depression and Frank Caiazzo started his hot dog business. He borrowed money from his dad, bought a lot in Waterbury, partnered with his brother, Paul, and built their first stand. Not wanting the same old / same old, they created an extra-long foot-long hot dog. Their supplier, Carl Roessiler, agreed to make them and their baker provided a special bun. The foot-long hot dog was an instant hit. In 1941, they opened a second restaurant with seating for sixty, and today, Frank’s descendants own three locations in Waterbury, with others extending west to Brookfield and south to North Haven. 

CT Magazine’s latest Readers’ Poll rated Frankies as the best hot dog in the state. I saw several of my favorites listed as Runners-up, so I had high expectations. As I approached the free-standing, family-owned location on Watertown Rd in Waterbury, I was very impressed; this looked like an old-fashioned hot dog stand. A bright, multicolored hot dog mural hung over the numerous order windows, a bronze plaque commemorating the founding year of 1937 (different from the website’s mention of 1933), and loads of memorabilia adorned the interior as you peaked inside. There are no seats, so everyone congregated around their cars, each with paper cartons on the hoods. 

Time to let the dogs out.

There are two groups of hot dog lovers. On one extreme, there are those who crave the all-beef natural casing rendition, looking for deep flavor, saltiness and a significant natural-casing pop with each bite. The others love their all-pork dogs, mildly spiced and reminiscent of the red hots served at ball parks and Sunday picnics across America. For full disclosure, I fall into the former.

I ordered (1) a Famous Frankie with mustard, sauerkraut and relish, (2) an Italian (with onions and peppers) and (3) an order of fries. The latter two were delivered as ordered, but the mustard, sauerkraut and relish were missing from #1. The order-taker disappeared and returned with the sauerkraut, sans relish. They threw a few containers of ketchup and mustard in the paper tray and I decided to proceed without the relish. 

Hot Dogs – The hot dogs are made by Hummel following Frankies’ recipe using both pork and beef. These are true foot-longers, they extend several inches outside the ends of the bun. I was told that they are first deep fried and then finished on the grill. The exterior was slightly crinkled, which indicated that they spent a little time in the fryer, but I would be surprised if they experienced a lengthy visit, and there was a lack of any grill lines. While the exterior produced a slight pop (definitely not natural casing), the flattop was probably used to finish the dogs. The interior was soft and spongy, the taste on several bites was very mild and others gave a hit of saltiness. While these dogs would definitely satisfy the pork-dog lovers and made for a good canvas for toppings, the beef lovers would find them a little too mild. 

Peppers and Onions Topping – When I ordered the Italian dog, my thoughts returned to my early days in NJ, where this connotes a belly buster, with the dog, peppers and onions all deep fried to a crispy perfection. The onions and peppers at Frankies tasted blanched, not deep-fried, and lacked any char. I would have preferred a few minutes in the fryer or a good long visit on the flattop to give them some character. 

Bun – The bun was excellent. It was a good thick Texas-toast variety, toasted lightly and worked well with the dog and could easily handle the toppings.

Fries – The fries were pedestrian steak fries, straight out of a large frozen bag, deep fried and placed in a paper container…no seasoning at all. 

Overall, Frankies offers a really good foot-long hot dog for those who prefer the milder, pork, ballpark variety. With over 80 years offering hot dogs in Waterbury, Frankies has withstood the test of time, and their customers love them by voting them the best hot dog in the state in the recent Connecticut Magazine Readers’ Poll. For those of us who prefer the salty-pop, all-beef variety, I think there are better options, and I was expecting more from the toppings and fries.

Frankie’s Hot Dogs Multiple locations throughout CT