Dogtown: West Coast Meets East Coast Fast Casual Dogs, Burgers, + More from Son of Former Swanky Franks Owner

If you’re a hot dog connoisseur in Fairfield County, you surely remember the legendary roadside eats at Swanky Franks. It’s safe to say that a lot of us still miss the ripper style dogs, THAT CHILI, and the fresh cut skin-on fries that were served to you in a plentiful heap.

Things like that have a way of coming back. Well, almost.  

For Bobby Manere Jr. there is a full circle kind of feeling at Dogtown, located in a half commercial, half residential area off of a busy main road in Milford.

If Manere’s last name sounds familiar, it should. His father, Robert Manere Sr., was the fourth owner of Swanky Franks from the late 1980s until the later 2000s. He might be the Swanky Franks head hot dog honcho that a younger generation remembers the most.

Manere, who essentially grew up at Swanky’s, kept working in the industry after his father got out of the hot dog stand. He bartended for a bit and he helped open Flipside Burgers & Bar in Fairfield in 2009.

Mongo Dog - bacon, creamy coleslaw, and a familiar looking chili…

After some time, Manere thought about resurrecting Swanky Franks. “Oh, I have logos designed and everything,” he says. “I started to build out a food truck to do a revival of Swanky Franks. I’m not sure anyone has a claim to the name anymore. I think it’s a dead trademark, but I don’t want to open that can of worms.”

What Manere is referring to is the much publicized legal battle over the name “Swanky Franks” between his father and the shack’s second owners, the Renzuella Family.

But that’s all research you can do with a simple Google search. We’re here to focus on Manere and Dogtown. But you know, context, and not wanting to get anyone in legal trouble.

One of Dogtown’s featured burgers is a dead ringer for In-N-Out’s Animal Style Burger

The idea for Dogtown came from Manere’s extended visits to Los Angeles. “In 2015, my wife (then girlfriend) was out there, off Melrose in West Hollywood,” he says. “She lived right around the corner from the original Johnny Rockets. I was eyeing it when it closed, but they wanted like $1.2 million! I’m never gonna have that! That’s when I started coming up with the idea for the food truck.”

Instead of rocking with the food truck, Manere found a vacant space where Dogtown currently sits. With a little help from his dad, he was able to move in. “He helped me get it off the ground and with finances,” he says. “My dad actually works here three or four days per week!”

Something that’s not Connecticut or Cali! Manere said he spent some time in the south, so a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich had to make the menu. It’s crunchy, juicy, saucy goodness.

What’s happening at Dogtown, though, is completely different from what Swanky’s was. It’s West Coast meets East Coast. It’s burgers, dogs, tots, and shakes. It’s New England roadside with California edginess and flavor combinations.

Manere’s inspiration for Dogtown comes from not only his upbringing in Connecticut, but from Cali fast casual spots.  He cites In-N-Out, Original Tommy’s, Hodad’s, and that O.G. Johnny Rockets location that became a punk rock-esque pop-up called Ronny Jockets as some of his personal favorites.

“The West Coast does an amazing job with burgers and sides, but not the dogs; they’re the worst I’ve ever had,” Manere explains. “Hot dogs are in my DNA, so I’m gonna do that. I figured I’d take Cali recipes and do that out here in Milford.”

Not mad about a burger with smashed tater tots

When you stop by Dogtown, fans of In-N-Out will notice an almost spot-on replica of an Animal Style Burger—mustard grilled beef patty, caramelized onions, burger sauce, and all the fixins—called the Dogtown Burger, and an ode to Tommy’s with a chili cheeseburger, only Dogtown’s comes topped with smashed tater tots.

As far as hot dogs are concerned, Manere is keeping it mostly New England, aside from the Chicago style Duster Dog and the Cali-influenced Danger Dog (fresh pico de gallo, grilled onions and peppers, bacon, mayo, mustard, and ketchup).

If you’re still searching for any nods to Swanky Franks, there are some!

“The original hot dog we used to use was a Roessler's, but they no longer exist,” Manere says. “We use a special recipe Martin Rosol (out of New Britain) that’s pretty close. And we don’t deep fry them anymore. We realized that split-griddled dogs are a staple in Milford.”

And there’s more! The chili from his father’s era at Swanky’s is the same, the beef patties are pretty close, and the rolls are the exact same recipe.

“The chili is 100% original to my dad’s from about 1989-2006,” Manere reveals. “The beef is custom. It’s a chuck, brisket, and shoulder blend that’s delivered here three times per week. And the old French’s rolls recipe got bought by Chaves Bakery, so we get those.”

Totchos, plain tots, Doggy Style Tots, and well-seasoned crunchy onion strings that you should include when ordering.

But if you’re looking for those crispy, slightly greasy fries, it’s not happening for a couple reasons. One: the potatoes are hard to find because they were from Long Island and there’s only one farm that still has that particular spud, and they simply don’t make their way to Connecticut very much. Two: Dogtown is small, so there’s not a lot of space for potato storage, plus the processes of peeling, soaking, and frying.

With that said, Dogtown’s tots will make up for it. Get them plain if you want, but definitely go in on an order of Totchos (chili, cheese, salsa, sour cream), or Doggy Style Tots that are a tater tot version of In-N-Out’s Animal Style Fries.

Fries aside, get here for a little slice of Swanky Franks nostalgia, but get here because Dogtown is its own delicious entity.

664 New Haven Avenue; Milford
203.767.2895; dogtownct.com