Mustard is such an amateur hot-dog topping and we’re not even going to address ketchup.
Even trying to make it sophisticated by adding Dijon, sauerkraut, coleslaw or relish just doesn’t have the right kind of chutzpah to elevate the food into the upper echelons. And that's without discussing the merits of or purest’s view on ketchup.
Well, what about adding things like brie, arugula, caramelized onion, sauteed portobello mushrooms and garlic aioli to the dog and turning it into a quarter-pound frankfurter. Well, now you might be onto something.
It’s that kind of outside-the-box thinking that has Victoria Atkins excited about her venture Let Me Be Frank, a new restaurant on King Street in Midland dedicated to bringing the frankfurter to new heights.
Officially opening Friday, Atkins provided BradfordToday and InnisfilToday with a tour of the restaurant, which is located in the same building that housed Midland Fish and Chips for nearly six decades.
The interior follows a mob-style theme from the prohibition era with whisky barrels, mobster photos and even an upright piano turned into a utensil station. There’s also a plan to play music relative to the time with Big Band, Frank Sinatra and other artists linked to that particular time period.
“I made it mob-themed because I wanted that older prohibition, back-in-the-day feel,” Atkins says. “I wanted to bring the frank back and remind people of the nostalgia and versatility of it.”
The small dine-in and takeout quick-service restaurant concept had been in Atkins’ mind for a while. She says that while there are a number of signature frank dishes, customers also have the ability to build their own creations as well from a variety of interesting toppings.
“Most of our sauces, sides and toppings are made in house,” says Atkins, who runs the restaurant with husband Wes Haines. “I would say it's comfort food, but elevated.”
Atkins says the restaurant is different from other food offerings currently on the market.
“There were a couple places in town with hot dogs on the menu and there are also a lot of fast-food places as well. I noticed there was a market of taking a ‘fast food’ and elevating it.
“Adding things you normally wouldn’t to a very simple classic dish often makes the dish better, if not changing it completely. I wanted to take something simple and classic and turn it into something to different and sometimes even extravagant.”
Even the toppings that come on the franks feature mob-related lingo with names like kingpin, capo and soldier.
Their website also features a great deal of dedication to the theme.
The franks all have specialty names like The Enforcer, The Sit Down, The CORNsigliere and The Breakfast Boss.
"Our turkey sausage and veggie dog is made with real stuff, no fillers, no beyond or impossible chemical taste for this wise guy!" It states. "We also have smaller ⅛ lb all beef Franks for little underbosses too."
For the signature options, prices range from $10 to $13. A non-beef option is the $12 Goodfella, which features a quarter-pound turkey sausage or veggie dog topped with roasted red peppers, sauteed portobello mushroom, arugula, curried ketchup and crispy onions.
To add a choice of side and a drink, it's an additional $6.
Atkins says she often creates food at home that is a "simple comfort dish kind of food" and puts a spin on it.
“The frank is the best food to do that with,” she says. “It’s such a simple dish but it has this versatility, and happy nostalgic quality to it. The frank is simple, the toppings are not.
“And it’s endless. You can come up with whatever you want that completely speaks to you and your tastes.”
Atkins says local residents should give the restaurant a try because of the big bold flavours.
“Our franks are comfort food, just elevated. They are huge (since) a quarter-pound all beef frank is our standard, they're interesting and full of different versatile toppings.
“Anything is a possibility for our customers. They should also try it because I believe in making as much as possible in house.”
After acquiring the restaurant in December, they spent about a month getting it to where they wanted.
Atkins says it was fun seeing her creativity and vision come to life.
“From the small renovation we did to creating the menu and testing it out, it was very fun once everything came together and I saw the finished product,” she says.
But there has been a bit of frustration felt by Atkins as a woman starting a small business.
“I have noticed some bias, and ignorance from some,” she explains. “My husband is helping me with this venture but most assume he is the owner and not me.
“From suppliers to vendors, I think I've had to work a little harder to be recognized as a business owner and entrepreneur.”
For now, it’s just Atkins and Haines operating the business, but she hopes that when they become busy enough they’ll be able hire additional employees, especially for the summer season.
“Of course with hopefully hiring additional staff, we can also extend our hours and days for the summer season as well. I am very passionate about all our staff making a living wage, so when I can make that happen, I will be hiring more staff.”
There are also plans to give back to the community, according to Atkins.
“We have partnered with the Georgian Bay Food Network on two programs that we are going to be doing,” she says, noting the first involve a partial donation of 50 cents from every sale of their signature frank, ‘the Let me be Frank’ with the donation increasing to a dollar if the customer orders a combo.
“The second program we have created is the ‘Frank it Forward’ program. When a customer ‘Franks it Forward’ a $7 donation goes straight to the Georgian Bay Food Network. That customer gets a picture taken in front of our wanted poster and gets featured on our Instagram page.”
Atkins also strove to make the restaurant as sustainable as possible.”
Restaurants are usually the worst in terms of food waste and garbage. I wanted to eliminate that as much as I possibly could.”
To that end, she notes that all of their takeout packaging is 100 per cent compostable, their drink options are all recyclable and any food leftover at the end of the day gets donated to the Guesthouse Shelter.
Atkins adds: “We really are trying to make ourselves accountable for anything that goes into the landfill at the end of the day.”
