Frank

So, I FINALLY got to see what all the hype was about! I was pleasantly surprised and it even exceeded my expectations. The menu for the evening was «streets of asia». As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted with a drink and amuse-​bouche of takoyaki. It was sinful. Just a tease of what was to come. The chefs Jennie and Ben were amazing. The stories Ben told as each course came out were mesmerizing. I had no idea there were so many varieties of foods out there that I have never tried or heard of! First course was the banh mi salad with lemongrass pork belly and housemade Vietnamese baguette. Second course was tom kha and it was amazing! The soup was sweet and spicy at the same time. Third course was a sorbet with persimmon and lychee chili and Sichuan pepper. Very different but I enjoyed it. Fourth course was bibimbap with pastured angus veal, garlic rice, local greens and 63.5 degree egg. OMG! The egg was amazing. I also enjoyed the red sesame leaf. Tasted like nothing I have ever had before. No way to describe it. Fifth course was kheer which is an Indian dessert made with vermicelli, raw milk, mango, saffron, cardamom, golden raisin, almond and pistachio. It was so good I ate all of mine and the rest of my husband’s. They served it with Cuban coffee. I don’t drink coffee unless it has bailey’s in it or it tastes somewhat like a dessert but this coffee so delicious. I had two cups. I cannot wait to go back and try a new menu! The chefs clearly love what they do and I feel like I traveled Asia last night.

Ok so to start off I have to say that the whole experience was amazing! I live a little over two hours away, and my wife and I are always looking for something interesting to do. And this is not only a dinner, IT IS AN EVENT. If anyone is hesitant about the price all I can say is it is well worth the price. If you are lucky enough to be selected! The food of course was amazing! But that was only part of it. You have the wonderful host and their helpers. The clean and cozy location was perfect parking was easy and close to the location. Now to the real difference about FRANK! We all ate dinner together like a family at Thanksgiving. We had the opportunity to meet and talk with people we would have never talked to or met any other way! There is no seating order or placement. Just random opportunity to meet wonderful people! Which made it a night I will always remember!

Unbelievable dining experience. Took us a year to finally get a seat at the table… and it was certainly worth the wait. Highly recommended.

This was my second Frank experience. Jennie, Ben, and staff love what they do and it shows. It is such a treat to look around that table and see the delight on the diners faces as they try sophisticated, delicious, food. Get your name on the list, it is a great evening.

For the first time, this was a dining experience that exceeded all my expectations. We can’t wait to do this again. This is our third time to dine with the Frank Underground chefs and they have never disappointed us. I would recommend this to anyone! Not only is it a culinary experience of amazing food, but the people it brings together, alongside the fun chefs is worth the visit. I can’t wait to introduce more friends to this experience.

The great lengths that Frank goes to bring you a dining experience unlike any other literally brought tears to my eyes (according to my boyfriend, more than once, too). Not only does Frank pair the courses with wine, but also with the history, the culinary science, and personal anecdotes from how your food came to be, was prepared, and ultimately plated. Frank encourages diners to see and feel new dimensions of dining that sheds a different light on what it means to eat and what you are eating means. This experience is something you can read all the reviews about, but cannot truly comprehend and appreciate until you undergo first-​hand. I was emotionally moved by what I was eating last night; it’s usually the other way around!
Frank is going to advise you to take an Über. Heed to that, you will be glad you did. Also, come very hungry. We regrettably ate lunch around 4 hours before the dinner because we didn’t think the portions were going to be as generous as they were. The Frank condo, once a remodeled factory of sorts, is going to make you feel like you’re at a friend’s dinner party, which is precisely what it is — you will be sitting at a single long table with future friends at a celebration of food, drink, and communion. Our particular dinner was Italian themed, and Frank dug deep into Italian history and culture to bring out some of Italy’s most timeless ingredients.
Amuse Bouche: Cacao e Pepe. Consisted of a single whirl of pasta on a fork, but leaves you with such a savory taste in your mouth to make you feel like you ate an entire bowl’s worth. Bottarga, a cured fish and something I never would think to work with pasta, is something that is mentioned in the earliest printed cookbook.
First course: Panzanella. It speaks volumes when a woman can recognize when she’s had the best salad of her life. This was a small salad tied together by green tomatoes Frank had pickled themselves. As a fan of sour, this was my favorite course, hands down.
Second course: Garlic Artichoke Soup. Over twenty pounds of garlic were amassed for this dish — that is over a pound of garlic per person. Portion was generous, but the flavor was bold enough that you might not even be able to finish all you are given.
Third course: Sorbetto. This was made with homemade limoncello, something that takes at least a week for a strong lemon flavor. I was not a fan of eating the basil, but it is a very pretty garnish.
Fourth course: Lasagna. The veal narrative was the one that got me. I felt like a wreck tearing up to the story while stuffing my face. The Red Wattle Hog is another component in this dish. This hog is a rare species that is under protection of extinction — and, as counterintuitive as it may seem, in order to save the breed, we need to eat it. It added a very rich and juicy texture to the dish.
Fifth course: Panna cotta. Decadent and light, and not a run of the mill panna cotta. While the amount of crushed pistachios and pom was perfect, I wish there had been more macerated pear for the texture.
Between the overhead costs of travel, experimenting through trial and error for novel dishes, the freely poured wines, unique ingredients, and most importantly, time, the cost of $ 150.00 per person is more than justified. I had to type this review on a word doc across a time span of two days at work — yes this experience meant that much.

I don’t think I can say enough good things about my dining experience at Frank. I got 4 seats in the lottery for my birthday but they weren’t able to make the menu veggie friendly and offered me seats for a future dinner.
The wait was definitely worth it! We ended up at their poison dinner and was blown away by the amazing food. We also loved the community table and met some great people.
If you are foodie who doesn’t mind spending money on a delicious dining experience, you need to try this place!
If you are vegetarian or vegan, you should still apply for the lottery! It’s definitely worth it!

The ambiance is interesting and effervescent. The food is absolutely fabulous. And the chefs are interesting, informative, and impressive. We are so glad we finally won the lottery.

I’m going to be honest. We went for the «brunch after dark» menu (3^rd weekend) and it was the best brunch that I have ever experienced. My wife told me a while back about frank and the idea that it was an underground restaurant was so intriguing to me. I got on the mailing list and waited for a while before the next event was posted. I emailed to join the lottery for the second and third weeks without any luck. However, I just started to the restaurant on Facebook and they fill cancellations/​empty seats via Facebook post on their page. I set my alarms on my phone and refreshed the page until the post went live and then I snagged the seats. I’m totally going to walk through the menu (mostly so I can remember all of the great things that I ate) but keep in mind that I’m no Chef Ben and my explanations are totally flat compared to his.
The location was a loft full of charming and homey/​fun decorations and exciting new people. As soon as we walked in we were handed some bubbly and our amuse bouche which was a buttermilk cheddar biscuit with foie gras and heirloom tomato jam. Wow. I was hungry and wanted to get a little food on my stomach, so I popped the whole biscuit into my mouth (okay, it was a small biscuit in my defense). Woah. I wish that I had the patience to chew slower, because the foie was so creamy and rich and balanced well with the cheesy biscuit and tomato jam and I wanted to just feast on these for hours.
Next was the first course made by Chef Adrian. It was a bowl of black bean huitlacoche (corn smut) with chorizo, heirloom squash, a crazy egg and a spicy salsa verde. I didn’t really read over the menu when I got it, but I remembered that some crazy thing called huitlacoche was mixed in with the black beans. It is a fungus similar to a mushroom that takes over corn and totally obliterates it. It is very rich and truffle-​y when pureed with the black beans in this dish. The squash was local and was of an heirloom variety that «nobody knows what it is» and it was great and very fresh. The egg is their signature 63.5 degree egg that has the same consistency all the way through and was a pleasure to eat. The salsa verde had lots of heat and chunks of avocado, making it the perfect accent to the rest of the dish.
The second course was a very interesting frittata made with linguine, smoked mozzarella, and Iberico ham. Ben gave us the down-​low on Iberico ham, which is from pigs in Spain that pretty much just scavenge for acorns and get nice and oily before getting cured for 12++ months. The frittata was made with the ham but there was also some thin-​sliced ham on the side with asparagus that was cooked to perfection and very flavorful. As for having linguine INSIDE the frittata, it was a new experience but it added an amazing amount of texture that really gave the egg more structure.
The third course was a watermelon sorbet floating on homemade peach moonshine that Chef Ben «totally did not make in the still that he totally does not have». The moonshine was easily the best part of this dish and the sorbet gave it enough flavor and coldness that it was very smooth and refreshing with definite peach notes.
The fourth course was the croque-​madame made with Laraland farms smoked red wattle ham, delicious housemade sourdough, gruyère, sunny-​side up duck egg, and lots of caviar on top with a radicchio salad to balance out the richness. I had no idea how large duck eggs were! The yolk was gigantic and took up much of the egg! The red wattle ham was fantastic and very flavorful and made the sandwich perfect. I also am not one to ever say no to a huge helping of caviar on top! The radicchio salad was key because it gave my palate a huge break from the richness of the duck egg/​caviar/​gruyère heaped on the fresh sourdough.
The fifth course was an awesome «faux benedict» which was actually dessert. At first glance, this looked like an insane eggs benedict but it was actually cantaloupe ice cream on top of a candied bacon waffle with a crazy sauce (amontillado zabaglione) that looked just like hollandaise. This was such a fun dish and we were served Turkish coffee to complement the ice cream/​waffle.
Drinks are always good and we were definitely not let down in this department. We were handed bubbles as soon as we walked into the loft, and the stream of blood orange/​grapefruit mimosas, wine with our courses never stopped! Everyone was behaving and the pours were very generous.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of the meal was the sense of community with everyone sitting at the gigantic table that Chef Ben built. Having an intimate meal with 20 strangers is a new experience, but I would absolutely do it again! When we were ready to pay, Chef Jennie and Chef Ben came around individually and spoke with each group of people for a few minutes while completing the transaction. It was awesome to get a chance to talk one-​on-​one with the two chefs that made the whole dinner possible, and they are very friendly! EAT@FRANK!

This was truly one of the best meals I’ve ever had. The food was perfectly executed in every course of the meal. The experience is also really unique and a lot of fun. We’ll definitely be coming back… as long as we get pulled in the lottery of course!
This is a can’t miss if you’re a food lover

I’ve been lucky enough to dine at Frank 3 times (you can win the lottery more than once don’t give up!) and each time has exceeded my expectations. No matter what menu your dinner is I can promise you one thing, the food is going to be excellent! What separates Frank from your run of the mill restaurant is the atmosphere.
It’s not like a typical dinner out in Dallas. You sit at a long (homemade by Ben) table with 18 – 20 other diners. By the time you’re done with dinner you have 18 new friends. If you want to know how something was made Ben and Jennie will describe the process. Where else can you go and speak to the head chef about their dishes and get immediate feedback?
Whether you are coming here to celebrate an anniversary or just love try new takes food I highly recommend it. I would also recommend ubering parking is a little tight but the main reason is the wine. There is a lot of it :).

I seriously can not begin to tell you what a wonderful experience this is! The food is mind blowing, the team is lovely and the experience is like nothing you will have in Dallas.
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After reading several other reviews I feel bad for all these people that waited forever to get into a dinner. Perhaps no one told you to like Frank on Facebook? Frank will have guests who cancel and then they give out those open seats to whomever responds on FB first. OR perhaps no one told you this because the Frank diners are greedy mofo’s who don’t want you taking their potential coveted spots at the communal table? I’d like to think the best of my fellow table mates…
Ben and Jennie (the chefs) are so nice. This dinner was in Jennie’s home. The table you eat on was crafted by Ben. The staff busying themselves everywhere were right where they needed to be. From the time we walked up and rang the call box out in front of the building until we left at the end of the evening we were well taken care of.
It feels almost wrong to describe the delicious food I had at this dinner because you will never get to try it. Sadly for you Brunch After Dark is over. The chefs make it well known that whatever dishes they create for the theme are only made once. Once the theme has passed, so has your chance to revel in the delicious creation. But don’t be a sad panda– The next themes dishes are sure to be amazing and just as drool worthy. I’m glad I got in for a brunch theme since I’m a huge fan of the breakfasty foods. I love all things swine and egg related. So throw some hard to procure porky bits and perfectly cooked golden yolks my way and I’ll be a happy girl. The 63.5 degree egg seems to be a running part of multiple dishes throughout themes, so at the very least you will get to try that.
Ben was so enthusiastic about the food. I love hearing about the way things are prepared, where ingredients came from, the back story on how the animals are raised, where this particular type of heirloom veggie started, and any other nerdy food trivia info you can throw at me. Ben gushes about these things while you dig into each course. I love the heart and soul he puts into preparation of the dish BUT even more in telling the guests about it. Rarely do you get to speak to someone who is so passionate about something and I really enjoyed it.
Jennie was very complementary of the entire staff. She made sure to tell us and them how much she appreciates everything they do.
They are big on the family friendly feels at the dinner. I’m not the most outgoing of people, but give me enough blood orange grapefruit mimosa and I’ll brave the conversation! The drinks were flowing all night and I even snapped a photo of the delightful rose they served so I can hound my guy at Total Wine to get me a case.
This was a lovely experience from start to finish. I can’t say enough good things about it. The hubby loved it too. He made the remark that he thoroughly enjoyed every course and that’s rare with a prefix menu. I know once Jennie gets back from touring with her band in October that we will try to get in on the next dinner! We drove just because we live in Fort Worth so taking a Über is a little ridiculous, but if your Dallas local I’d recommend it. Parking was limited.

An experience unlike anything before! This, by any means, had no atmosphere of a restaurant; rather, a welcoming, warm and exquisite meal shared by many friends (although, we started as strangers, we quickly grew intrigued by one another’s story). The passion, creativity and belief that Ben and Jenni influence was so inspiring and exhilarating. I gather their belief of their dishes should be pure and simple and should be composed by utilizing and maximizing all naturally given elements per ingredient. My taste buds were on an adventurous ride of flavors today and they enjoyed every bit of it!
Don’t expect to come to a commercial, restaurant setting. You are truly welcomed into the home of one of the creative chefs in Dallas!
The Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuit was warm upon being served and melted so beautifully in my mouth.
The Black Bean Huitlacoche was my second favorite with a perfect balance of beans, chorizo, egg and squash!!!
The Fritatta was perfectly moist followed by a beautifully crusted pasta that seeped its way up during its baking creation.
The Watermelon sorbet was like a beautifully designed tease of my favorite watermelon ice concoction mixed with a kick of peach moonshine.
The Croque-​madam with red-​wattle ham was my absolute fav balanced with a radicchio salad that helped me to appreciate every bite of my sandwich that followed.
The blood orange grapefruit mimosa was not at all overly sweet or bitter but instead delicately bubbled my tastebuds!
A DEFINITE MUST TO RETURN AND ANXIOUSLY TRY MORE OF THEIR CREATION!

!!!THEBESTEVER!!! Since this review, we have gone to 2 other Frank dinners: Ode to the Egg, part 2 and Espana. I love Frank. because the food is superb; Jen, Ben, and the entire staff are friendly and they truly care; and the community of stranger friends. I love hearing the backstory on every dish — the why, hows, and whens. The team brainstorms and researches every dish they make and each dish is crafted to perfection.
My favorite dish at Ode to the Egg, part 2: duck egg salad crostini — perfectly made crostini which balanced the texture of the duck egg salad on top
My favorite dish at Espana: Strawberry, peach, watermelon gazpacho with jamon serrano — not too sweet, not too savory, just the perfect combination of flavors. The Serrano ham was too die for!
My favorite at every single dinner: the freakin’ bread!!! Hail to the very simple bread whether you’re dipping it in olive oil or smearing it with the butter
A note on how we have gone to 3 Frank dinners (about to go on a 4^th): FACEBOOK!!! The lottery is cool and we do it, but following Frank on FB gives you an even greater chance at getting a seat at the BEST table in Dallas. Throughout the week, they will post availability at certain dinners. Be the 1^st to comment and BINGO! the seats are yours!
Thank you Ben, Jen, and the Frank team for much laughter, beautiful food, and making our nights truly memorable!

(This review is for a meal I had in November) i was lucky enough to be invited by a friend who got seats for this dinner experience. I must confess… I knew nothing about Ben or Jennie, having not watched whatever season of whatever show they were on. I had never heard of this place or this dining experience so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but my friend insisted that this was something I couldn’t miss.
This isn’t a restaurant! Our meal was in a loft in Deep Ellum which really gave it a homely and more relaxed feel which helped with the ambiance of the evening. Upon arrival, people were chatting and drinking while the chefs and their helpers were walking around providing the drinks and putting themselves out there. Then we were seated at a table that we were later told that they made just for this dining experience. Ben & Jennie are really passionate about food and sharing this experience with people and you can tell as they talk about everything, from the food to their ideas to the story of making this real to even the people helping them. It’s pretty nice to see something on such a personal level.
My group came for a Thanksgiving-​themed menu, «pilgrim» so here is where I should input that I don’t really like Thanksgiving food (pumpkin, squash, walnuts, etc). That being said, I still fairly enjoyed most of the dishes that they prepared and provided. Each dish was paired with an explanation which really enhanced the idea of what we were eating. I won’t go much into the food because it’s difficult for me to explain if you weren’t there since there were just so many components. I will point out that one of my favorite dishes was a butternut squash soup (that I did not expect to like but I did) with their infamous 63.5 degree egg that was just amazing! Ben & Jennie have shared that they try to make this for every group so hopefully you’ll get to try it sometime with them!
There is a «suggested donation» of $ 125 per person (and I’m a little fuzzy on this part but I think another $ 25 for suggested gratuity?) but seeing as they come around to each person individually and have the price already prepped, it’s not really the feel of a suggestion. I can’t say that my Thanksgiving themed meal when I don’t like most Thanksgiving flavors was worth the $ 150 but I can imagine that if I had come to another menu that I would enjoy, it would’ve been more worth it. I didn’t mind paying it though especially as I should’ve known that there would be a Thanksgiving theme and asked about the menu before agreeing to come.
Overall this is not a cheap or quick meal but it’s seriously all about the experience, If you are lucky enough to win the lottery and try it yourself, hopefully you have a great time and are treated to a menu that you are sure to enjoy!

May-​June is a very busy time in our household. A lot of birthdays to go with an anniversary and Mothers Day. We celebrated our 20^th wedding anniversary in May with a trip to Amsterdam and Brussels. And the better half’s birthday was right around the corner. And Frank’s it was to celebrate the occasion. To quote my wife, «Honey, I was wondering how you would top Amsterdam/​Brussels trip, but you did it with bringing me to Frank’s». Such was our latest food adventure.
The food, the service, the attention to detail, the sourcing of fresh and local ingredients, the passion for cooking and for entertaining, the wine, and the ambrosia that is sangria… nothing short of amazing.
I personally liked the sorbet, the rabbit dish (conejo romesco) and gazpacho (like I never had before). The olive oil ice cream was just okay for me but my date loved that too. I just loved the explanations Jennie and Ben gave about Frank’s itself and about each dish. The service was impeccable. I was worried about not having change for the parking meter and Chris, the general manager, simply made the worry disappear.
I am getting back on the email list again — hoping to get in to a Side A or a Godfather or any themed dinner really.
Great work, Frank’s. Thanks.

This is a dining experience. There are 20 seats. You are to be selected to be invited among other request via a lottery system. It’s $ 150 per person. These are the people that love what they do and want to associate with people that know how to appreciate «FOOD».
Although the first rule of FRANK is DO NOT TALK ABOUT FRANK. But in my opinion it is COME WITH AN OPEN MIND AND AN EMPTY STOMACH. If you are not friendly and do not like to experience new things, this is not for you. For those that have a curious palate, this is your heavenly experience.
Tonight location was held at Jennie’s loft in Deep Ellum. The menu will never repeat twice so it is no use to talk about the food too much but rather dwell more on the dining experience, which were very simar to the experiences I had at Michellin starred restaurant. The staff are very friendly and are very experience. These people know what they do and love what they have done and doing. The environment were very controlled but yet relaxed.
Everything I ate was awesomely good. The Bloody Mary was out of this world! And the Apple pie dessert was the best I have ever eaten.
Here are the pictures of what I ate. They are all very good. Nothing left on the plate after ward!

After all these months and alas I was finally able to score an invite to the «red» themed event and it did not fail to impress. Everything tasted out of this world and of course prior to every dish Ben himself gave us a tour of how the dish and/​or ingredient in the particular dish came to be. I loved all the personal touches from the community table that was built for the dinner to the rustic flatware and silverware used in each course. I could go through each dish one by one in this entry but the night just wasn’t about the food; it was the friends that were made at the table and the love and passion of food that we all shared. This was quite a dining experience for me and I highly suggest all the foodies partake in this adventure with Bed and Jenny.

«Use Über», do you hear me? I’m not taking «no» for an answer. I better not see you getting out of your car, parallel-​parked down in the back streets of Deep Ellum, shyly walking up to a bunch of people gathered outside waiting for the 8:00 secret entrance to Frank. If you drive, you’re gonna regret it. When I tell you this-​just listen and do it like I said.
Frank is full of instructions and prescient information if you make the cut and win their lottery. You’ll be told things once the 18 of you make it to the secret dining location. Things like: «you will be Facebook friends with the strangers sitting around you by the end of the night» (Umm yeah they are all over my wall now). Or «You may be drinking out of that stranger’s wine glass in about two hours» (Um yes I did). Or «You will be taking selfie’s with 4 hot women on a bed in about 3 hours (I did that too. OK dammit I was just the cameraman and my gf was one of the 4, but it happened. Maybe Frank didn’t exactly promise THAT ahead of time but whatever).
The Frank formula is quite effective: take a bunch of like-​minded foodies, build up the anticipation, make it cloak and daggerish, serve good food based on a changing theme, and wash the whole experience down with plenty of wine. Oh, and add to that wonderful hosts and chefs. Ben and Jennie are the icing on the cake: he does most of the ’splaining about what you’re eating, she swoops in periodically to give some other critical stories about the meal. The food: enjoyable-​especially the 63.5 degree egg which seems to be a common ingredient.
Now, I can’t say the food was the main draw… it was quite good, not mind blowing. The price-​conscious may wince a little at the bill. What led the way for me was how much FUN this was. Like everyone has said: it is a dinner party, and getting to meet all these other foodies, and eat, drink, and talk with them throughout the evening was a pleasure. Enough of a pleasure that the next morning I kind of had to think about exactly what happened in that last hour at Frank… Fortunately, there were enough FB posts on my wall/​texts from my new friends to piece it together.
So back to Über… don’t forget if you make the cut and get the Frank invite.