Uncle Franky’s

Every time I come here it’s a great experience. Chicago dog is always made to perfection, staff are really kind people, and everything is made fresh. There are a couple of other places down Broadway that claim to be «Chicago style» food and I’ve tried them all and nothing beats Uncle Frankys! You can’t beat great fast service and delicious comfort food!

With Minnesota weather turning more summer-​like, my taste buds were hankering for one of my summer guilty-​pleasure foods — a delicious hot dog. Now before you reply «delicious hot dog is an oxymoron», let me share more about my visit to Uncle Franky’s.
I convinced my niece Mandi and nephew Tony to take a break from their daily professional lives and meet me for lunch. Lucky for me, they are adventurous and were willing to try Uncle Franky’s. I explained Uncle Franky’s is NOT one of the newly renovated buildings in Nordeast Minneapolis but that shouldn’t be any reason to shy away. Moreover, to live or work near Uncle Franky’s and never try it would be ignoring a local institution in the making.
The menu consists of burgers, beef sandwiches, sausages (hot dogs, Polish and brats) and French fries/​onion rings and my understanding is influenced by the original owners Chicago upbringing. Food is prepared on a grill or deep fryer so you won’t see heart healthy icons on the menu, but the food was not overly greasy.
I had a hard time deciding what to pick so I had the Cajun Brat and a Coney Dog. The Cajun had nice spice without over doing the hot. It was topped with Kraut and green relish. The Coney Dog chili sauce was unique in that it wasn’t overloaded with tomato sauce. I wouldn’t hesitate to have both again. My nephew had the Nordeaster Polish sausage with kraut. Tony’s report was «fantastic taste, great snap to the dog, erupting with kraut. Fries were crinkle cut would be better as chilli cheese fries». My niece ordered the Uncle Franky Polish Dog and onion rings. She reported «All good! Although the relish was unnaturally green, which was weird». I should have told her the green is common with a Chicago style dogs. I observed the Chicago style Italian Beef sandwiches. Very generous portions. The Italian Beefs looked awesome. I’m trying one next visit. Our total bill for four sausages and one can of pop was $ 26 Tim included.
The waitress cashier was very friendly and didn’t rush us when ordering. Free parking is located on the west side of the building. There is picnic table style behind the building. If you visit on a nice sunny summer day, don’t be surprised to find a line at the counter. My nephew pointed out 2 – 3 craft breweries nearby. Next time I am talking my Uncle Franky’s to go and pairing it with a beer.

I REALLY wanted to give this place 5 stars! My entire experience was awesome! But unfortunately I ordered the cheese fries and what they should be called «frozen fries you could buy at the store topped with watered down cheese». (I know, a little long and it doesn’t exactly have a ring to it) I have seen reviews where people liked the cheese fries but I personally did not.
Now to the positive portion of the review and it is VERY positive. I got the Coney Island Chili dog and it might have been the best I’ve had in my life, certainly the best I’ve had in Minneapolis. The bun seemed fresh and so did the chili. The hotdog tasted amazing just by itself. And it’s not exactly easy to make a hotdog that tastes good.
Great great great hotdogs, subpar fries… Still a must try!

They brought back the Mexican cook with skills. You know him when you see him. If not behind the stove it’s a no no. Cheese fries were all the way together, Italian beef was Dankers. Although they were out of chili for some odd reason… it’s was 330 on a weekday afternoon

Went there tonight. Burgers were terrible and although we ordered cheese didn’t get any. Ordered 2 malts and when arrived they did not have what was on the menu. Will not go again-​ICK!

Best hot dogs I’ve ever had! I ate a taste of the Chicago dog, the Southside Maxwell Polish dog, and a taste of the Carolina slaw dog. They were all delicious but I definitely thought the Chicago dog stood out. I didn’t give it a 5 because I’ve yet to visit the Windy City so I’m not the best judge on hot dogs.

I’m a «foodie». My Dad is a retired Master Chef and Culinary Institute of America grad. My daughter is a Chef and Culinary Institute of America grad. I’ve been around the «best if the best» my whole life. In the Twin Cities, there isn’t a close second when it comes to hot dogs. I highly recommend the Chicago dog and the corn dog. Absolutely, positively, perfect!!!

Uncle Franky’s makes you feel at home. Servers are friendly and the food and atmosphere are casual. The place is slightly bigger and much cleaner than The Wienery, in downtown Minneapolis. However, the hot dog combinations are fewer and less creative than the Wienery offers. For example, there’s no hot dog like the Wienery’s Upsetter dog with Bacon and egg.
During our recent visit, I had a cajun red hot dog with onions, mustard and relish. The dog had just the right amount of heat and snap — making it an instant favorite. Every dog I order at Uncle Franky’s going forward will include this slightly spicy dog variation. I also tried a chicago-​style polish. It was sizeable and well topped, but lacked the ‘snap’ of other dogs offerings. Dogs at Uncle Franky’s are steamed by default — but I’d recommend asking for your polish to be grilled or deep fried (available by request) for a better texture.
Uncle Franky’s takes credit cards, but it’s not a bad idea to carry enough cash for your order. During our visit, both the soda dispenser and credit card machines were inoperable.

.For a place I was dying to try I was sadly dissatisfied with this place the food for the prices they charge is horrendous the Coney sauce is terrible the cook burned my Burger and the onion on my Polish not to mention my bun was cold and hard not a great first impression needless to say I won’t be going out of my way to go here again

My daughter and I were at an appointment downtown and afterwards she requested a good burger at a «joint.» Before retiring I had the opportunity to eat almost anywhere in the Twin Cities as my job took me all over. This restaurant certainly qualifies as a joint and the double burger loaded worked for her! I had my old standby, the New York, New York tourist sandwich. Pastrami grilled with onions, kraut, and swiss on rye. Excellent! The atmosphere is kitsch, a little rough around the edges, great blues in the background. Sit at the counter and watch the chef throw out the orders! You are not leaving hungry. It does get busy around lunchtime, so if you are really tight for time there’s a McD’s just down the street.

Do you remember those «What My Friends Think I Do vs. What I Actually Do» posters that became fad some time back? For example, at one corner of my favorite poster, titled «Photographer,» you could see the picture of a half-​naked male photographer taking the photo of a naked, hot female model laying down on a golden sand beach in a pleasant summer day with the explanation «What My Friends Think I Do» underneath it. Then just to the right of this first picture on the poster, you could see the picture of a conservatively dressed young bride with the groom standing two feet away looking innocently at her with the description «What My Mom Thinks I Do.» Finally to the right of the second picture the poster displayed a picture of a computer monitor on which the dull and boring photo effects function in the Photoshop software was running. In the background of the picture you could see a badly-​lit and untidy room – probably a basement. The description under this last picture read «What I Actually Do.»
The posters were surely funny as they depicted a dramatic discrepancy in perception. But to me they were first and foremost a reminder of the fact that most of us are quite average at most of the things we do. Of course, there are photographers who are envied by their dude friends because they deal with Victoria Secret’s models on a daily basis. But if there is one thing that anyone who’s taken an introductory statistics course knows, it is the dismal reality bell curves represent – that they get enormously thin at the far ends; i.e., there are very few people who are extremely good (and extremely bad) at things. The rest of us are pretty average people spending hours editing photos taken by a few others from lively models on a lifeless computer.
Back in high school when this depressing reality slapped me in the face for the very first time in my statistics course, a wise guy told me «That’s the reality and it is just fine,» and advised me that «Now that you know this, remember three things: (1) Don’t aim for mediocrity, but don’t worry if you end up being an average person. It’s much better than what you fear; (2) humbly accept and embrace your mediocrity; and (3) don’t try to hide and bury it under the things you’re not. In other words, his advice simply was that «If you end up being a mediocre person, be a truly good mediocre person.»
But it was not an easy advice to follow, because as many of us have learned being flawlessly mediocre requires an art of some sorts, a real skill; a skill that many average people don’t develop – or our culture acknowledging only the best and brightest doesn’t let them develop. In fact, our culture is more like my high school principal who once in a school-​wide gathering told us, the students, «This year, I want to see that GPAs of all of you are higher than the school’s average GPA!» Although it was easy for us to recognize and laugh at the stupidity of the principal’s statement, it is not that easy – for reasons that are not in the scope of this review – to recognize the many different ways our culture demands a similarly ridiculous and unreal level of achievement.
So I wrote this lengthy introduction to get to this point: if you ask me to name that one place in the Cities that epitomizes a great way of being mediocre, I would definitely say Uncle Franky’s. Uncle Franky’s – and not for instance the Wienery which people wrongly think is of the same nature and which I am also very fond of – is that one place that is «good at not being good.» This is, let me remind you, not at all an easy thing to achieve.
It is as if the owner of the place has received the same advice I got from the wise man at some point in their life. First of all, it’s apparent that they don’t aim for mediocrity. They after all serve Vienna Beef Chicago-​style hot dogs, Polish sausage, and Italian beef. In their class, this is the real deal. They however don’t mind being mediocre. They are what they are. Even in the most generous definition of the word, the place is not «cool” – it is neither New-​Bohemia-​Sausage-​and-​Craft-​Beer-​cool nor Wienery-​cool. They are simply Uncle-Franky’s-uncool. They most importantly do not hide it. Most things in this place scream mediocrity.
It is probably why among all the average places, this one has caught on. It does not then come as a big surprise that some of the most famous chefs in town have said in their interviews that on their off-​nights or whenever they crave comfort food, they eat at Uncle Franky’s.

So good. Highly recommend the Chicago dog and anything with chili on it. The dogs are of the highest quality

Wife and I are visiting from NYC for the first time. We saw a random hole in the wall and seized it as a welcome break from the heat. We ordered Fries, Chicago dog, and Wall Street dog. Delicious! The dogs pop, the buns are firm, one had poppy seeds encrusted… good stuff. In NYC this would be called «artisanal», each hot dog would cost 5x the price, and the lines would be around the block.

Love this neighborhood gem.
If the dog was a lil bigger in the Chicago dog, I’d give it 5*

Great Chicago dog and Italian beef. It’s a «hole in the wall» type of place but the food is good.

So disappointed. We used to go to Franky’s and enjoyed great burgers at a good price, and shook our butts like the Scooby in the window.
Now, it seems that things have changed. It took 30 minutes to get our to-​go order, and once we got it, the food was awful! Undercooked fries, overcooked meat, and dry, cold buns.
Ick.

I moved to Northeast a few months back and was delighted to see a hotdog joint so close to my house. Being from Illinois, I didn’t realize that this wasn’t a common thing in these parts (lol)
We come here a couple times per month at least.
The staff is really friendly, and the menu selection is just right.
They often have a daily special.
I love sitting at the counter.
Great Chicago style hotdogs. That’s all I’ve ever tried so far.
The only difference I notice is that the bun is warmed but not steamed as they would do in Chicago, which is actually nicer because when you steam bread, it turns into a soggy hell nightmare. I could be wrong, but I feel like Uncle Frankys knows what’s up, and adjusted their preparation method accordingly!

Great service, quick made to order hot beef sandwich that was great. Get it with the mozzarella.
I got the fried pickles as a novelty, too salty to finish the basket but they are pickles so it is expected. It was $ 13 for the sandwich and side. Not a bad deal since its almost enough food for 2.

I’m always looking for a local source for a traditional Italian Beef so when somebody suggested this place I had to try it out. My 12 yo daughter and I stopped in a Saturday afternoon once we found the place… and after seeing it decided to go in despite the «charm».
The ratings:
Deep fried pickles: 3
Italian Beef: 3.5
Chicago Dog: 3 (according to my daughter — the chicago dog expert)
Soda: 1 they have some house brand soda machine that tastes like that crap you make for yourself at home
The staff was nice, the service was pretty fast, and the food was OK. I’m pretty picked when it comes to Italian Beefs and this one was better than most I’ve had in the Twin Cities but certainly not the best — and definitely not even close to a true Chicago sandwich.
I’ll definitely go back but I won’t get a crappy soda. That alone might bump them up a star.

Y’all, I don’t even like hot dogs. Look at my rating. I seriously have not eaten and enjoyed a hot dog in probably 5+ years. I love burgers but the texture and flavor of hot dogs weirds me out. Why is there a snap?! Why do they taste ambiguously meaty?!
But! One of my new year’s resolutions was to be more adventurous with food so I womaned up and got a hot dog. It was still odd and I was still weirded out by the snap but it was just so darn tasty. The combination of the juicy hot dog, seasoned chili, and the onions was wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, there was a time when I was down with hot dogs so I know a good dog when I nosh on it. The fries were just standard frozen fries — can’t complain based on how many come in a small. They fry ‘em fresh so you might need to add salt.
Above all else, the price was on point! You can’t beat a mountain of a chili dog for under $ 4.