5 out of 8 PJs
Thank God there is a place in Columbus that can satisfy our love for 80s baseball heroes, hot dogs and Hall and Oates all at the same time:
Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace caught our eyes while we were driving downtown and saw a line pouring out of the entrance. John and I are pretty big fans of Downtown proper and we figured the center of Columbus would be a good place to start our journey. Plus, we thought it would be appropriate, as self-appointed "sandwich" critics, to begin our tour of Columbus eating hot dogs.
Entering Dirty Frank's, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the place has a fully appointed bar: nice start. It's kind of like how the "street meat" vendors bring the hot dogs to the party by setting up shop outside of bars on the weekend. In this case they've brought the party to the hot dogs. One interesting downside: no televisions of any kind at the bar. Actually, that is a lie. There is a small black and white television set above the entrance with a live security feed. 
The atmosphere of the place is a real treat. Hand drawn images are on display all over the walls honoring high caliber musical acts like Twisted Sister and Hall and Oates. The real winner here is an entire wall dedicated to the great baseball players of the 1980s. All of the guys from your old baseball card collection are there: Ricky Henderson, Bo Jackson, Dennis Eckersley, Jose Canseco in an A's jersey, a pint-sized version of Barry Bonds and, most awesomely, Chris Sabo. Chris Sabo is so sweet he even has a drink on the menu.
Which brings us to the menu. The most eye catching feature of the menu is that all of the hot dogs are only $3. That's right, $3. Specialty hot dogs, regular hot dogs, hot dogs with $5 worth of beef brisket camped out in the bun: every one of them is only 3 bucks. Drink prices were also reasonable, adding to the overall feeling of value that restaurateur Liz Lessner was aiming for with Dirty Frank's. The bottom line: we each had 2 hot dogs, a side and a beer for just around $10.
Now, on to the breakdown.
Tommy:
We figured that a good hot dog restaurant worth it's bun should be able to handle the basics, so for my first dog I tried the classic Chicago "run through the garden." The veggies were fresh and tasty and the sport peppers had a nice bite, but the all beef hot dog was the star, as it should be.
Unfortunately, the neon green relish which really makes this dog was absent - only plain old sweet relish. Overall it was a good execution of my favorite hot dog, although it could have used a little less celery salt.
The next dog I tackled was the Whoa Nellie: a hot dog paired with a nice helping of beef brisket tucked into the bun. This one really had me torn. The hot dog was nice and I enjoyed how it tasted with the barbecue sauce (for the record, I am not a hot dog snob and I think ketchup on hot dogs is delicious). Additionally, the brisket was nicely cooked and tasty. But the two together didn't wow me like I hoped it would. And there was something weird about the two textures together.
For my side I tried the coleslaw, which was spiked with Sriracha chili sauce. Excellent coleslaw, that's all there is to say. There beer selection was strong and I went with a Great Lakes Independence Ale. Tasty but a little too warm.
Verdict:
5 out of 8 PJs. Not as good as I had hoped, but the price is unbeatable.
John:
The waitress was very nice, and very helpful in helping me to make my selections. I ordered a classic chili dog and also their T-dog (which is a hot dog topped with Sriracha chili sauce, roasted red peppers, bacon bits and sharp cheddar cheese), a side of macaroni and cheese, and a pint of Columbus Brewing Company's summer beer. The twelve dollars and change the meal cost was also quite refreshing. It was less than a sandwich costs at many establishments in the city. The mac and cheese was very good, it was very classic tasting, but they add sport peppers to it to spice it up a bit. At this point, I was ready to declare my love for the place, but then I had my first bite of the chili dog.
The chili was far too sweet and lacked any spice that would really distinguish it as chili. It tasted like sweetened tomato paste. Aside from that, I enjoy a chili dog with cheese that has partially or fully melted. This was not the case because the chili was nowhere near hot enough. The dog was a resounding failure. The T-dog was a little better, the sweetness of the roasted peppers played well off the mustard and bacon flavors. Though, again, the toppings were not quite warm enough for my likings. The dog also had too much roasted red peppers, again causing my hot dog to be too sweet. This dog was not a failure. The concept is actually quite good and so are the ingredients. The execution was a little flawed. With the combination of the great prices and atmosphere, and the hope that most of their specialty dogs are more like the T-dog than the chili dog…
Verdict:
4 out of 8 PJs. I might like it better if I came in at 1:00 am instead of 1:00 pm
