I get questions from time to time about how we came up with the items on our menu. One of the most frequently asked questions is about our Frankburger and Chili Frank. People want to know why we do ours the way we do. Frankly, it all started 36 years ago.
In March of 1974, my family opened an ice cream store on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. We served the usual cones, shakes, malts, sundaes and my favorite the banana split. My Dad wanted to do just a little more. He decided we would serve hot dogs, so that you could get lunch and desert all at the same place. Back in 1974 we didn't have the 100's of different hot dogs that are available today. The standard was the scrawny little hot dog that you boiled in water and served. But my dad found the biggest hot dog my young eyes had ever seen. It came from Oscar Meyer (who didn't sing that song as a kid) and was a quarter pound all beef dog. It was quite simply the best hot dog I had ever had. This was my first venture into cooking for the public.
Fast forward 16 years and I'm a young kitchen manager in Austin, Texas. Have just developed a chili that is both great in a bowl by itself or on a sandwich, I thought it would be great on a hot dog. Now we all know that hot dogs and hot dog buns come packed in different amount in each package. So you are always left with either more hot dogs or more buns then necessary. That's a wast and in the restaurant business, just like at home nobody wants to waste food. While cooking one day I thought, why not put the chili dog on a bun just like a burger? It seemed to me like that would make sense and be easier and less mess to eat. We tried it out and lo and behold it was a success.
Fast forward 16 years again (ironic, isn't it) and we were putting together the
menu for My Place. We wanted to bring the best of all my experience while creating a menu that reflected our tastes. The rule was if we didn't want to eat it, we would not serve it. I remembered serving the chili dog on the bun and thought about the best hot dog I ever ate. After a little research I found that Oscar Meyer quarter pound all beef hot dog and the Frankburger became a permanent part of the My Place menu.
We heard July was National Hot Dog month. Here at
My Place Bar & Grille we are happy to celebrate a good hot dog any and every day. Stop by and try our Frankbuger, an all beef
Frank and a Half Served on a Sour Dough Bun with mustard and Sauteed Onions. Oscar Meyer, we salute you.
