Drive through Hot Dog stand serving classic dogs and burgers
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1020
Reviewed: 4/16/2004
Rating: 8.5
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Its been years since I've been to Ben Franks. The only reason I landed here was because of the traffic on 101N so I decided to take El Camino Real home. Ben Franks is a small drive through Hot Dog/Burger stand with small outdoor eating area in the front and parking lot in the rear.
I ordered a Classic American Hot Dog with a side of fries. The picture doesnt do justice to the meal as it tastes much better than it looks. If you're into eating hot dogs like myself, its all about the crisp snap when you bite into it. Ben Franks has the snap..woohoo....I think the way Ben Franks cooks their dogs and buns by steam/boil method? Their fries were really good. I should have gotten more than 1 dog. In the past I've ordered the chili dogs and were not impressed. I think its a Northern California thing to not know how to make good chili. It tastes like everyone up here is using Hormels....go drive down to LA for REAL CHILI DOGs; Tommys, Pinks, Cupids, and Carneys.
My entire meal was around $7 but another dog would have made me full. Next time you're sitting in traffic through Redwood City, take a sidetrip to Ben Franks, relax in the parking lot, and scarf down some dogs.
RETURN VISIT for Jason!8/30/2004 - 9 Rating: I made a mistake giving Ben Franks a 8.5....this place deserves at least a 9. Ive made 3 visits since my last review and cant think of any place in the bay area that I would rather go for hot dogs. I ordered 2 classic american dogs 1 with cheese and without. Bun was moist, hot dog had the snap, onions were chopped, tomatoes were ripe, and light on the mustard. What more could I ask for? Fries? Yes, the fries were out of the fryer so those were good too. Ben Franks is my favorite bay area hot dog place.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 9/29/2004
Rating: 8
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We arrive at Ben Franks (my first visit) and my hopes are high. Not too high, but high. I am comparing to my favorite dog joint, Kaspers. The place looks cool with the drivethru driveway going clearly around the place. Its like a church steeple in the middle ofa concrete jungle. Cool.
The prices seem decent, not outrageous. I order my bellweathers: the Classic with Cheese, and the Kraut dog. They arrive VERY quickly. Cool. They wrap all orders to go but there are outside tables in front.
I tear into the Classic with Cheese first. I am a little shocked to open it up. Its kinda small. The dogs themeselves and buns are comparable to Kaspers but they don't load up on the fillings. Its maybe half of the fillings of Kaspers. The cheese are these thick cut pieces compared to Kaspers grated. What?? Well I bite into it and the dog tastes identical. The bun is not as moist, but is still quite good. The whole mixtures tastes fairly close to a Kaspers cheese dog with everything on it. Except the cheese. Its just not right. I'm sorry folks, but I gotta knock off for the cheese. It didn't sell me. The rest was top notch, so can't complain too much, except in the quantity.
The Kraut dog was next. I must be frank. Heh heh. The fillings were also too small. Hmm. And the whole dog was just tasteless. James was with me and had one too. He agreed that it was a rather lackluster performer. So much so, that I will not order another one here. The Classic is where its at (I think I will steer clear of the cheese here as well). So maybe I'm being a bit harsh in my review, but I can't knock off too much on the point scale as they get a lot of stuff close. If you are a peninsula dweller looking for some good dog-age then you are not far from Ben Franks, a good hot dog joint.
I was watching the travel channel's World famous hotdog places in US last night and was dying for hotdogs. I looked up the hotdog places at Jatbar.com and found Ben Franks seemed to be the perfect lunch place. I ordered the classic with cheese and the Louisiana Hotlinks with a drink, for about $8, not too bad. I started with the hotlink first, hmm............ that's probably the best tasting hotdog I ever had in years. The spiciness of the hot link was perfect and the bun was moist. There was no need for any ketchup or muster, it is the perfect dog for me. I then got to the Classic with Cheese, the dog has the snap to it and it did remind me of my first dog in the ball park when I first came to US............... Very nice, I can't wait to come back for other items on the menu,
Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 81
Reviewed: 7/21/2008
Rating: 7.5
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I stopped by Ben Franks with my family to get some dogs to go. My wife and I each ordered the classic dog – mine was loaded, hers was plain. I ordered the kid’s fun pack for each of my daughters. After arriving home we opened our bag. One big disappointment was that they fully loaded the kids' hot dogs with mustard, ketchup and pickles. Like a lot of young kids, my daughters are picky eaters and don’t like a lot of condiments (unless they happen to be in the mood for ketchup). No matter how much I scraped the buns, these were basically “polluted” in their minds and so went in the trash. Then of course we had to wash off the dogs so they could eat them.
Ben Franks, get a clue! Leave your kids dogs PLAIN and include ketchup and mustard packs for those who want to add it. I realize I could have asked for plain dogs, but the drive-in menu had provided no description and I assumed they would know better.
As for my dog, I enjoyed it very much. Top notch frank and good bun. I was pleasantly surprised to get fairly ripe, good-quality tomatoes on mine as well. Only problem was that I finished it and was still hungry, so I ended up scrounging more lunch from the fridge. Each dog was around $3.70 which is bit high if you don’t want it loaded (no price break given if you don't). It’s a hot dog for chrissakes! Rating for my meal was maybe 8.5, minus a point for high price and kiddie meal cluelessness.
“Ben Frank's has been around since I was a child and I have always loved the place. My favorite thing to order is the root beer freeze which is a root beer milk shake. The sausages are of excellent quality and worth the money.”
1/24/2008 10:20:20 AM
nkedel ate...
Kraut dog
“I always get the kraut dog. It's good, and a large/filling enough to make lunch even w/o fries, nice meaty taste, good texture. The 'kraut is a bit mild tasting for my preference. They also do a good root beer float - real ice cream, not soft serv”
10/4/2007 9:59:00 PM
Foodvacuum ate...
Classic American
“I've been eating my version of the Classic American (just cheese and tomatoes) for years and it's always been consistantly good. I like Caspers, but sometimes they serve buns that aren't fully steamed. I hope the new menu items don't hurt Ben's ”
8/4/2007 12:04:36 PM
Godlike4U ate...
What dish did you eat? The Classic and a Chili Dog
“What did you think?Ben Franks has added quite a few things to their menu. But just a suggestion, stick to the basics. They do great dogs. I mean really why would you go to place with them of Ben Franks and get anything but a Frank?”
6/29/2007 9:23:39 PM
mwdonnelly ate...
Classic Hot Dog and Fries
“Ben Franks has been around since I was a kid (LONG time), and the food continues to be as good as it was in the past. Great dogs, awesome fries. There's a reason that this little gem continues to survive.”
