We recently celebrated the annual anniversary of Kenny’s 29th birthday. Few things say “man-grub” like hot dogs, so I thought lunch at Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer in downtown Austin might be a fun excursion.

Well, the food was an adventure…

After all, in what alternate universe would you expect Hill Country gourmet to shack up with Windy City street fare on a single menu? However, Frank makes it work.

Snooty artisan sausages made in-house and 100% Vienna beef hot dogs shipped in from Chicago are paired with creative and traditional toppings to deliver big tastes.

A nice selection of Texas grown-up brews, and my personal favorite – the sweet sudsy local Maine Root Beer- are all on draft to wash down every bite.

And I’m not even gonna talk about the whoopie pie…

Who am I kidding? Of course I’m going to mention the whoopie pie – rounds of chocolate cake sandwiching the richest cream in the world – whoooooopie!

If the food warmed my stomach at Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer, the people won my heart.

The owner made time stand still during the busy lunch rush. It’s as though he blacked out the rest of the room and shone the spotlight of his attention on Kenny and me. He easily chatted with us while we waited for a table.

Why? Because he heard we were first-time guests.

A few weeks later we planned to introduce our friends to Frank.

“It’s closed for Sunday dinner!” we realized as we stood disappointed at the door peering in to the dark restaurant.  The two remaining employees saw us, opened the door and invited us in.

“Cathy! Look at all this gorgeous salvaged wood!” Our friend Bill, a fine craftsman, exclaimed about the interior of Frank.

And that was just enough to get the employees talking. They poured a round of Maine Root Beer on the house, hung out with us for about 25 minutes and showed us all the behind-the-scenes care that went into Frank’s interior design and menu. Then they sent us off with a list of their other favorite restaurants in town to try instead.

Wow! We came hungry and left as friends.

So while the humble hot dog may be out-of-this-world at Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer, the people are sure to make you feel right at home.

Important Info:

Location: Corner of 4th and Colorado, Austin, TX

Website: http://www.hotdogscoldbeer.com/ The photo above is just a teaser of the many enticing pics on the Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer website.

Note: Closed for Sunday dinner. Vegetarian options available.

His owner is a middle aged man, ripped with the tan and muscles that only come from a hard day’s work. The ink sleeves on the man hint at an even harder life.

They are an odd pair.

Apparently the wolf in my hotel likes hot dogs too.

Yes, a wolf lives in my hotel.

Every day, a very serious lady walks a wolf and a weenie dog. She is high up there as one of the most interesting people I’ve ever watched. And since she walks the wolf and weenie dog just about a billion times a day, I get to watch her a lot. (Yeah, rather than go meet her, I prefer the Emily Dickinson approach. I just watch her out my window.) She wears long sleeved sweaters and long pants, even though it’s REALLY HOT outside. She wears dark glasses, a hat and bright lipstick. I think maybe she smokes too because just about a billion small ladylike cigarettes are in the ashtray by the back door. Each cigarette has lipstick marks that match her shade – hot pink.

Francie cries every time the wolf walks by our door. Why can’t she just bark? She’s only ever barked 4 times – 1 time a year. Apparently the wolf-walk-by is not the designated day of the year to bark.

What sort of wolf hangs out with a weenie dog? Really it’s a very odd pair. I bet of the two, the wolf is actually the nice one. I’ve never met a nice weenie dog.

Well, today, I think enough was enough. The wolf decided it was time for lunch. On walk number 312 of the day, the weenie dog was gone.

The wolf ate a hot dog.

So that February weekend of work in Austin was a harbinger of good things to come. My husband took a job in Austin and we’re back in our beloved Texas. This time I hope to stay.

I love this state. And here in the heart of Texas, I almost feel as though I’m in another country. It’s hours of driving in any direction to visit another state…or another country! It’s only May and it’s hot as…well we all know where. AND FINALLY…we are back to the land of Tex Mex. I can’t tell you how many fish tacos and chips and salsa and chips and queso orders I’ve consumed in the two weeks we’ve been here. It just isn’t the same elsewhere. I think that wannabe Tex Mex restaurants in other states need to discover a couple ingredients – cilantro and peppers. You know even jalapenos would be a good start…but why stop there? Branch out. Serranos, anchos, habaneros, tomatillos, chiles and many more peppers are just waiting to be invited outside of Texas.

Austin has it’s own set of beauty rules. I haven’t learned them all yet, but here are a few I have observed.

1. The more ink and piercings the better.

2. Dreadlocks are mainstream.

3. If you have an infant it’s best to let it all hang out to breastfeed in public.

4. Plastic surgery has not found its way here. The amount of skin people show here seems directly proportional to the number of curves in all the wrong places.

5. Beauty is on the inside. People here have been kind and warm and friendly. And SMART! So snappy and witty. Truly interesting.

So it’s in this beautiful town that we’re putting down roots in a small suburban home made of white Texas stone. We’ll hang our son’s lone star with pride and pray to God this is one dream that just won’t end.

I like lists. My favorite list is my “Where in the world would I like to go?” list. These places can range from the spots of local interest to far-reaching exotic destinations.

While in Texas, do as Texans do, because as we all know, they really do know what is bigger and better in Texas. For me, this meant add the two following destinations to “the list”: San Antonio and Austin. 

I checked off San Antonio a couple springs ago.  Austin eluded me.  With a possibly semi-permanent impending move to Georgia, I wondered if Austin might remain out of reach.

But, ha! Not so was my luck! After a whirlwind pack-up of our home in Keller, my husband was invited to Austin for a weekend consulting gig.  A friend offered to keep Titus, and I won the jackpot of 20 hours in Austin.

What to do with so little time? Southern Living has a fantastic travel guide online. Use the Editors’ City Guide to select a city.  What to do? Where to eat? Where to stay? The site answers this and more.  I trust Southern Living to consistently deliver a quality product, so with so little time, Kenny and I opted to pick from their list of suggestions.

It was a gray, rainy, cold afternoon and evening the Saturday of our arrival, so we opted to take the “driving tour”.  We spent most of our time in Zilker Metropolitan Park.  This 351 acre park is home to Barton Springs, a natural spring swimming hole that remains a steady 68 degrees year round.  It is also home to a botanical garden, which from all accounts is incredibly beautiful.  Unfortunately, we arrived after the garden closed for the evening.  The park provides the city with outdoor theaters and acres and acres of green lawns.

Austin locals are very friendly and, like most Texans, are incredibly proud of their home.  A man at the park spent ten minutes with us telling us all the great things about Austin.

We continued across the river to Austin’s downtown. What a cool town!  Austin’s tagline is “Keep Austin Weird”, and the locals make a great effort to support local establishments.  The streets and streets of inviting art galleries, eclectic restuarants, funky bars and quirky fashion boutiques are a testament to this city’s success – local establishments are alive and well!  I could have spent days, maybe weeks, walking the streets and poking around in the cool places downtown.

 With the overcast sky and drizzly day, Kenny and I were ready for an early dinner and a quiet evening.  He had an early appointment the next morning and needed to prepare.

He picked our restaurant from Southern Living’s guide – the Shady Grove Restaurant. His friend the next day confirmed this is an Austin “establishment”.

 This was one quirky joint.  A little bit of tex mex, some funky California inspiration, and good down-home cooking live in a very happy harmony on the menu at this place.  The rough floors, vintage 60’s metal patio furniture, diner style booths and various “roadkill” art pieces create a classy trashy dive atmosphere.  I think Austin may be the one place on earth this level of eclectic actually works.

I adored my food – fresh-squeezed lemonaid, meatloaf with a chili-tex-mex-tomato sauce and garlic smashed potatoes.  It reminded me of my mom’s meatloaf, but with an edge to it.  Kenny ordered the green chili hamburger touted by Southern Living’s guide.

My only complaint? I was too full to order the chocolate icebox pie I’d been eyeing on the dessert menu.  (Chocolate icebox pie!  If that doesn’t make you feel like Grandma’s come to town, I don’t know what would.)

I don’t know.  Maybe I’ll backtrack to Austin someday.  And when that day comes, I’ll listen to my dad’s advice: “Life is short.  Eat dessert first.”