Lunch Report: Frankfurter Express on Kings Court...

A friend told my wife and I about Frankfurter Express, a fairly new place located near the St. Mary's area near 281 on a street that was once residential and now filled with small businesses.
We were told to expect friendly folks, interesting art, and wonderful hot dogs, and I am happy to report, we found all of the above.
The first order of business is parking. Good luck, but don't let it deter you. Just know that you may have to drive around the block a few times before finding a place to park.
When we walked in, the owner (or the co-owner - it is a father-son team), was chatting with another customer and he immediately welcomed us and gave us the lowdown on the hot dog operation. This wasn't that fake, forced "Welcome to Fill-in-the-Blank" that you get nowadays from so many chains, but a genuine enthusiasm by someone happy to see us. I swear, my wife and I started giving each other that puzzled "where do we know this guy from" look, because he was an instant friend. Surely, he isn't this friendly to everyone (and we would find out that he is not).

As we looked over the picture menu of all the possible combinations, he explained to us that they were trying to give customers something different than the fast-food experience we have all become accustomed to. I laughed when he imitated the accepted style of cashier at some fast food places, and I'm sure readers here have all encountered it. You walk into McDonald's and when it is your turn in line, the cashier just gives you a blank stare; none of the polite welcome and asking to take your order that was so drilled into those of us who worked fast food twenty-something years ago.

He told me about the need for people to smile and be happy and enjoy the experience, but confessed that he has had to throw two different customers out for misunderstanding what Frankfurter Express is all about. In one case, a guy came in and wanted his hot dogs ASAP/PDQ because he was in a hurry. The owner kindly pointed him to the direction of Der Wiener Schnitzel and simply turned and walked into the kitchen. I like this guy!

The atmosphere is that of a small converted house turned art gallery. The walls are bright, covered with original artwork and they offer free WiFi if you need to check out my Blog while you shovel a footlong down your gullet.
Outside, there is patio dining and apparently, they show movies occasionally. This Thursday I believe it is, they will be showing a movie in celebration of the owner's birthday.
Not ready to watch a film, but interested in a good dog? There is a huge selection of pre-designed dog combinations to choose from, or you can just order a dog and dress it yourself from the well stocked toppings bar. Oh, and a huge selection of mustards that you simply won't find at most places.
My wife decided to try the Cincinnati (as my late aunt would pronounce it, Cincinnat-uh) Footlong. This dog comes with a New York Hebrew National Kosher served on a long (fresh) bun with authentic Cincinnati chili, cheddar cheese and chopped onions. My wife thought the chili was different than what she is used to, but at least it was home made and enjoyed the dog - and ate the whole thing.
We ordered up a basket split with onion rings and fries. The rings have that harder, crispy feel that I'm not a huge fan of (I prefer the less healthy, beer battered fried rings), but the taste was simply wonderful. I do recommend them. More importantly, the fries were out of this world fantastic. If you go and do not order the fries, you are making a huge mistake. They are cut potatoes and seasoned with something to make them better than your normal fries from most places we visit.
I was extremely hungry and was contemplating ordering two different types of dogs when the owner suggested I give the Dogzilla a try. It is a monster sized half pound foot long covered half and half Cincinnati Style and New York style for a two city rampage. Whatever; it was huge and it was wonderful.
And yes, I ate the whole thing.
You'll like the company and the presentation and you'll really like the food. Frankfurter Express at 111 Kings Court near downtown is a Tasty Treat.

River Walk Construction Update...

I had to make a short trip downtown today yesterday and thought, what the heck, why not see if anything is going on over the side of the bridge, and in fact, we have some actual progress in our new River Walk extension. From my vantage point at the bridge on McCullough and St Mary's, here are a few pictures.On the north side of the bridge, not much going on but continued growing of grass and plants. On the downtown side of the bridge, lots of activity by workers. Not really sure what it was all about, but they had their trucks parked in the river bed.

River Walk Construction Update...

I had to make a short trip downtown today last week and thought, what the heck, it's probably too cold for tourists, so why not see if anything else is going on over the side of the bridge, and in fact, we have some actual progress in our new River Walk extension. From my vantage point at the bridge on McCullough and St Mary's, here are a few pictures.At least I'm honest enough to tell you that I took the pictures last week but was too busy to upload them in a timely manner. So to save time, I cut and paste from the last time I posted a River Walk Construction Update and even used the same link to the street view. The most important thing to note is the addition of some palm trees going in.On the other side of the bridge, more of the same - a palm tree going in and not much else.Oh, look all the way in the center of the picture at the edge of the water. (You can click on it to see it bigger). Is this guy walking on water just for fun? Get back to work, dumbass!

River Walk Construction Update...

I had to make a short trip downtown today and thought, what the heck, I haven't looked over the side of the bridge in a while and perhaps it would be a good to take a look at the latest construction of our new River Walk extension. From my vantage point at the bridge on McCullough and St Mary's, here are a few pictures.Oh and before I forget, there were actual tourists (or attractively dressed homeless people with cameras) walking along the walk, even though the water is still being diverted. When you see actual people on the sidewalk, you get a better appreciation for the size. I know in looking back at the pictures, I have occasionally thought that the project seems much smaller.This is the view looking toward Alamo Heights. I have liked the style of this project all along. I like that not each set of steps looks the same and there are constant curves along the way. As it goes along, I enjoy the finishing touches too. You can't see it from here, but it looks up close like they have done some good work in welding the handrails and such. These views are looking toward downtown. I like the look of the street lamps and can see the landscaping starting to come in - in spite of our recent cold snap. I know, it is tough to handle 50 degrees in the morning.

River Walk Construction Update: You're Right...

It has been a while since I gave you an update to the work taking place along the River Walk near the bridge at St Mary's and McCullough. But in fairness, the past several times I have ventured downtown, there was no activity on this portion of the River Walk.But today, I just happened to be standing on the bridge with a camera, so I took these action photos to give you the latest. This is the view looking toward Alamo Heights. I like the street lamps and the round stairwell action.This is the side of the bridge that looks toward downtown and the rest of the River Walk. Yes, actual people working.