Let’s be frank: There are few eateries that eagerly embrace the high-end, lowbrow restaurant culture that Austin craves. The unconventional downtown restaurant, Frank, has captured food lovers’ attention by putting a new twist on a classic American favorite: the hot dog.

Housed in a high-end space, but serving gourmet variations of “lowbrow” cuisine, Frank is proof that you can, indeed, teach an old (hot) dog new tricks.

Anchoring the corner at Fourth and Colorado streets in the swanky space that formerly housed Starlite, Frank exhibits the upscale interior and posh style you’d expect from a downtown restaurant whose Warehouse District neighbors include Truluck’s and Kenichi. But at Frank, pomp and circumstance have been replaced with a hip vibe, cold beer, a whole lot of beef and pork and baskets of piping-hot chili-cheese waffle fries.

Open at sunrise and through the late-night hours, Frank features a variety of breakfast and late-night menu options that are just as crave-worthy at its daily dogs. Morning offerings include Frank breakfast staples like hot, buttery biscuits filled with fluffy eggs, melted cheese and a choice of sizzling bacon, sausage or Canadian bacon; biscuits drizzled with honey butter or topped with savory jackalope gravy; and the Southern classic: a fried chicken biscuit glazed with sweet honey butter.

But the star of the breakfast menu is the extravagant Mini Chicken and Waffle “Sammich,” a rich dish of fried chicken breast sandwiched between two steaming bacon waffles. It’s the ultimate hangover cure, and it serves up one hell of a blissful waffle coma.

Complementing Frank’s breakfast menu is its impressive gourmet coffee program, featuring direct-trade Intelligentsia Coffee. At just about any time of day, diners can treat themselves to a truly high-end coffee experience.

There’s no diner-style drip coffee here; every cup is made to order, guaranteeing the freshest coffee, whether it’s a pour-over or a hand-pulled espresso, latte or cappuccino.

Frank’s baristas excel at all manner of coffee creations, including the Cortado, a Spanish-style drink served at a slightly cooler temperature in a Gibraltar glass. Made with Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Espresso and steamed Horizon brand organic milk, the Cortado is specially crafted to allow the natural sugars to gently caramelize, providing a semi-sweet and earthy flavor.

Frank is open for business about 19 hours a day, offers delivery service via bike messengers and recently launched its full-service catering program. From in-house private parties and wedding rehearsal dinners to building mini-kitchens in order to serve off-site parties with hundreds of guests, Frank is quickly becoming top dog at providing a unique experience for catering clients.

In fact, tapping into a one-of-a-kind experience is what Frank is all about, according to Dan Northcutt, co-owner and director of operations.

“At Frank, we really do play off the high-end, lowbrow concept on a daily basis,” Northcutt says. “Our Intelligentsia Coffee and our full bar, our daily dog menu and our capability to sling artisan sausages off-site for your event speak to the experience we’re offering.

“Restaurants aren’t always just about the food. They’re about spending good times with friends and family, and creating a little bit of magic. We want to recreate that magic at Frank by offering memorable experiences every day.”

At Frank, that experience comes in the form of a great American nostalgic food: the hot dog. But here, these aren’t flimsy, backyard-grilled dogs slapped into pasty-white hot dog buns. Frank’s menu consists only of artisan sausages cased in-house or made locally by the Hudson Sausage Company.

Some of the dogs include the classic Chicago Dog, a Vienna beef sausage topped with pickles, tomatoes, onions, relish, sport peppers, celery salt and mustard; the Chili Cheese Dog and the Slaw Dog with grilled horseradish coleslaw; the Texas-inspired Jalapeno Cheese Dog, a beef sausage stuffed and topped with jalapenos and cheddar cheese; the Beer-Soaked Brat with sauerkraut and spicy deli mustard; and the flavor-busting Currywurst, a sliced brat served with curry sauce and curry powder.

All dogs are available throughout the day and on Frank’s late-night menu from 10 p.m. to closing at 2 a.m. most nights.

Other daily dogs include the Nacho Dog, a surprisingly tasty dog topped with refried beans, cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo and jalapenos, and the decadent Carolina Pork It, a beef sausage stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and deep fried, then topped with grilled coleslaw, green chili and pimento cheese.

At Frank, every dog has its day, so it’s no wonder diners keep coming back for featured specialty ‘haute’ dogs like the Jackalope, an antelope, rabbit and pork sausage served with huckleberry compote, sriracha aioli and applewood smoked cheddar, and the aptly named Notorious P.I.G., a pork, bacon, jalapeno and sage sausage topped with macaroni and cheese and Texas barbecue sauce.

Diners choose from several artisan buns, including a gluten-free option or the corn-battered flapjacket; can opt for a veggie dog with any menu item; or can go whole hog and choose to “pork it” by stuffing any daily dog with cheese, wrapping it with bacon and deep frying it.

Whatever your order, don’t forget to add a basket of waffle fries with dipping sauce, available as nacho waffle fries with brown gravy and cheese curds, with chili and cheese or in their simplest form with bacon, cheddar, sour cream and chives.

Frank desserts – particularly the Chocolate-Covered Bacon and Chocolate Chip and Bacon Cookie – will have your diet going to the dogs, but with every bite, it is so worth it.

For more information, visit www.hotdogscoldbeer.com.