Gone to the dogs in Medford
First National Franks, Medford Credit: Joan Reminick
A humongous wiener sits atop the sign for First National Franks in Medford. The resin sculpture, topped with a squiggle of yellow, calls out to hungry drivers passing by.
It called to me, recently, around lunch time. So I stopped in (deja vu: the place used to be Rainbow Cookie Cafe) and ordered up a Chicago dog: onions, relish, tomato, mustard, pepper and pickle. Big, fat, juicy and delicious, but one problem: the top-sliced partly scooped-out hoagie roll it was served on was way too big to bite. Fabulous bronze hand-cut fries were a lot easier.
As I learned later, the co-owner of this 31/2-month-old eatery is named Frank (how fitting is that?) Marinaro. Chef Jenn Morbillo formerly cooked at H2O in Smithtown. Along with burgers, chicken breast sandwiches and omelets, she specializes in quarter pound Boar’s Head dogs, first boiled and then grilled. There’s also one number that’s wrapped in bacon and deep-fried.
For dessert, there are deep-fried Twinkies, Ring Dings, Devil Dogs and Snickers’ Bars.
Quipped Marinaro: “You can also order insulin.”
First National Franks is at 3147 Rte. 112, Medford, 631-696-1900
