Rant #1,608: Let Me Be Frank With You

It may be the end of the world as we know it, but Burger King announced yesterday that it will be rolling out flame-broiled hot dogs on its menus starting on Feb. 23 in its nationwide roster of restaurants.

You can still have it your way, but your choices revolved around "Classic" ($1.99), with ketchup, mustard, chopped onions, and relish, and "Chili Cheese."

Both types of franks, or one with your own choice of toppings, are served on a baked--and not toasted--bun.

This is such a simple, yet brilliant idea, that I cannot believe that other fast food hamburger joints hadn't though of this before.

It brings diversity to the menu, and also brings something that few other such restaurants offer on their menu.

McDonald's doesn't--I believe they tried this way back when and it simply did not take off--Wendy's doesn't ... Sonic does, and a few others do, but by doing this, they will become the largest such restaurant chain to offer hot dogs on the menu.

And all flame-broiled, which should give these Oscar Mayer franks a different type of taste.

The one drawback--no sauerkraut.

I am from New York, and no hot dog is complete without sauerkraut, so that does not make me happy, but sauerkraut is kind of messy, so I bet that is why it isn't on the menu.

My son loves Burger King, but he isn't that much into hamburgers or franks. He likes their chicken nuggets, has enjoyed them since he was a little kid, and still eats them.

So when I pick up something for him, I now have more of a choice of what I can get.

And yes, being the hot dog lover that I am, I will try both of their hot dogs, with everything on them.

I love Hebrew National hot dogs--Nathan's are No. 2 in my book--so Oscar Mayer franks will have to become an acquired taste for me, but as they say, you can only die once.

I died when they came out with their bacon ice cream, but I think this will go over a bit better.

Hot dogs have never really taken off as a fast food restaurant staple, because I believe that when your major focus is hamburgers, hot dogs kind of get short shrift, which I hope does not happen this time around.

Some of you might remember that Mickey Rooney opened up a few hot dog restaurants in the 1970s, featuring a hot dog that was shaped like a hamburger, believe it or not! There were numerous toppings available--everything from mustard to pineapple--but the idea never went over, and they all closed within a short period of time.

But this is something really new, one of the top burger joint chains acknowledging that they can do a frank as good as a burger.

I will try them out the next time I go to Burger King, and I am hoping that all the hype is not just hype, but barking the real deal.

I could eat frankfurters seven days a week, so if their offering is good, well, they will win me over.