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Categories: Breweries, American (Traditional)
5121 Baltimore AveMon. 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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We've loved Franklin's since it was a simple sandwich counter. It's a place you can count on for a variety of occasions - a fun date, a family dinner, or even a birthday party. The restaurant spans two floors, with a bar on the upper floor that overlooks their brewery space. There's an attached "general store" that features toys, accessories, candy, novelty items, kitchen stuff, and an impressive assortment of wine and beer. It's definitely a fun place to shop while you're waiting for a table, which happens on a busy night.
The restaurant is an open space with metal ceilings and fixtures, and it can get very loud at times. There are tables and booths available, and they can pack in some large parties. The walls are decorated with the work of local artists - all for sale. The waitstaff is generally friendly and efficient, though you can feel a little neglected during a particularly busy night.
The menu is diverse, featuring sandwiches, salads, barbeque, pizza, and fairly traditional entrees. I think their BBQ is the highlight - the ribs fall right off the bone (love the dry rub) and the pulled pork is delicious and well-seasoned (especially the Carolina-style). They have some excellent salads, too. The sandwiches are good but largely uninspiring, and the pizza is worth passing over entirely. The entrees are hit-or-miss. I like their sausage platter, but anything with the word "pie" in the name should be avoided (cottage pie, shepherd's pie). Specials are equally unpredictable. I've gotten some amazing one-off dishes... but then I also think about my special order of Oktoberfest pretzels that came out frozen!
The beer is excellent and brewed on-premises. They have several regular varieties as well as seasonal offerings. One beer is offered as a nitrogen-charged option. I highly recommend their samplers - a great way to try everything!
Top four reasons for Franklin's:
1. Beer, Oktoberfest and Anarchy lager are my favorites. If you are unsure, ask for a sampler, I'm sure you will find something you love.
2. Crab dip. Food at franklin's isn't the best, but their crab dip is the standout performer.
3. Service. I almost always sit upstaris in the bar area and the bartenders there are friendly and quick.
4. General store. Maybe it was the 3 beers I had the first time I visited Franklin's, but visiting the general store made me misty-eyed with happiness.
Happy hour is 4- 6:30 $2.50 pints and half off select apps.
Franklin's atmosphere and general store are great, their food however is mediocre. The general store is more like a toy store and liquor store combined (which seems like a pretty exciting combination). They have a lot of cool novelties including Jesus action figures and Sock'em Boppers (Which lead to really exciting Sock'em Bopper Fight Clubs. The first rule of Sock'em Bopper Fight Club is you always talk about Sock'em Bopper Fight Club). The liquor store has no hard liquor, but lots of imported and domestic microbrews and specialty wines. Having to wait for a table is not a chore at Franklin's because it gives you time to explore the general store.
As for the food, their specialties are not very impressive, while they do well with basics. For example, the Knockwurst and Bratwurst dinner offered a very tastey Brat and a Knockwurst that was knot (horrible pun) so great. Also, a very forgiving vegetarian in my group had the Northern California Pizza. While he is known for his ability to eat practically anything that is vegetarian, he was not willing to finish the pizza and was very unimpressed. However, the Glorious Gloria, Franklin's basic grilled chicken sandwich, is tasty and has no obvious flaws (but also isn't out of this world.) I have also been told their barbecue meals are delicous, though I haven't tried any because I am not a big barbecue sauce fan.
They also have a list of house-brewed beers which you can order at the restaurant or take home in a growler. These range from very mild, to full bodied flavors with imaginative ingredients.
Overall, the Franklin's experience is a fun one, but don't expect wildly delicious food.
This has it all. Good food. Great beer. And all the charm that the little general store offers. Rivals some of the really good brewpubs out west.
Unfortunate location. If this was somewhere else, business would boom.
This place is alright. Options are pretty limited in hyattsville, and its the closet thing to an active fun place to hang as it gets.
So why not a higher rating?
Its not open late enough for the type of atmosphere is tries to portray. Seriously, there is no place in hyattsville that's open past 11pm, and neither is Franklins. I imagine this place to be crawling with college kids and night owls, for the music to be turned up, everyone grooving....but sorry, bed time is 11 kiddies. Boo.
Second, its a bit expensive. Mind you, you do kinda get a decent portion of food, but its nothing too hoot and holler over. Personally, there's nothing on the menu that I've tried that I crave or makes me want to come back and have it again. I'm always in the mood for something weird and all of their food is pretty down-to-earth. A lot of people are into that though, so by all means, don't let me stop you.
Lastly, they have all of these cool beers that they make themselves, that is popular among the people who love the place...but I'm not old enough to try any of them. Boo.
But I'm being too harsh. The food is good quality though not very flavorful, but I absolutely love that they have buffalo fries as one of their sides. Now that's what I'm talking about. And the service is usually pretty good. Slow on busy nights, yes, but I know a few people personally who work there and they are all very nice.
There's a little gift shop next door that is pretty awesome as well. They have all kinds of cool things, last minute presents, weird gadgets, candy, hot sauces, and so on. They close early though. Again, boo.
All in all, its a nice place for a lunch or an early evening down-to-earth meal. Not sooper-dee-dooper amazing, but pretty good. Someone other than myself might take more of a fancy to it, I'm sure. If you happen to be trapped in the hole in the ground that is Hyattsville, check this place out.
Get your 1st beer for a nickel on Sept 18-20 when you
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Hophead eats Coconut curried chicken
I've had their Coconut curried chicken too many times, my next…
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I've been to Franklin's I think four times now. The beer is great (keep in mind it's a small brewery - it won't be the EXACT same every time, which is fun), they often use local ingredients, the food's probably 4 star (not 5), but it's really good, and the service is probably also 4 star. The reason I gave it 5, though, is that they're really into community stuff - they have a bulletin board up by the restrooms (upstairs, past the bar) where you can post community events; and I think best, they do fund raiser nights where they dontate 20% of each check to whatever group is putting the fundraiser on (most recently the Lakeland Community Project). Also, the general store is killer - SO many fun, inventive, artsy, etc. things - I could spend all day in there.
So - maybe the food's not 5 star, but the vibe is, so that's what I'm giving it. Go support your local brewery and restaurant!
Prior to this past weekend, I had not been to Hyattsville since the mid-90s. I didn't exactly miss it. But as I was cruising up Rt. 1, I stumbled upon Hyattsville's multi-million dollar art district development. The whole area has been rebuilt with pseudo-urban rowhouses, condo's and artists residences.
"What the hell happened here," I asked myself.
Franklin's appeared just when I was feeling ready for lunch. So I decided to check it out.
The parking lot is bizarre in that most of the spaces seem to require one to pay for parking. I got around this by just driving to the back of the lot, under the overpass, where many the spaces seemed to be free of charge.
The interior of Franklin's reproduces the artist loft decor popularized in the 1980s and early 90s. You know the deal, exposed brick, exposed duct work, light fixtures with that half-industrial/half Williams Sonoma vibe. I was into that look back in '86 or so...along with INXS, the IBM XT, and styling mousse.
Seating for one next to the window, I was greeted quickly, they took my order and I had my food in under 5 minutes. This is good because I was really hungry. It was bad because I knew it wasn't fresh.
I went with the Curried Coconut Chicken lunch entree ($13). The menu describes it as 'Sauteed chicken breast chunks tossed with bean sprouts, roasted red peppers and basil in a spicy red curry-coconut milk sauce, served over jasmine rice'. The description is pretty accurate, although I should mention that there were lots of red peppers in there.
The portion was nice, the price was fair and the chicken was okay. The curry had a little heat to it, but the flavor fell a bit flat.
I finished my meal, paid the bill, and went on down the road.
3.5 stars - Pros: Seems like a clean place popular with some of the locals. There's a bar upstairs somewhere but I didn't check it out. Fast service. Cons: no one checked to make sure I was satisfied with my meal; I thought my dish was a bit flat on flavor; as far as I know this is a privately owned place...why they want it to feel like a chain restaurant from the Clinton-era is what I can't understand. Happy Dining!
Yum, yum and did I mention yum! Franklin's is a pretty recent discovery for us. We found it on an art tour of Hyattsville and decided to give it a whirl for dinner one night. I can honestly say that the pulled pork (Carolina style) was the BEST that I have ever had. I think it may have been the vinegar that tingled my taste buds the right way.
The place kinda reminds me of local brewery/pub where I used to live, so props to that. They also make their own root beer. Looking forward to going back and trying more things (although it will be very difficult not get the pulled pork again). The desserts going to other tables looked quite delicious as well.
this place has many tasty food items. it's great for out of towners & locals who have a varying appetite. i personally had the chicken pot pie. i don't know about you, though when i think of pot pies i am reminded of my favorite one, as a wee little tyke- the swanson one that takes forever in an over & comes out oozing with it's liquid hot magma broth. franklin's pie holds up to that standard & then some. it's a grown up one, with a tad more spice & enormous portion. it's enough to feed a small girl scout troop. we also shared the lamb sliders & papusas - both very good, especially the papusas.
if you get that shopping bug while you're eating or afterwards, they have a general store filled with oodles of toys, candy, stuffed animals, chocolate, hot sauce, wine, & beer. it balances adult & child items well. apparently the store came before the restaurant. either way, both are great for whatever you may need.
One of my favorite places. Used to come here almost every day for a solid couple of years. The food is decent, not great, but the beer is amazing. Brewed entirely in-house, they feature 7-8 different styles, from IPA to blonde to porter and whatever is in between.
A good place to bring your family, there's plenty of space across 2 floors for large parties. Menu items are hit and miss; the burgers and sandwiches are pretty good, the pizza is decent, the pulled pork, I've had better, but overall it's usually pretty good and the wait staff is very helpful and knowledgeable regarding both the food and the beer. They change the menu fairly regularly so if you keep coming back there will almost always be something new to try.
Bonus is the general store next door. Full of novelty toys and games, also features a large assortment of exotic and hard-to-find hot sauces. They also sell bottled craft beers and wine. Definitely take a minute to check it out if you go.
Bottom line, if you're in the Hyattsville area, this is, in my humble opinion, the best place in the vicinity by leaps and bounds. Decent food, GREAT beer, and a fun little store attached to play around in while you wait for your food.
Franklin's is a neighborhood spot that does pretty well for itself. The chef will surprise you because it looks like a beer and burger joint at first glance. It's certainly more than that. The beer is brewed on the premises and is worth sampling. But the food is far more than burgers and fries. There is always an interesting special and a good salmon dish. Drop in some day for lunch. Odds are that I'll be at the bar with a book.
Not worthy of five stars, but definitely four for the beer alone. Appetizers are really good and if you get there before 6:30, select ones are half price along with discounts on beer.
Being from California, I'm a huge Sierra Nevada fan and always have to order Franklin' version called "Sierra Madre." Although the bartenders swear theirs is better (go figure), I held back only to give them a "not even close" response :) Anyway, cool atmosphere, great beer...hit it up during happy hour and you won't be disappointed.
Such good food and a fun atmosphere. I've never had to wait for a table either and the service was always great. They offer a good amount of vegetarian dishes which makes this place even better!
Definately go to franklin's if you are in the area (and it's down street from UMD, for anyone visting the area)
The general store is awesome too, definately browse through there after your meal
I want to give this place 4 stars, but I'm leaning towards 3 for now.
I've only been to Franklin's a few times. Lately, it's become a great place to have work lunches. I actually just went there today. We ordered the onion ring app (OMG, there's like a doughnut worth of breading on top, mmm mmm good), and I got the cottage pie for my entree. The cottage pie came in a humongous bowl. I think I could feed a family of 10 with this dish. The mashed potatoes were scrumptious and the veggie chili on top was also very tasty. The server was good, intense and loud, but whatever. I'm not going to hate. The rest of our party enjoyed their food too. Two people got burgers, they said they were pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Someone got the turkey club and he said he always gets that, clearly he likes it. I forget what the others got.
I got an Americano for the road. It was okay, I've had better. But, it's doing it's job as my first caffeine punch of the day.
Not a beer drinker, so maybe I would give this place 4 stars if I were, I hear its good.
The atmosphere is cute, sometimes I wish the kitchen weren't so part of the restaurant, but other than that- it's cute in there. I've never been in the store area, but I was eyeing it today, I can't wait to come on my own and do some exploring.
Oh Franklin's, how I love thee!
My favorite place in the DC area to eat and drink. May I recommend the glorious appetizer of HUGE beer battered onion rings. My father, who often orders onion rings at restaurants for his entire meal, who is obsessed with onions and will make an onion sandwich, said they are the best onion rings he has ever had. And they really are.
I've had the bbq chicken, southwest pizza, buffalo chicken sandwich, portabello sandwich, fish and chips, greek salad, taco salad; (I don't eat meat but my husband likes the ribs)--they're all good! Let's be straight here-overall their food isn't drop jaw amazing, but it is certainly ALL good good good!
And let's get to the best reason for coming here: the beer! Their beers are definitely on the hoppy side (which I love), so ask for a sample to try before you go ahead and order a full pint--and they will be happy to oblige. The beer is better than any in DC, including Gordon Biersch, the Chophouse, and Capital City.
Prices are fair=awesome!
The General Store is SO MUCH FUN! I could spend hours in that tiny place--and they have a great selection of craft beers and wines for sale as well.
GO TO FRANKLIN'S RIGHT NOW!!! (but don't tell everyone, I like that I can almost always immediately get a table....)
I LOVE Franklin's. Great food at decent prices, casual atmosphere, and has the bonus of the general store attached.
My office has done a few lunches there and it's one of our favorite places. They have plenty of room for big groups, and they do a pretty good job at getting the food out in a timely manner.
Their fish and chips is the best I've had anywhere... but the last time I was there it wasn't as good. Either they've changed the batter (it wasn't as flavorful) or they were having an off day. I also love their lamb slider burgers (which come with sweet potato fries) but that's a seasonal dish which our waiter said should become available again January or February-ish. Their sandwhiches and burgers are all really good and they've upped their portion sizes... way more than I can eat in one meal! They also brew their own beer... I've only tried 1-2 of the variety they offer, but they were pretty good (but I'm more a mixed-drink/wine girl so I'm not the best authority on beer...).
I also love the general store attached. They have a nice selection of wines as well as random novelty items that would make good gifts along with a variety of toys/games... I've picked up several gifts for my toddler nephew there.
Hands down one of the best spots in northern Prince George's and my favorite place near UMD. A nice variety of good food and, best of all, they brew their own beer! The beer selection is nice and quite good, although it will likely disappoint beer snobs of the highest degree. Their Thursday late night happy hour is the best: $3 cover for free food (e.g. chicken wings, chips and bean dip) and discounted pints. If you are ever in Hyattsville or College Park this a must try.
Hyattsville is lacking in good dining options, so in all reality if you are in town, this is one of the best options.
I am writing a dissenting opinion about their beer. I took my sister and her husband here, all three of us bought different brews, and we didn't like them. We even traded them all around so we could taste each others', and not one received a thumbs up. I wish I could tell you which ones they were, but now I just don't buy any of them. It's sad for me to go to a microbrewery and have to buy Heineken in a bottle.
The food is mediocre in my opinion, but the portions are massive. You can probably get a good burger here, if you like burgers. There's a Thai green curry chicken that I usually get, which is decent.
The best thing about this place is the general store. I go here relatively often to buy specialty/imported wine and beer. I go Christmas shopping here. I even have pictures of me and my friends in here. A selection of what they carry: funny greeting cards, Chimay, classic board games, toys, kitchen utensils, political satire, giant sunglasses, cute books.
Great beer, good food and service. What else do you need?
This review is just for the restaurant; I didn't get a chance to check out the general store, but on a quick glance in, I saw quite a few colorful toys and knick-knacks that looked like they could be a fun way to keep the kids entertained while you're waiting for dinner!
This struck me as a great, very casual family-style place. It has a large two-story restaurant with a good setup for big groups; when I went on a Friday night, I saw quite a few multi-family tables and several tables of college kids. The parking lot was full the first time I cruised through at 7pm, but when I circled the block and came back, a couple of spots had opened up. There are signs of meters/parking fees, but you don't have to pay at least on weekends. We waited about 20 minutes for a table, which was fine - between the seating area and perusing the store, waiting here isn't unpleasant.
The food was decent but nothing special. We split two 10" pizzas between the two of us and had an entire pizza left over - if you were really hungry, you could probably make a bigger dent, but they are definitely big enough for two people if you get an appetizer and side salads. The house salad looked fresh, but it also looked like it was mostly iceburg lettuce - not my favorite. We tried the Northern Californian pizza (best of the two, but LOTS of garlic cloves!) and the Thai Chicken pizza (definitely not "spicy" as advertised, but it had a nice mild flavor; the peanuts added an odd crunch). The dough didn't have much flavor or substance, but I generally liked the pizza. There are a lengthy list of other homey American options on the menu, too, but the pizzas are a good safe choice. Our waitress was efficient and got our food out in a timely way, but she didn't come check on us more than she needed to... it was nice to be able to talk uninterrupted.
Beers seemed great - I tried the Blonde and the Pale Ale, and the Pale Ale was definitely the winner, but the Blonde wasn't bad either. If I lived in the area, I might come here once in a while with friends, if just for beer and appetizers.
I end up at Franklin's about once a month, mostly because it serves both my pizza and cheeseburger needs in one easily accesible, reasonably priced location. The food is consistently good, service is good, and the beers are excellent (according to my husband, beer isn't my jam). Pizza isn't the best ever, but it'll fix what ails you. Some of their appetizers are epic though, namely the lamb sliders and crab dip. I swear there is nothing but crab in the crab dip, and none of that mayo cheese crapola they try to pass off on you at other places.
Fun quirky place with a good vibe, good beer, and ok food. I'd probably give it three stars, if not for the fact that the place brings back memories, and as Hyattsville places go, it's definitely top-notch. I admit I miss the days when it was just a general store with a small deli (or whatever you want to call it) in the back - the milkshakes, spicy fries, and turkey sandwich were staples for me. Still, I'm happy to see the business expanding (but would like to have the good ol' sandwiches and spicy fries back!). They have a fairly wide offering of foods here, which is good, although the quality can be hit or miss. I think they do best with typical American/bar fare. The microbrewery is probably the best aspect of the "new" Franklins - try a sampler to see which ones you like.
I love Franklin's and go there at least once any time I'm in the DC area. I fell in love with this place a decade ago when it was a funky little general store with a lunch counter in the back. It was one of those surprising finds, clearly an independent little business that had to be owned by someone following their heart and quirky passions; at that time the store had an *entire* wall devoted to hot sauces (seriously hundreds upon hundreds of little bottles), and the food choices included veggie and vegan items and there was a choice of 5 kinds of bread for a sandwich, which doesn't sound like much today, but a decade ago it was, especially in the outskirts of a college town in a store that was literally on the railroad tracks and surrounded by car lots, body shops, and bail bondsmen.
Well, skip to today... the area has gone through some major rehab and Franklin's was one of the businesses that led the effort. And WOW, compared to the hole in the wall that it used to be, Franklin's is now HUGE, with two floors, and gleaming glass-enclosed beer vats towering above the large dining areas. The country store and hippy vibe is gone, but not in a bad way, it just grew up.... but the funky store with an almost bizarre obsession for hot sauce grew up to be... a microbrewery! And not just a microbrewery, but one with a funky gourmet-reaching menu, two floors of seating, *and* an also grown-up version of its general store with a surprisingly well chosen selection of wines and beers and quirky art, but still with a (more subdued) section of toys, gag gifts, and yes, hot sauces (though now only a bookcase-sized section.)
The current menu offerings are as mish-mashed as the merchandise available in the general store, but I like that the whole business maintained an eccentric vibe. Um, I guess the main themes of the menu would be American bar meets fusion gourmet (especially Thai..?!) meets Maryland shore. There's something for everyone, including vegetarians, and none of it is bad, all is at least passable, and most is pretty darn good. It's not fine dining, but the dining is fine.
One absolute standout: the mussels. Wow! Prepared simply with sea salt and garlic but presented with a bang on a red-hot and literally sizzling cast-iron flat skillet... they are always fresh, prepared perfectly and so delicious.
Prices are reasonable, the on-premise brewed beers are good, and if like me you're not big on beer, they have a decent wine selection and a full bar. Service is friendly and tries hard. My only real complaint is that it's noisy, mostly because they're often really busy (which is great 'cuz it means they'll still be there when I next travel to DC!) but because of the very open design, it's often still really noisy even when they aren't busy. Definitely not a place to have an intimate conversation, but well, it IS a brew-pub-restaurant-general store, so, well, never mind, my complaint is silly.
A great place for a quick or leisurely meal, to pop in to buy a great (and very reasonably priced) bottle of wine, or to spend some time poking around the unusual items in the store.
Franklin's was an overall positive experience. Me and my comedian friend Jerry ate here on a Sunday night a couple of weeks ago. This place gives off the vibe of a nice home cooked meal from its outside appearance. The service was friendly and attentive as well. I had the Greek Salad which was a decent sized portion and tasty. My friend had a well cooked burger with a tasty bbq sauce on top. My only complaint is that the place is overall a little pricey, but other than that I will be returning soon.
A+++ for Great Waitresses and Manager!
I went there the other day for dinner with a friend and saw these really disgusting people (right next to our table) try to pull off an ugly restaurant scam. There was a guy dressed in a "chef" uniform (probably from some costume shop) and two other people; the "chef" told the hostess that he was the head chef from the Marriott by the White House. Throughout the meal, these people ran the waitress ragged (sending back fries and some other dishes and demanding new ones, making them bring all the different kinds of salad dressings in little containers, yelling "HOT SAUCE!" across the room, making fun of the restaurant staff), and then tried to make a scene and run out on the check. The waitress was patient and polite, the restaurant manager was subtle and effective. I'm not really sure if the jerks got away with their scam, but the staff handled the situation with rare grace and professionalism.
The store is great for gifts - lots of fun things, lots of variety packed into a small space.
Food can be really good and sometimes ok. I always enjoy the atmosphere. A wonderful neighborhood hangout.
I remember when it was this teeny-weeny store / restaurant...(single tear trickling down cheek)
Now it's a brewery!!!
But you could still buy hand-crafted jewelry, mad-libs, wrapping paper, cheese grater, candy galore (sugar-free and healthy), tinker toys,and TONS more....
Food and beer are great, too.
Franklin's make me proud of growing up in Hyattsville!!!
I went to Franklin's earlier in the week for dinner, quite late at night, with a friend and the staff were very friendly and didn't mind the fact that they were almost closing.
I ordered a cowboy burger, which came with bacon and barbecue sauce. The patty tasted great; it was juicy and tasted like actual meat. As opposed to some burgers, the Cowboy burger from Franklin's did not fall apart, adding to its good taste. it came with fries on the side, which added some extra flavor to the meal.
I also ordered a beer there, which was good, just a bit sour. (I guess that depends on the drinker). I am not sure what it was called, but it was the third one down on their beer list, and resembles a regular california pop beer. It is worth mentioning that Franklin's brews all of the beer that they serve.
I have come here previously on dates, and they have been quite impressed with the restaurant. The pizzas are great too.
Good beer and atmosphere. Went for happy hour on a Friday, beer was a good price and service was friendly. Ordered the mussels which came out sizzling and popping oil everywhere, but there were good. Went back again for dinner and Greek Salad was acceptable. The general store next door is excellent with a nice selection of wine and beer for the kids. It's probably one of the best spots to go in Hyattsville.
Looking for lunch? Paydoh for your nephew's birthday? Maybe a six pack of a beer you never heard of? If all of the above, Franklin's is the place to go. While you are waiting for a seat, check out the toystore, with an awesome selection for those young and old, along with a nice assortment of wine and beer.
The restaurant itself has a large menu with plenty of good food, and many vegetarian options to go with the fun atmosphere and friendly wait staff .
Having neighborhood places like this matters. There are few restaurants in this area and having a reliable place to go is nice.
I always find they have good service, yummy beer, and a mostly strong menu. Occasionally I find something less to my liking (e.g. meatloaf, taco salad) but have some favorites (thai ribs, burgers, veggie burger)
Recently, I've been trying the specials instead of sticking to the menu. A generous pork chop was delicious as was a bowl of gumbo with blackened catfish.
The store is a must visit.
I have a little song about it. . .
Oh microbrews and licorice gum, lots of things to see
at Franklin's there's a special store for kids like you and me.
Fancy chocolates, unicorns, gummy candy frogs
at Franklin's you can eat and shop and grab some lincoln logs.
HEY!*
*optional to yell "Hey!"
This is my inaugural Yelp review! Franklin's holds dear memories for me, as it was the first restaurant I ever went to in College Park. It was part of school recruitment, blah blah blah...I was impressed by the menu selection, the food, and the cute quirky store next door. You can order dishes from coconut curry to flatbread pizza to shephard's pie. Granted the coconut curry isn't as good as Siri's, the pizza isn't as good as Pasta Plus, and the shepard's pie isn't as good as what I used to make at the Downtown Women's Shelter in LA; however, you gotta give Franklin's props for attempting so many different cuisines, right?
The food is definitely shy of spectacular. But real draw is the beer, folks. I'm a fan of the blonde ales. Where else are you going to find a local brewery that isn't a disgusting chain?
Go for the beer, munch on some onion rings, and try to ignore the families with whining kids. Really, I do like kids, just not when they're loud and messy and totally inappropriate in public spaces.
I've been a few more times since May and I have some new things to report:
I took a more extensive look thru the adjoining candy and novelty store and it really is terrific. I remember the 50's and this little area of Hyattsville really brings it back. There's a lot of kitch in the store along with some novelty food items, like pecan pie in a jar ( just add an egg.) There's loads of children's games and arts and crafts, refrigerator magnets and cards. They have more hot sauces than I've ever seen on a shelf. And they sell wine which you can drink at dinner for a $10 corkage fee.
Now to dining at Franklin's. The food is average, but reasonably dependable and reasonably priced. Dinner is stepped up from lunch and I have had a delicious dish there a couple of times. The current dinner menu has a Bourbon and Maple Shellacked Duck that sounds tempting.
I have to tell you guys about the funniest lunch special. I even asked the owner to print it out for me. Read about this special sandwich called
"The Blue Hawaiian or The Unhappy Ho" described as follows on the menu:
Alright, here's the story. We really wanted to reference Paul Lynde as a sandwich. Why? Just because. But the whole deal was getting complicated, much too much thought was going into it and then, in all reality we would have had to of had the " George Gobel to Block" sandwich and we were just getting out of hand. So then we thought, "What can we make that says Blue Hawaii?" Again, I can't explain this free fall of a thought process. Anyhow. Naturally, I thought "SPAM." So, a burger topped with Hormel's finest and Hawaii's favorite, grilled SPAM, grilled pineapple, hoisin sauce and bleu cheese.
Now to qualify.......I would never order this! But I know there's many of you out there who would and I wanted to let you know. I actually am a little under the weather today and got chicken pot pie because I'm not up for any spice. It was good and a huge portion, so I brought 1/2 home.
Franklin's is a brewery and restaurant. There are extensive beer choices.
I've been several times and just got back from lunch today. I had the salmon special which had… Read more »
When I was in middle school, Franklin's General Store and Deli was a place the kids would go after school for a sandwich or ice cream and to poke around the store full of toys, gifts and novelties. The tiny deli was in the back of the store and it was a real mom-and-pop type deal.
A few years ago, Franklin's upgraded into a new addition with a brew pub and full-service restaurant. Since then it's become a fixture of the Route 1 Corridor. The beer is very good, and you can get a growler to take home, bring back and refill. They also make their own root beer. The barbecue and pub food are great. The daily specials are okay--I've had a couple that were pretty disappointing, although the last time I was there, I got salmon and colcannon and it was just right. The desserts are usually excellent.
Franklin's is good choice for a group because of the variety of both food and drinks on the menu. The general store is still in operation and sells a good variety of wine and microbrew six-packs in addition to the toys and gifts. I wouldn't call the food top-notch; it's the atmosphere, the location and the local ownership that make this place a neighborhood favorite.
the food is classic, but one of my favorites -the veggie ruben- was taken off the menu a while ago and i don't think i've ever gotten over that. the potstickers are yummy and the dessert menu is pretty impressive. the reason for the 3 stars is the food is reliable but there's nothing exciting on the menu.
One of the few places I know that's a restaurant, bar, and general store (Cracker Barrel is the only other place I know of, but this is special). If there's a long wait, definitely worth your time wandering through their general store, filled with kitchy toys and knick nacks that are fun to play with.
If you're a beer enthusiast you should definitely try their brews (they do it themselves). For a bang for your buck get the sampler, where you get a dozen samples of their brews to try. I can't vouch for the food but I'll definitely try it next time I'm there.
There's just not much to eat in my neighborhood, so I'm glad that Franklins is just a short drive down RI Avenue to Hyattsville. The beer is great, the food is decent and the atmosphere is dandy.
I generally can't resist a quick run through the general store where you can find everything from good wine to silly magic tricks and gum.
I give it 3 stars as a neighborhood casual restaurant.
Franklin's get the full 5 stars for lots of reasons - great beers, great food, great atmosphere - visit once and you'll wish it was in your neighborhood. They can handle large groups well. Their service is above average. A few others have already covered the menu highlights (don't forget pulled pork, corn pudding are first rate) and some of the beers (Chaos, Anarchy also enjoyable/unique), but here's a few more things not to miss--take your favorite beer home in a growler, just like your Dad might have. You pay for the glass deposit, then bring it back for refills of your favorites. The beer stays crisp for a couple or three days--never had any around longer than that to tell otherwise. Also note, you'll have to drive to Red Bank, NJ for Funk & Standard Variety Store to match Franklin's General Store offerings. Cheers....
I went last night and had their pizza special. It had caramelized onions, ricotta, prisciutto, Franklin's special blend of cheeses, and some very good Italian sausage. The crust was California style thin and overall I thought the pizza was tasty. My dad had the maple shellacked duck, he thought it was ok. I didn't get to try the microbrew, but I still give the place four stars for tasty food and good service.
Washington, DC
Category: Local Flavor
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