Franklin's, Route 1 in Hyattsville

[Lydia R]

All, Mike Franklin is a friend-of-a-friend, and needs a chef ASAP for his brew pub in the Hyattsville / College Park area. 

I discovered this place on Chowhound after being frustrated by places closer to Univ. of MD.

Franklin's Brewery is one of the few places in PG County that has repeatedly worked for getting a geographically diverse and varied appetite group to agree on. I don't get there often, but wish them well and hope Mike is able to find the right fit.

Here's their website for more info:

http://www.franklinsbrewery.com/index.php?...id=26&Itemid=53

Edited to add clarity.

[LizH]

I have been before. Great beer. The food's focus is all over the place, chinese, thai, burgers, pizza. I would stick with the burger or other classic grub. There is a very cute gift shop that is attached, with fun toys, note cards, foodie gifts, etc.

[porcupine]

Great beer. 

Please, tell us more.

[LizH]

well... memory is fuzzy. I think they brew their own. I just looked at their web site, I think I had Bombshell Blonde. My friend had more of the dark beers. He is more of a beer expert then I am, but he really liked the place, so we went for lunch. It was interesting trying to do research at the National Archives after that lunch!

fyi: www.franklinsbrewery.com

[alopez]

Please, tell us more.

The brewmaster is mercurial and his menu varies constantly -- it is written on a blackboard behind the bar. There is usually a preponderance of American-style ales (I have also occasionally seen Belgian style beers, but not always). That is: all of the beers will be very strong in either hops, malt character, alcohol content, or (usually) all three. If you like that, you're set.

Unfocused is a good description of the dining menu. The food is at best average. There are several better restaurants farther north (they are mostly small family-run ethnic restaurants).

[CrescentFresh]

Please, tell us more.

I've been there about 3 times, although not in some two years. Each visit, though, was nice. Quality beer. Quality crowd. Quality brewpub food.

[Heather]

Any recent reports? A friend and I will be taking our kids there after their piano recital today.

[mr food]

Any recent reports? A friend and I will be taking our kids there after their piano recital today.

They have a new chef who was formerly at.....???? Somewhere good IIRC. Decent restaurants still seem have problems lasting in this area and Franklins is probably the best of the bunch. Great beer

[Heather]

Certainly not gourmet, but the beers and housemade rootbeer are solid. The general store, however, is wonderful, particularly the candy bin which features Squirrel Nut Zippers, Bit O'Honeys, Necco Wafers, AND Mary Janes. All that plus shelves and bins full of novelty toys The kids loved it.

[bimbap]

Franklin's is one of the few good takeout options we have living in Brookland (NE DC). I don't count the innumerable "Chinese" places that abound near here.

Granted, it's not a gourmet's paradise, but it is a decent place to get a burger and my mother-in-law loves their chicken pot pie. It is a great place to take kids since no one will hear them over the general din.

[schulju]

We had a very enjoyable meal at Franklin's this weekend. I really enjoyed their mini lamb "burgers". (I'm afraid to use the "s" term since Don's post on Monday , so glad I read his definition AFTER I had eaten them.) My salad of spring mix, melon, goat cheese and almonds was well dressed with a zippy shallot vinaigrette. Hubby's bourbon glazed pork chop was perfectly cooked. The chop was served with a small amount of mashed potatoes and some green beans. Hubby was still hungry after having had the chop...but he's a fairly big eater. The rest of our party had a perfectly cooked rare hamburger and a fish special I didn't catch, but was gobbled up so it must have been good. As designated driver, I stuck with the rootbeer (a little flat, I thought), everyone else seemed to enjoy their beer selections. All in all a nice, reasonably priced dinner.

[fuzzy510]

Appreciation needs to be given for the Franklin's bread pudding of the day, especially when said bread pudding is banana rum. I'll actually plan my meal backwards around the bread pudding in some cases......

[Heather]

We had a bad meal here Sunday, bad enough that the considerable charms of the general store couldn't make up for it. The "cowboy burger" looked like a preformed Costco patty and was drenched with an unpleasantly sweet barbecue sauce. The onion rings were sitting in a puddle of oil and got nastier and nastier as they congealed. Neither kid would eat the also greasy chicken tenders and they didn't like the potato wedges that came with them. Scott ordered sauerklopse, one of the "Oktoberfest" entrees, and was underwhelmed enough to forgo taking home most of his uneaten plate. Housemade rootbeer was very flat. Ick, all around.

[bimbap]

We had a bad meal here Sunday, bad enough that the considerable charms of the general store couldn't make up for it.

How horrible that everyone's meal was bad! I find that Franklin's is fairly consistent, but I've had at least one "ick" meal there myself. I tried the meatloaf platter and there was some really odd, off flavor to it, as if the meat had turned. I refuse to order it again, even if it may be improved.

[OD44]

I live in Riverdale right around the corner from Franklin's and have always found this brew pub disappointing. In its beginning its menu as stated earlier was all over the place in terms of cuisine style and none of them well done. I rarely eat there due to constant disappointment. I find the beers cloudy and not satisfying. I have always hoped someone would open a restaurant nearby to give them some competition so they might step up their game. It is a great location with a built in clientele but they seem to rest on being to only game in town.

[New Foodie]

Second trip to Franklin's tonight because they were donating 20% of each check to K-9 Lifesavers (the organization from which we rescued our dog a few months ago).

The first meal was underwhelming, but we got a kick out of the general store for sure. Tonight's meal definitely left a better impression. I agree with those up thread that the menu is a bit all over the place, but if tonight's meal is any indication, ordering from the specials menu is a good option. Both trips I forgot to leave room for dessert, but after reading the praise above, I'm going to have to squeeze in the bread pudding next time. Yum.

The +1 and I split a special salad to start - Grilled peaches, bleu cheese, crispy country ham, spinach, pecans, sweet and sour dressing $9. Each ingredient was good on their own but all together were a nice taste of summer. It made me look forward to buying a grill for our backyard next weekend to try something similar! My entree was Blackened Red Drum with lime, tomato, chilis and avocado, Mexican rice and vegetable $22. Of course I think it was the most expensive thing on the menu, but it was really delicious. I don't always like Mexican rice because it can be so dry, but this was nice a soft with corn and peas throughout. The grape tomatoes were perfectly sauteed and the avocado was a nice addition as well. It was a generous serving of fish perfectly cooked. I was very pleasantly surprised by this dish. The +1 had South by Southwest $11.00 (White pizza with smoked chicken, roasted red peppers, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno, cheddar and our house blend of cheeses). It was a very good-sized pizza for the price (especially considering costs at places like Matchbox, Rustico, Red Rocks, etc are usually a few dollars more to start) and the half slice I had was good. There was a surprising about of jalapeno chopped up under the cheese and offered a great heat level.

If I didn't live in Brookland, I probably wouldn't travel out of my way to hit up Franklin's, but it's certainly a good option that's pretty close. It's also a great option for families with young kids because the menu and the loud atmosphere lend themselves to louder children (not to mention the General Store aspect as a nice distraction while waiting for food).

[New Foodie]

I agree with those up thread that the menu is a bit all over the place, but if tonight's meal is any indication, ordering from the specials menu is a good option.

I'm sticking by this statement I made above. We went yesterday with my parents (mostly wanted to take them to the general store and wanted to go some place fairly close to home) and overall I think everyone enjoyed their food. Three out of four of us ordered off the daily specials menu, with success. My mom had an "After Thanksgiving" sandwich, which was basically a big hunk of white bread topped with mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, gravy, and served with cranberry sauce. The bite I had did indeed taste like Thanksgiving. It was pretty satisfying for what it was. My dad had a Grilled Bacon-Wrapped meatloaf with chipotle spiced mashed sweet potatoes. The sauce on the meatloaf was especially good. The potatoes were tasty, but we couldn't really taste the chipotle. I had a roast beef sandwich with cheese sauce, caramelized onions, and jalapeno. The meat was quite tasty, but I could've done without the potato wedge/steak fries alongside. They weren't really worth the calories, so I left most on the plate and wished I had asked to substitute a side. My +1 had the crab cake sandwich, which was a lot of meat without much filler. The roll it was served on was a bit overwhelming, but he said the crab itself was good. He felt the same way I did about the fries. We also shared an order of the beer battered onion rings to start, and these were some gigantic rings. The onions themselves were ok, but my mom thought the horseradish dipping sauce served with them was her favorite part of the meal.