Phantom Gourmet: Fanatic Hot Dogs At Faneeks In Fall River

FALL RIVER - Since 1966, there has been a small hot dog shop that's made the diners of Fall River fanatical. With just one bite, you too will be a fan of Faneeks.

Chris and Liz Carpenter are the couple behind Faneeks, a quaint counter service spot decked out in historical shots of the South Coast. Here they offer the Coney Island Dog, a handheld phenomenon with a cult like following in the area.

"Coney Island hot dog starts with a steamed bun and then we use an all beef frank and it's topped with mustard, our special Coney Island sauce, and then a minced onion," Liz explained. "It is delicious."

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Ordering these delicious dogs is truly an art.

"If you're at the register, you kind of have to be versed in the Coney Island talk, because you'll get one customer that'll say, 'give me two with the works for here.' And then the next customer will come in and say, 'I want two all the way in house,' which is exactly the same thing. It's both sauce, mustard and onions for here," Liz said. "It's almost like you're constantly learning the Coney Island language."

In addition to the original there are other tasty options, like the Faneek's Special Dog loaded up with plenty of that local favorite - chorizo. There is also an indulgent one piled with lots of cheese.

"It is like heaven in your mouth. You get the richness from the beef, you get the creaminess of the cheese and the spiciness of the sauce. Who wouldn't want that?"

Besides hot dogs, Faneeks is the home of the rolle.

"Everybody has a roll, you know what I mean? So we decided this to put one of those little lines on the top of the E and call it a rolle," Chris said. "It's a egg roll wrapper with a variety of different fillings inside. You can have the chorizo; you can have a hamburger rolle or you can have the cheesecake rolle."

"It is a whole piece of cheesecake that we put into the egg roll wrapper, and we deep fry it" Liz described. "Then we'll top it with the cherries. When you bite into it, you get the savory from the egg roll wrapper. You get the sweetness from the cheesecake, and then you get the bitter from the cherries, and it's just delicious."

Other favorites include Clam Cakes chock full of fresh shucked meat, New England and Manhattan style Clam Chowders, and a unique Fall River delicacy known as the Chow Mein Sandwich.

"A Chow Mein Sandwich is not your typical sandwich. You're not going to pick it up and eat it with your hands, especially the way we make it," Liz cautioned. "You put the bun down, and then we top it with Chow Mein noodles, and top it with our homemade hamburger. Then we put our thick gravy on so it's just a heaping portion of Chow Mein with a bun."

There is even a spin on this sandwich, known as the Portuguese Chow Mein.

"It is the Chow Mein Sandwich and then we top it off with chaurice. I really like the spicy and the savory together. And when you add the chaurice to the Chow Mein gravy, you're getting a nice, savory, spicy mixture," described Liz.

Faneek's also offers all the comfort food favorites you grew up on, from a sensational Sloppy Joe to a soul-satisfying bowl of American Chop Suey. Since they're not far from the ocean, you can be sure the fish and chips are always fresh.

"Fresh like it was swimming the day before you eat it," Chris said. "We get it locally, right off the boat in New Bedford. And then we use a batter - it's a light beer batter with Haddock. For a large, we get three large pieces. So it's just about three quarters of a pound."

"If you want to get a taste of Fall River, you should come to Faneeks," Liz said. "We have everything that Fall River could possibly offer you. We have the chaurice. We have the Chow Mein. We have the personality. We have the accents and it's just nostalgic."

You can find Faneeks at 269 Rhode Island Avenue in Fall River. They are closed on Sundays.

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