Frankies Spuntino - Now that's Italian!

On the recommendation of Peanut D and WW, two ladies I trust implicitly with my culinary well-being, RRR & I took a long overdue trip to the Lower East Side to visit Frankies Spuntino. This Manhattan offshoot of the popular Carroll Gardens restaurant is just one of the many delightful restaurants you will find on Clinton Street.

The ornate tin ceilings and brick walls of this narrow restaurant are reminiscent of the old Italian style homes - actually it looked a lot like pictures of the house my Dad grew up in! And as I worked my way back to the tiny bar area, the warm greetings I received from the wait staff certainly made me feel like I had just walked into someone's home.

During our wait for our table, Travis, our congenial host and one of the partners in the restaurant, helped us choose two delicious glasses of wine that we enjoyed while we snacked on a fantastic crimini mushroom crostini with truffle oil, a wonderful cheese selection, crusty Italian bread and some nutty olive oil. If my meal ended here, I would have been quite satisfied. You could taste the freshness of the mushrooms and there was just the right amount of seasonings and truffle oil added that it didn't overpower the earthiness of the chopped mushrooms.

We had meatballs on the brain this week (after a Sunday trip to Dad's for baked ziti & meatballs!) so we decided to try Frankie's version and see how it compared. The meatballs were made of beef with some pine nuts and raisins and smothered in a fresh sauce with a generous helping of freshly grated cheese. While the meatballs were quite tasty, we did agree that 100% beef meatballs just don't compare to a beef/pork/veal combo - you need a bit more fat to get the tender juicy consistency in the perfect meatball. Yes, my friends, I've done a lot of soul searching on this subject.

We kept the "Sunday Italian dinner" theme going with an order of Pork Braciola Marinara. The sauce for the pork had a bit more depth and heartiness than the marinara accompanying the meatballs and the pork was so fork tender. Delicious! Now if we only ordered some pasta with this - I could not get the calorie-conscious RRR to budge on this one - darn!

We also ordered a delightful salad of Puntarelle with Lemon, Caper, Anchovy & Pecorino Romano. Puntarelle is a member of the chicory family and the pecorino added just the right amount of creaminess to the dressing without taking away from the crunch of the greens. The anchovy provided a pungent saltiness to the salad perfectly balanced by the lemon and capers. I'd take this over a Caesar salad any day!

What I enjoyed most about our dining experience was the laid back attitude of the staff without compromising great service. The restaurant was quite busy for an early Wednesday dinner, but there was never a sense of urgency to turn over the tables. When you are told how long the wait is, you are offered the option of cozying up to the bar, or receiving a call on your cell when you table is ready. What a nice change of pace from what sometimes can feel like a frenetic assembly line dining experience!

The price is right, the food is fresh, the staff is pleasant and knowledgeable and you feel like you are eating at Grandma's with the only difference being you don't have to do the dishes!