I’ve driven by Frankie’s Italian Restaurant, 2724 W. Britton Rd., quite a few times, usually cracking a joke or two about the total lack of business out front, believing they were just another darkly-lit building abandoned along Britton.
As I learned the other day, however, Frankie’s Italian Restaurant is very much open. Sure, I still peeked in through the window to double-check that they were up and around, as the parking lot was empty, but as we went in, the informative waitress told me that not only are they alive, but that Frankie’s is a family business that seemed to have most of the crew working today.
My significant other and I were escorted to a pleasant-enough table, the insides completely betraying what the outside was presenting to us. As a courtroom show played on the TV in the corner, I noticed how clean the whole place seemed, with even a guy by the soda machine cleaning each glass by hand. I hope it wasn’t a punishment.
Assured by our waitress that everything served is homemade—canned tomatoes and frozen dough just won’t do it for me, I guess—we ordered our meals, with the appetizer, a plate of fresh Bruschetta ($7.95) arriving not too soon after. Each sliver was a slice of respectable goodness, the fine cheese and fresh vegetables on top making the world go round.
As we were finishing that up, two people came in.
Done enjoying her side salad with bleu cheese—is that an Italian dressing?—my significant other sampled her main, the Cheese Ravioli ($10.95), absolutely covered in marinara sauce. Plump pillows of cheese and pasta were fornicating together in the gooey sauce; each taste of the ravioli was a thick surprise, a hearty look which lit up her face with each and every bite.
My main man was the Diablo Veal which, while not as hot as Hell—how it got the name is beyond me—is definitely a flavor-filled trip through the red-sauced underworld. Consisting of spaghetti with a mixture of both large onions and wide garlic lazing about in the thick sauce, the real devil here is the prime cut of veal, with a rich taste that melded beautifully with the noodles.
As I pushed my half-done dish forward, another pair of partners walked in.
Wanting a small square of dessert to split with my lady, I ordered the Italian Crème Cake to stay on the right path. Sadly, they didn’t have it, so instead we went for the Tiramisu ($5.00), a dessert which I’ll admit I’ve never had. Even though it was, oddly, a little too wet on the bottom, it was homemade by the mom sitting towards the back; in that case, I gotta say it was alright.
Cómpralo ya!
_
Follow Louis on Twitter at @LouisFowler and Instagram at @louisfowler78.
Support TLO (and, by proxy, Louis Fowler) by becoming an Ogle Mole…sign up here today.
