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» DINING » THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2004
dining
out
Franny’s pies flourish in
Flatbush renaissance
BY JOSH LICHTMAN
Special to amNewYork
Until recently, Flatbush
Avenue, the busy intersection between Park Slope and
Prospect Heights, was a
culinary wasteland of fried
chicken joints and Chinese
take-out restaurants.
But with the steady stream
of gentrification that’s hit the
neighborhood in recent years,
the avenue seems destined to
become Brooklyn’s next
restaurant row.
Franny’s, the newest addition to join the fray, specializes in brick-oven pizza and
rustic Italian fare. The soonto-be-hitched owners Francine Stephens and Andrew
Feinberg, who met while working at Savoy, are committed
to sustainable agriculture.
The menu focuses on locally
grown produce and sustainable meats.
With a long vibrant dining
room, soft lighting and good
jazz, Franny’s is an ideal spot
to unwind. Along with
Manhattan style — more
Madison
Avenue
than
Flatbush Avenue — Franny’s
also has Manhattan prices.
The menu starts with three
types of crostini ($5),
crunchy toasts with irresistible combinations like
melted sharp pecorino toscano cheese topped off with
anchovy butter or a mélange
Franny’s
295 Flatbush Ave.
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
(718) 230-0221
BY DAVID ABRAMOWICZ
amNewYork Staff Writer
It seems too good to last: an
intimate New York City
restaurant with superb food
that just happens to be prepared organically, all for about
$10 a dish. But the people
who run “A,” a tiny 3-year-old
restaurant on the Upper West
Side, insist they’re not planning to jack up the prices —
or the pretense.
Going to “A,” which is
named after the nearest subway line, is like going to a
friend’s dinner party —
except you probably don’t
have friends who can cook
Watermelon Margarita
• 2 oz. Sauza Hornitos
Tequila
• 11⁄2 oz. fresh watermeloncitrus juice (see below for
recipe)
• 1⁄2 oz. orange liqueur (Patron
Citronge)
• Float of Midori
• In a shaker, combine Sauza
Hornitos, fresh watermelon juice
mixture, orange liqueur with ice and
shake. Pour into a rocks glass over
ice. Over the back of a spoon, pour
1/2 oz of Midori to float. (It sinks to the
bottom of the glass.) Garnish with a triangle wedge of watermelon. Serve.
Watermelon-citrus juice:
Franny’s is a good place to relax after a long day, with soft lighting and cool jazz on the stereo.
of chick peas combined with
piquant crushed green olives.
While Franny’s has the standard plate of prosciutto di
parma, parmigiano reggiano
and aged balsamico ($10), I
suggest opting for appetizers
that utilize local ingredients,
like the fried artichoke “ghetto style” ($8).
The main attraction is the
individual pizza ($9-$14),
cooked in an Italian woodburning oven. While I love
the fresh toppings, the crust
is too soft and lacks the flavor
and charred texture one
expects from a brick oven.
Crust aside, though, the pizzas are quite enjoyable.
The margarita pizzas are
also a stellar choice; the tangy
sauce made from sweet
imported tomatoes is a good
match for fresh mozzarella
from the Lioni Latticini
Mozzarella Co. in New Jersey.
like Hussein, the Senegalese
chef who prepares FrenchCaribbean dishes in a kitchen
barely big enough to fit an
easy-bake oven. Patrons bring
their own wine and often sit
at communal tables.
“It was just sort of opened
for the community,” says
Norah Kelly, who not only
serves as the restaurant’s
waitress/hostess, but is also
part of the co-operative that
runs “A” and two spinoffs,
“Ivo and Lulu” in Soho and
“Funky Nassau” in the East
Village. “It just sort of gives it
a down-to-earth feel. And I
think that’s why we’re still
packing the place.”
Recommended appetizers:
Spinach mousse with a shiitake sesame vinaigrette
served in a haas avocado;
smoked mussels in cilantro
and chile butter.
Recommended
entrees:
Duck confit in mango marinade; chicken breast with
papaya puree and goat cheese.
• 1 whole ripe watermelon
• 6 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 6 oz. orange juice
Start by juicing a ripe watermelon, without seeds. Strain so that
liquid is clear and bright pink, without pulp. This should yield a
gallon of juice. Then add 6 oz. lime juice and 6 oz. of orange
juice. Stir.
Dining dish...
The Italian brick oven turns out turns out decent individual pizzas.
But service is not quite
ready for the big leagues. On
a recent visit, my dining companion and I sat through a
three-hour comedy of errors
and waited more than an hour
for food because our waitress
forgot our order. She then
proceeded to serve us the
wrong food and we ended up
eating separately. Adding
insult to injury, the staff
comped the bill $2.
While the service has some
kinks to work out, the seasonal ingredient-driven menus
refreshingly simple, utilizing
quality ingredients and interesting flavors, which is the
essence of Italian cooking.
Take the A train to ‘A,’
Upper West’s food secret
947 Columbus Ave.
Btw. 106th and 107th Sts.
(212) 531-1643
Tue.-Sat., 6-11pm
No reservations
HAPPY
This week’s drink is from Maya, at 1191 First Ave. Call
(212) 585-1818. Don’t forget to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
• Citarella is back — and now she’s going by the name
Josephs. To celebrate, the restaurant is offering free dinner to the
first t10 people named Joseph to eat there every day (with valid
photo I.D.), starting this Saturday and throughout the month of
May. 1240 Avenue of the Americas, at 49th St. (212) 332-1515.
• Chef Zakary Pelaccio, formerly of Williamsburg favorite
Chickenbone Café, is opening 5 Ninth this week in the meatpacking district. Expect vibrant contemporary “global cuisine”
served in an intimate setting. 5 Ninth Avenue, (212) 929-9460.
• Finding good barbeque in New York is just as about hard as
finding a good bagel in Memphis. That might very well change in
September of 2004, when Syracuse-based Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
opens at 131st and 12th Avenue in Harlem.
• Mark your calendar! The BROOKLYN PIGFEST will be held on
May 22 from 1- 5pm at the Brooklyn Brewery, 79 N. 11th Street.
Go to www.brooklynbrewery.com/events.asp for additional information.
• Bread from Beirut (24 W. 45th) recently changed its name to
Bread & Olives and has been taken over by the owners of east
midtown’s favorite Lebanese restaurant, Al Bustan. (Josh Lichtman)
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