507 replies to this topic

[Daniel]

had dinner there last night.. arrived early and only waited like 20 minutes... the stand out was the roasted fall vegetable salad. it was topped with this awesome ricotta salata. the cheese was grated in thin strips. there were roasted and pickled beets, fennel, and some kale... some roasted pistachios... oh my this was just amazing. very blue hill'y i would say. we had other things and the clam pizza of course.

[Sneakeater]

1. It would be stupid to say that the fried olives stuffed with pancetta and ricotta on the current antipasti are the best cocktail accompaniments in the City. Let's just say they're among the best.

2. Another current antipasto, Calabrian squid, shows either the perversity or the studied purity of vision that keeps Franny's a pizzeria with antipasti rather than a restaurant with secondi. Anywhere else, they'd serve this combination of squid, salami, and vegetables in spicy sauce in a slightly larger portion, and it would be a main dish. But since here they don't have main dishes, it's an antipasto. It's outrageously good, BTW.

3. Spaghetti with Meyer Lemon sauce is available here each year for a few weeks in January. We're there now. This is one of those very simple, very perfect dishes.

PS -- Big huge major news, but I don't feel comfortable disclosing it yet.

[Daniel]

Ahhh shizzz.. Please say clinton hill, please say clinton hill. But is it Williamsburg or Atlantic Yards? Shit., it's Manhattan, it's so Manhattan, damn you Manhattan.

[Sneakeater]

None of those.

[Wilfrid]

The picture of me they have in the kitchen must be way out of date now too.

[Stone]

PS -- Big huge major news, but I don't feel comfortable disclosing it yet.

I hear they're moving across the street.

[Sneakeater]

OK, then. If it's out it's out:

The big news is: FRANNY'S IS MOVING . . . to Park Slope.

Yes, Franny's is crossing the street to much larger quarters (much closer to my apartment, too -- so Prospect Heights' loss is my gain).

Their new location is of some interest to old Brooklynites. It's the former Blockbuster store on Flatbush between Sterling and 8th Ave. It was a Blockbuster for more than 20 years. Before that, however, it was a bistro. Not just any bistro. A bistro started by people who came out of the kitchen of La Cote Basque but, living in Brooklyn, wanted to take advantage of the lower real estate costs and cook for their neighborhood. In other words: early NBC! Too early, unfortunately: the bistro opened around 1985, and, excellent as it was, the neighborhood just wasn't ready to support it. It was a large space (happily for Franny's), and they couldn't fill it with French cooking. Soon, they put a divider down the middle of the dining room, and half remained devoted to French bistro food, the other half to fried whiting sandwiches. The fried whiting sandwiches did much better than the bistro food, and eventually the whole place went under and morphed into a Blockbuster.

The bistro truly was excellent. They served a bourride that, at least in memory, was even better than Alain Allegretti's. The bistro was also the site of the single most uncomfortable dinner I've ever attended, where my parents met my prospective in-laws for the first time.

Even more interesting, though, is the bistro's predecessor. It was a legendary Brooklyn catering hall that had closed just before I moved into the neighborhood. Generations of Brooklynites celebrated weddings and other occasions there. I can't recall its name. Maybe Steve R. can.

So now this will be the new expanded home of Franny's. As of now, I'm told they're planning on keeping roughly the same format. There will be two brick ovens. In addition to a large dining room, I'm told they'll have a private dining room and a take-out counter (which, given this location's proximity to two subway stops, will mint money). I'm betting there'll STILL be a wait for seating.

BUT that's not all. Franny's is also holding onto its current location. It will be used for some other purpose. I'm sure that one idea being bandied about is a fine dining restaurant. Since it's fairly near the new basketball arena, however, other uses suggest themselves as well. I'm told the kitchen facility (including the oven) will remain in any event, though.

[Stone]

Wow. It's like deja vu.

(If you really wanted to keep this secret, feel free to delete my posts.)

[SethG]

Tasting Room redux?

[Sneakeater]

Uh-oh.

[Sneakeater]

Wow. It's like deja vu.

(If you really wanted to keep this secret, feel free to delete my posts.)

It's more a question of whether THEY wanted to keep it a secret.

But if you know and I know, it isn't much of a secret.

[AaronS]

HOLY SHIT! it's really kind of sad how often I fantasize about them opening a french place.

I went last week and while I didn't have the lemon pasta the one with tomato sauce and botarga is really excellent, as was the carbonara dish that preceded the lemon pasta. my wife really liked the proseco based cocktail.

[Sneakeater]

I liked it better when Eater didn't deign to mention us here.

I hope I'm not barred from Franny's.

[Sneakeater]

Stone will want to know that the rumored new space is next door to a new Weight Watchers.

Coincidence? Or good citizenship?

[SethG]

I'm very fond of the Franny's we know, despite the crowds. I hope they don't mess it up.

I should add that these guys really seem to know what they're doing, so there's good reason to think they won't mess it up.