On Tuesday night, I ran into a renowned chef who was enjoying a night off by dining at Franny's. He called Franny's the best restaurant in New York.
"Besides yours," I winked.
"No, this place is better," he replied.
Franny's specializes in what I would call "feel good" food. "Comfort food" is a moniker that has come to represent the kind of soporific white starch dishes that are as heavy as a wool blanket -- think macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, beef stew, mashed potatoes and gravy. Franny's sprightly pizzas, enzymatic charcuterie and bright sides provide all the familiarity of comfort foods, but they don't leave you feeling leaden. You can eat simply and heartily without having to feel bad about yourself afterwards.
I'm not going to tell you which of the city's pies I like best -- I think there's room for all kinds of pies, from the cold rectangles at Grandaisy to the late night quickie at Joe's. But Franny's makes a pie you ought to treat yourself to every now and then — thin, crisp-chewy and popping with black blisters. The clam pie is killer, dabbed with a mysterious savory sauce, showered with spicy chilies and the chlorophyll bite of roughly chopped parsley.
But it's the sides I could happily live off of -- mostly naked, jewel-toned vegetables, adorned judiciously but imaginatively. We loved the raw black Tuscan kale salad, with its pock-marked heft and iron-rich meatiness. It stood up well to tart lemon and bright grated pecorino, the leaves practically tumbling off the plate. We also loved the tiny kernels of white corn, relieved from the cob and sauteed gently with rich local butter, lime juice and chilies -- all the flavors of Mexican-style street corn, but unfettered by opaque mayo and cheese.
The garden out back is perfectly charming, just a backyard protected by a few stately trees, the nonchalant fences strung with white Christmas lights. On a lovely evening, after dusk's mosquitoes have finished feeding, it would be heaven to linger with a sweet glass of La Spinetta moscato d'Asti or the last few drops of a bottle of barbaresco, feeling wistful about Indian summer. I wouldn't mind one last clam pie before the cold creeps in.
what an evocative review--I need to make a trek to Brooklyn! Tell me more about the raw black kale salad--I always cook my tuscan kale and have a hard time imagining it raw? How is it prepped--thin ribbons? Thanks.
The kale was in wide ribbons, wider than pappardelle. It was young, and they didn't use much of the part with the spine -- mostly leafy top part. My friend Winnie grows black Tuscan kale in her backyard and adds it to salad when it's really young -- the leaves are about 6 inches from cut end to tip. It's really delicious in salad because it's so flavorful.
I almost hate you for having constant access to Franny's. But I don't. I don't hate you. I don't hate you. I don't hate you. There. I said it three times and now it's true. But...
great description of the kale! and the clam pie really is delicious.