So Close...but didn't hit the mark
Hubs and I were here on a Sunday evening. We've eaten here in the past and have been pleased, but it's a bit of a drive, so we don't frequent Frankie's very often. So, we decided to go back.
We knew it wasn't up to its usual standards when we were told that they were out of a number of items - the calamari, mushroom timbale, and the chili. (The table next to us was extremely disappointed with the lack of calamari since they had come to the restaurant with that dish in mind.) OK, with the COVID pandemic and all, I realize that supply chains are not up to par, but three things? Plus, we ordered the hummus and was told they don't have pita bread (there's a grocery store in the same shopping center - send someone to get some or take it off the menu). We were offered lettuce cups or tortilla chips - neither really worked. French or Italian bread would have been better in hindsight. We opted for the tortilla chips. They worked - but just barely. The hummus was cold - "fresh" from the refrigerator - so we couldn't scoop it up with the chips. Generally, hummus is creamy with a nice olive oil on top. Not here - it was surrounded by roasted peppers, feta cheese chunks and olives. Sort of Greece meets Italy and they take a trip to the Middle East. The taste was good, but it wasn't the traditional hummus experience.
Husband had the jambalaya and I had a pasta dish. The jambalaya had a LOT of rice and a moderate amount of other stuff. At first glance, it looked like a lot of food - maybe enough to take home. He's a rice lover, but he still had only rice left, so no real leftovers. And it desperately needed salt (he normally does not salt dishes).
My pasta dish - the orcchiette - was good, but it too needed salt and could have used a little fresh touch (chopped tomatoes?)
We ordered dessert - a lemon tart with raspberries and mascarpone cheese, The cheese was just that - a timbale of pure, mascarpone cheese. No sugar. No lemon zest. Just plain cheese. Rather unpleasant and fatty.
But what bugged me the most was that we were presented with the bill BEFORE we received the dessert. We had thought that the dessert was overlooked. Our server was the general manager - she should have known better. In my opinion, a restaurant should never present a bill until all the food has been served and, preferably, not until all the diners have finished (unless, of course, it has been requested to be presented early).
Overall, this dining experience was a miss. If we had not been there in the past, we probably would not go back. But this is the era of COVID and so many restaurants are trying to make do with staffing shortages and supply interruptions, that we will go back, thinking that this was just a bad night. But I still give only three stars because there were so many issues, including the bill presented way too early - this cannot be ascribed to COVID.
Just a quick positive note: they have a nice amount of dishes that are vegetarian/vegan/gluten free. So if you need that type of food, you have some choices. Also, they had created a very pretty, shaded outdoor dining area that's NOT in a parking lot.
