Franny's

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
May 8, 2009

Flowering Broccoli, Pecorino Romano, Spring Garlic and Chilies Pizza
295 Flatbush Ave
(St Marks Ave & Prospect Pl)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-230-0221

Whenever I’m in Park Slope or Prospect Heights, Franny’s is at the top of my list of dinner destinations. It’s a feel-good restaurant as it’s casual, and the quality of their Italian-influenced cuisine is always high and consistent. Though Franny’s is known for its pizzas, I’m actually a bigger fan of the constantly changing lineup of appetizers. Much of the menu is sourced locally, with suppliers listed on the back of the menu, while some the vegetables are grown on site*, and the meats are cured there as well.

This is not the first time I’ve written about Franny’s, but I wanted to reiterate how stellar the food is; the freshness, the simplicity and clarity of flavors and, again, the consistency are paramount.

Since the beginning of spring, I’ve visited Franny’s twice, and both times was blown away by their quality to price ratio. My second visit was particularly memorable because of the appetizer of marinated leeks with egg, lemon and chilies, and the seasonal pizza with broccoli rabe, Pecorino Romano, spring garlic and chilies. The leeks were lusciously plump and roasted, topped with chopped boiled egg, lemon juice and chilies. I hardly ever think of leeks as juicy, but these were, and I savored them on both occasions!

For pizzas, my companions had already ordered two with tomato and buffalo mozzarella, one of which with meatballs, so I knew I needed to branch out in terms of flavor profiles, but I wasn’t in the mood for my favorite clam pizza. So I thought I’d try the vegetarian option with flowering broccoli. Since the other pizzas were tomato-based, it was fine that this one wasn’t. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was absolutely delicious! The broccoli rabe was as fresh as can be; the spring garlic sliced like scallions added a hint of pungent spice, and the chilies gave the pizza heat that was tempered by a little cheese. It was perfection.

Though not a fan of sweets, I did enjoy the Sicilian sesame cookies with Marsala dolce to end the meal. These are hard cookies rolled in sesame seeds — sesame seeds make everything taste better in my book — accompanied by a small glass of Marsala wine. I don’t mind the sweetness of the Italian fortified wine in this case because it’s balanced out by the earthier flavors of the sesame cookies.

Bravo, Franny’s!

Correction: There are no vegetables grown on site. All vegetables are sourced locally.

Also in Italian, Pizza, Prospect Heights