Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street: Ambiance & Service Make the Meal

May 27, 2008

As delicious as Italian food is, I rarely crave it, letting pizza and some of NYC’s more heart-stopping offerings fill the void. Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street on the LES, has been on my radar for a while, namely for its heralded meatball sandwiches on Grandaisy rosemary bread and also for the homemade cavatelli with Faicco’s hot sausage and browned sage butter. One dish excelled, the other underwhelmed, but it was the ambiance that will bring me back. Read on to find out why…

“Spuntino” translated from Italian, literally means “to break”. And Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street provides the perfect atmosphere “to break” bread with friends or that special someone. Candle light flickers off narrow brick walls while a young crowd enjoys affordable wine and cheese pairings, plates of cured meats, crostini, salads, and antipasti en route to a tasty, albeit, basic Italian dinner.

My lovely date and I arrived at Frankies on a Thursday night and waited at the standing-room only bar. I know nothing about wine but the bartender, Travis, was extremely accommodating, offering small tastes of his favorites. I ended up with a $10 glass of Lagrein red. It was mild and fruity, definitely recommended for wine novices.

Let’s get into the meal…

I was immediately greeted with disappointment when the waitress told me there was no bread left for the sandwiches. Already starting off on the wrong foot. Let’s see if Frankies could redeem themselves.

First course for my lovely date was a generic Arugula, Pecorino, and Romano salad with Merlot Wine Vinaigrette ($8). While the ingredients were fresh, the salad was unimpressive. The tart dressing and smokey cheese didn’t convince me or my date to order this again.

We also shared a $12 cheese special, featuring two domestic cheeses. The top cheese is called “Oh My Heart”, a brie-like variety with a grassy-tasting mushroom flavored rind. Way too earthy for me. The large piece of cheese is a Grafton Cheddar. It was damn near perfect. Crumbly and mild, it melted in your mouth upon each bite. The dark substance at left is called “mostarda” and it contained figs, cherries, walnuts, raisins, and sunflower seeds in a balsamic reduction. This was an acquired taste, unlike the walnuts and honey combo at right. This was all served with some crusty cran-walnut bread. Our waitress Ellie was very patient and helpful when describing these finer nuances.

On to the entrees…

If you know NYC Food Guy, I need to try everything. The fact that we were a 2-person party didn’t stop me. Since there was no bread for sandwiches, I ordered the meatballs anyway in addition to the cavatelli with Faicco’s hot sausage and browned sage butter ($16). My date went with the House made Gnocchi Marinara and fresh ricotta ($14).

The meatballs ($10 for 3) were delicious.

Moist, light, perfectly spiced, and all beef, they’re handmade with bread crumbs, raisins and pine nuts. The last two ingredients may seem odd but they don’t affect the texture as much as subtly contribute to the delicious flavor. The marinara was excellent, embodying a balanced sweet and garlicky flavor which perfectly coexisted with the sharpness of the sprinkled parmigiano reggiano melting on top. The meatballs were delicious enough on their own to alleviate my bread-related disappointment.

If not for the hot sausage, the cavatelli ($16) would have been a major disappointment.

The sausage was fresh, moist, and subtly spicy but the cavatelli was on the firmer side of al dente and the browned sage butter wasn’t very flavorful. This was my first time eating cavatelli but I know what’s delicious AND affordable and this was not $16 well spent.

The Gnocchi was cooked perfectly but the marinara and fresh ricotta carried the dish ($14).

The balanced marinara was the star of the show, combining with the pillowy gnocchi and light, creamy ricotta to create a simple, tasty dish that didn’t wow me but definitely satisfied.

Attentive service and a cozy atmosphere make Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street a worthwhile venture.

After moving our entire table so my lovely date could get to her seat, I was happy to see Frankie’s make up for it with attentive, friendly service and an atmosphere that harbored intimacy despite that fact that the neighboring table was practically on top of us. Frankies isn’t cheap but it is affordable especially if you value the overall quality of your dining experience.