Light and Hearty Dinner at Frankies 570

With Spring Forward and the wave of spring weather we have been hit with this week, it almost made me forget how chilly it was just a week ago.  And it was pretty chilly that one Friday night when SB and I met up to catch up over a warm and hearty dinner at Frankies 570.  I had been warned about the crowds at Frankies but was pleasantly surprised to find an almost empty restaurant, lit rather romantically by flickering candles.  It was the perfect setting for having a real conversation.

We started with a mound of toothsome raw brussel sprouts dressed with lemon and olive oil.  The feather-like shavings of brussel sprouts were tossed with castelrosso cheese, an Italian semi-hard cow’s milk cheese that’s similar to cheddar.  Sharp with a little bit of sweetness from the brussel sprouts, this made for a great light start to the meal.

The salad was followed by two crostinis, one topped with Sicilian white anchovy and the other with a puree of chickpeas and guanchiale.  The Sicilian white anchovy was salty and briny and the chickpeas smooth and creamy.

As our main dishes, we chose a Frankies’ classic, the sweet sausage, red peppers and onions over creamy polenta, a perfect dish for the early spring weather outside.  The polenta was indeed quite creamy and the sausage, onion and peppers were well spiced and balanced between sweet and savory.  Even though it sounded like a heartier dish, the dish was portioned well for a light main.  For our second dish, we were debating which pasta dish to try but one special for the evening caught our ear.  The brothy pasta dish was made with salted cod blended with butter and potatoes to make a filling for delicate noodles.  The little dumplings swam in a light seafood broth with steamed cockles nestled in between.

By the time we wrapped up our meal, the restaurant had started to fill up with the Friday evening crowd.  We left feeling filled but not weighed down like we had overindulged because the food was hearty and homey but still light.   It’s always great to have another casual comfort food location and Frankies 570 will likely pop up again on my radar again when I crave a little bit of that delicious creamy polenta and the refreshing brussel sprouts salad.

Frankies 570 | 570 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 | http://frankiesspuntino.com