It is easy to be misled by large lines and hard to make reservations, only to succumb to dining at yet another chain restaurant. It is, of course, a fact that chain restaurants can also produce delicious food. However, it is those small, family-owned restaurants that really hold the heart of food. Located on 19 1st Ave. New York, NY 10003, Lil Frankie's serves the perfect Italian cuisine.
Lil Frankie's is a small restaurant that has very limited seating. It can be quite hard to get a reservation, but it is worth the while. One important note is that this restaurant only allows cash payment. However, even in the age of credit cards, this does not deter business.
Last week, when visiting my friend who goes to college in Manhattan, we were able to score a reservation at the famous Lil Frankie's.
Appetizers
We started off with its complementary bread and balsamic vinegar. The bread itself tasted so fresh and had the perfect texture. I have had balsamic vinegar in many restaurants, but Lil Frankie's created its own twist by adding olives right into the oil. Not only did the olives provide a beautiful flavor in the vinegar, but eating the olives after was amazing just on its own.
After eating the complementary bread, we ordered the garlic bread as our appetizer. Even though garlic bread seems to be a mundane dish, this garlic bread was far from ordinary. Freshly baked bread, a thick layer of fresh garlic, and a beautiful layer of melted cheese right on top of it. I have never had hard garlic bread as flavorful, fresh, and refreshing as this one.
Entrees
For our entrees, I ordered the handmade ravioli di spinach & ricotta, while my friend ordered the chicken parmesan. I feel that in most restaurants, portion sizes can be very overwhelming. However, my ravioli was the perfect portion size. The ratio of filling to pasta kept each bite light and flavorful. The sauce on top was also not too heavy and added the perfect amount of flavor. My friend's portion was definitely a little larger, but still perfectly delicious. She got served a thick piece of chicken, cooked well, with cheese and sauce smothering it and a hearty side of spaghetti. While this dish was definitely more heavy than mine, it left us with absolutely zero complaints.
Dessert
We were more than stuffed, to say the least. However, after looking at the dessert menu, we knew we could not leave without trying it. We knew there was no way we would be able to finish any dessert then, so we decided to order some as takeout and eat it as our midnight snack. I definitely think both of these desserts would have tasted better if we ate them at the restaurant. But I still have no complaints after eating them several hours later.
1. The one dessert was this beautiful pastry filled with Nutella and strawberries. It was genuinely the best dessert I have ever had. The menu said to trust them with this one, and I am sure glad that I did.
2. My friend ordered the tiramisu which was equally impressive. I am honestly not a huge fan of tiramisu in general, but this one might be an exception. This tiramisu was not too sweet and somehow had the perfect ratio of every ingredient. Whereas my dessert was quite heavy and filling, this was light and airy. As I mentioned before, this restaurant only accepts payment in cash. As a notorious credit card user who never has cash on me, I think this restaurant is worth the hike to the ATM in exchange for a perfect dinner. I recommend Lil Frankie's to anyone who listens; I think it is a must-visit restaurant in New York City!