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 FRANCO'S ARMY
It's our first dinner at Franco's Ristorante in Fox Chapel Plaza but we know what to order. The man - Franco D'Amico - and his food are legendary in Pittsburgh. So of course we order the fried zucchini for two, tissue thin and crisp, a mountain of it heaped on the plate between us. Then the big veal chop for His Honor, and the osso bucco, so tender it's falling into pieces, for me. For dessert, we'll have the creamy, oh-so-rich tiramisu. Is this heaven or what? Not quite. H.H. is grumbling over the wine list. "The lowest-priced California cabernet is $36. It's a very pricey wine list," he whispers. He forgets we're out among 'em tonight; we counted three Mercedes and a Jaguar parked outside. Everybody orders fried zucchini at Franco's because it's possibly the best in Pittsburgh. The only competitor is the fried zucchini at F. Tambellini, Seventh Street, Downtown. (Owner Mary Tambellini Pelligrini is Franco's sister-in-law, so it's all in the family.) The zucchini is served with a wedge of lemon and grated Parmesan cheese. Nothing else is needed. We eat as much as we can as fast as we can. This stuff doesn't keep. Salads are crisp and green, the house vinaigrette light and a little sweet. Cucumber slices in the salad are peeled - a nice touch. The veal chop may be the biggest we've ever seen, and arrives cooked to order, juicy and tender. Franco, we're told, cuts the veal himself, first thing every day. The veal shank has been braised with tomatoes, carrots and other good things for the osso bucco, producing an exceptional sauce. Small plates of fresh green beans, cooked until they are just crisp-tender, come with both dinners. Still, H.H. is fussing about the wine. "Look around," he says. "No one else has ordered a bottle of wine. The prices are too high." The 1994 Merryvale Hillside cabernet, that lowest-price California cabernet, goes well with our dinners, but H.H. is feeling guilty. "Maybe I should have ordered the Lohr merlot. It's the cheapest red of all, $20." Forget it, H.H. I have a feeling Franco's customers don't worry about cost. Tiramisu often is called the Italian trifle. But Franco's tiramisu is much lighter than a trifle. One of his team of cooks, Dennis Mattozzi, makes it fresh each morning. The flavors of espresso, chocolate, mascarpone cheese, lady fingers and Italian liqueur meld while it's refrigerated until dinner. Surely something this good can't be bad for you. We've returned to Franco's since that night, and have never been disappointed in the food. We can heartily recommend the red snapper, a special one night, served with bay scallops and shrimp in a salsa-like topping, and the bowtie pasta with salmon. Lots of fresh-tasting chunks of salmon dotted the tomato-cream sauce coating the bowties. One night we dared not to order the deep-fried zucchini, and shared a portobello mushroom, stuffed with spinach, crabmeat and gorgonzola, as an appetizer. Excellent choice. We've noticed that many customers seem to be regulars. Some don't even look at the menu; they know what they want. They come for the sauteed soft-shell crabs, when they're in season, the roast veal, the grilled swordfish or another favorite. Franco has a long list of fresh fish, veal and other entrees. Seven pastas, too. And every night servers recite a list of additional specials. Prices are on the high side for Pittsburgh. Entrees range from $17.95 for breast of chicken alla Romano to $26.95 for a broiled seafood platter. This includes the tossed salad and vegetable or pasta marinara. Pastas, with salad, range from capellini with pignoli and garlic oil at $12.95 to linguine pescatoria at $16.95. Even when we ate at Franco's mid-week, when business is slow at many Pittsburgh restaurants, Franco's was busy. The man has an avid following, built up over the years since he came to America as a teen-ager and got a job as a dishwasher at the Duquesne Club. (It's interesting to notice that the Duquesne Club original, crabmeat Hoelzel, is an appetizer on the menu at Franco's.) He has cooked and been associated with a number of restaurants around town, such as Franco's in the Bourse Shops, Bravo! Franco, F. Tambellini and Alexander Graham Bell's. He's been in Fox Chapel since June 1989. "Franco's keen on making everything in small batches so it's really fresh," says Michelle Sabatini, office manager. Over the years customers got in the habit of asking him to make a special salad, pasta or other dish. Today that's not so easy, Sabatini says. Franco is 66 this year, so he's cutting back a bit. He still works seven days a week, comes in early to cut the veal and the fish, but on many weekdays he leaves early in the afternoon to visit with other restaurant buddies. Then he's often seen at La Scala or the Iron Butterfly, Downtown. That leaves a crew of cooks to follow Franco's recipes in Fox Chapel: Scott Westin, Pasquale DiFiore, Frank Gacetta, Akinora Iwasawa, Mattozzi, and Larry and Paul Bates. (Paul is leaving to become chef at Viaggio on the South Side.) Sabatini says regulars know to reserve well in advance if they want to eat in what's known as the love boat, the love nest, or even the love shack. It's table L1, a secluded spot, outfitted with cushions and pillows. It seats four. Next to it is another secluded table, L2, which seats two or three. I'll bet the people at those tables aren't discussing the wine list.
Franco's Ristorante
-- Review by Woodene Merriman, Post-Gazette Dining Critic
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Hours:
Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.;
Sunday, 3-9 p.m.