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Only open a couple of months now, I’ve heard so much about Frankie’s Spuntino on Clinton St. that I finally decided to go and check it out for myself. Apparently, so has everyone else. On Monday night they couldn’t seat our party of five so we decided to go hopping and headed further down the block to a several week-old spot called SavorNY for appetizers and would return to Frankie’s for the main course. As is requisite with any hopping adventure, drinks must be consumed with gusto at all locations.
At SavorNY owner/manager Craig Gross of Blue Water Grill pedigree and chef Joe Dobias have created a sheik restaurant with affordable “global” food. With dim lighting, burgundy micro-suede banquettes and deep gold painted walls this tiny twenty-two seat room is turned into a sophisticated yet cozy space. The plush, elevated benches are great places to check out who else is in the room, for me, it was the Restaurant Girl, possibly the most attractive food writer of our generation. (Though I hear M.F.K. Fisher was quite a looker in her day.)
The wine list is innovative but might be confusing for all but the most well-versed in vino. They don’t separate the list into sparkling, white and red, rather they have categories such as: spicy/intense, bold/robust and earthy/mineral in which all colors of wine peacefully coexist. Ask Craig for a suggestion or help decipher the jumbled mess and don’t fret because the most expensive bottle is a mere $48 and all of the 35 bottles are kindly available by the glass.
As for the food, I’m still not sold on the concept of global cuisine, it seems disjointed and unfocussed. A bit too cutesy, but fun, is the way the menu is divided into forks, fingers and finales. Probably for the first time ever pickled okra with pork cracklins graces a menu with crab rangoons, cod falafels, quirky Jewish inspired empanadas and Serrano ham rolls. Yet we had some tasty plates, none more than $13 and that is something I can always sink my fork into.
