Frank

88 2nd Ave., East Village, NY

8.0

map & more

Neighborhood
East Village

Cuisine
Italian
Pasta

Nearby
Arlene's Grocery
Mercury Lounge
Rockwood Music Hall
Webster Hall

212-420-0202

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
July 30, 2009

On a beautiful day when Frank is on full blast, it’s like the East Village’s see-and-be-seen answer to Pastis. Everyone at Frank is feelin’ it – “it” being life. The vibe is contagious, and you really can’t escape it. That is, as long as you can handle people in your personal space. Frank packs ‘em in like the L Train at 8:30am on a work day. What’s that? You don’t like my elbow in your spaghetti? Sorry about that, but there’s no other place for me to put it. I promise I showered this morning.

It’s not like the East Village blew up into this crazy culinary hotspot overnight. Where leaders succeed, others follow. Frank Prisinzano opened Frank in 1998 and quickly became a leader in the E.V. food movement, blazing the tastemaker trail and building an Italian empire along the way (Lil’ Frankies, Supper). Frank has been serving hungry hipsters in this hood for years now and doing it with their own DIY “we do it our way” attitude. The food is consistently solid, though a little underwhelming at times, but you come back regardless because it’s places like this that make the East Village one of the greatest neighborhoods in the entire world.

Food Rundown:

Mozzarella di Bufala
People go nuts for the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes here. It’s obviously a staple starter at any Italian joint but Frank definitely does it right.

Roasted Beets Salad
Served with arugula, goat cheese and e.v. olive oil this is one of their standout salads. A nice sized portion and the goat cheese is nice and creamy.

Black Spaghetti with Calamari
Homemade black squid ink spaghetti served with tomato sauce, herbs and calamari. It seems like this is a permanent special, one we hope will never go away. Love the huge chunks of tomato and you get plenty of calamari.

Orechiette with Broccoli Rabe
Another permanent special, these small ear’shaped pastas pack a flavorful punch thanks to a mixture of spicy seasoning and garlic.

Tagliata Toscana
Tuscan style marinated skirt steak served over a bed of arugula with balsamic vinegar. Once again, a special that seems to have been a special for five years and if it were to ever leave the menu, there’d be riots.

Spaghetti Garlic
Damn, that’s some serious garlic! If you love garlic and want a bowl of straight forward, nothing fancy spaghetti w/garlic and olive oil you’re in luck. Just bring a toothbrush.

Rigatoni al Ragu
You know that anyone named Grandma Carmella can cook up a mean tomato and meat sauce. She doesn’t disappoint.

Handmade Ravioli of the Day
Frank kills it with their Ravioli, make sure to pay attention!

*Notes
Stay away from the mussels appetizer special, the roasted rosemary chicken, and the seared salmon. You can do better here and save those orders for elsewhere.