Review: Franco's

Franco’s is a locally owned and operated Italian restaurant in the Clinton Parkway Shopping Center. Franco Cherubini, formerly with Mario’s in Jackson, opened his business in 2005 offering authentic Italian dishes with special care to the made to order specialty dishes. Franco prides himself in fresh ingredients cooked when ordered and genuine Italian style fare. Franco’s is open for lunch and dinner with a special lunch menu.

The Food

A good variety of appetizers start out your dining experience with stuffed mushrooms, shrimp au gratin, crawfish au gratin or fried shrimp with tomato dipping sauce. Entrees at lunch are spaghetti and meatballs, baked ziti with or without meat sauce, Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken or shrimp and chicken, veal or eggplant parmigiana. Several large salad offerings also compliment the daily lunch menu, along with great cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert. There is a daily lunch special board which varies making Franco's a great lunch spot for under $10.

At night the menu expands with more appetizers, pasta, seafood, chicken, eggplant and veal entrees. One of my favorite dishes is the Chicken Scaloppini which offers 2 nice size pieces of chicken, plenty of mushrooms, and capers with a wonderful lemon white wine creamy sauce served over pasta. The lasagna, crawfish and shrimp alfredo, and combo platters are also a must try. All the dishes are ample portions and most are either served over pasta or with a side dish of red or white sauced pasta. The veal dishes are great with either red, lemon butter, or white sauce. The shrimp scampi features delicious fresh shrimp and can be served with lemon butter sauce or Alfredo sauce depending on what you are hungry for. There are over 30 items on the dinner menu so the offerings are unlimited. Each entrée is also served with a side house salad with several different dressings with the house dressing being a peppercorn ranch that is very good. The appetizers at night increase to include spinach and mushroom augratin, and shrimp scampi and the endless toasted bread doesn’t leave much room for the great dessert offerings of cheesecake or tiramisu easily shared.

The Drink

Franco’s has a full bar with a sitting area and offers premium liquors, beer, and wine by the glass or bottle. Some of the specialty drinks include Green Apple Martini’s. Frank’s Cherry Coke, Peach Daiquiri, Hypnotic Blue Breeze Martini and many other drink specials. They offer great after dinner drinks as well as coffee specials such as Café Franco, coffee with Bailey’s Irish Cream or frozen drinks sure to please. Iced tea and sodas are also available with free refills.

The Scene

The décor features great pictures of Italy, and the nicely colored tablecloths makes for a real fine dining experience without the extremely high prices. Don’t expect to get in and out quickly as all the dishes are prepared as ordered with special attention and careful consideration for your perfect entrée presentation. There is plenty of seating options and can serve dinner for a couple, as well as space for up to 20 people. You can even smell your order cooking from the open kitchen.

The Bottom Line

Franco’s is a great place to dine for lunch or dinner. We especially enjoy the quiet, cozy, and friendly atmosphere. The background music, which features the likes of Frank Sinatra, Etta James, Chris Botti or other standards, adds to the nice dining experience. It is a great place for a nice casual, romantic dining experience with great seating options and special attention from Franco as he comes around to make sure your meal is just the way you like it. If this is Clinton’s well kept secret, the secret is already out about the wonderful, freshly cooked, delicious dining experience from start to finish.

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