Even after four years of food blogging, there's still a lot of well-loved favorites that I haven't visited. Frankies 457 is a great example of a restaurant that's serving great unpretentious food that I just seem to overlook every weekend. The Frankies Spuntino empire now has two locations in Manhattan, in addition to the original in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. It's a small space that's narrow, but made to feel warm through its exposed brick walls and the kitchen in the middle of the restaurant that divides the two seating sections. The small bar is adjacent to the 'kitchen' and seats around ten. Besides that there's very little space to wait, since the restaurant is small. It's hard to imagine because this place must be packed regularly; not sure how it looks around 8pm on a weekend night. The lunch menu here is what Steph and I tried and it's got a bit of everything.

There's something about established restaurants that's been around for a while. It essentially is that cool culinary kid on the block. While I don't know the restaurant business at all, I understand it's not the easiest business. Yet, from the outside looking in, I can't help but to see the food as something without insecurities. The two chef-owners of Frankies Spuntino restaurants have a cookbook. No doubt the recipes stem from what we get to enjoy at the restaurant. And since the mark of great craftsmen is artistry and consistency, we can infer that since the restaurants have been so successful, these recipes must be bangin'.

So there it is, the cool kid in school, popular and well-liked. Eating something at Frankies 457 is basically enjoying what I strive to hate, which puts me in a conundrum. Like this white anchovies crostini ($4). It's basically some fishies on bread, and there I am enjoying the shit out of a dish that has no insecurities, that's been executed many times flawlessly... it's everything that any person cannot be. And since this is my blog and all about me, this delicious four bites is everything that I cannot ever be. Enjoying what I despise... it's tricky.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the food here. I would go back gladly during not-as-busy hours. I think individuals can be fueled by fear of failure. You hear athletes talk about it all the time. To some degree we all possess that fear. It might seem ludicrous to feel inadequate when comparing oneself to an inanimate plate of food because first of all, why compare yourself to a plate of food? Simple. A delicious dish such as the pappardelle with braised lamb ($19) is a well-crafted thing, it sits waiting to be enjoyed, knowing that it's the been the n-th time that this dish has been created. What's there to fear? It knows its good. It knows its well-liked. It understands the finite lifespan of itself.

The obvious thing that separates a plate of pork braciola ($16) and I is the fact that this dish in its current incarnation can only live as slowly as I eat, which is not very slow. While I on the other hand, have already had thirty years to dissect the ageless question: is my penis big enough for Jason Whitlock. No? Not that one... Am I good enough? Am I smart enough? Do people like me? And even if I suppose the answer could possibly be yes to all three, it still is only the answer for this moment in time. Was I smart enough at eighteen-years-old? Will I be good enough at fourty-years-old? Will people drive traffic to my blog in two months?!? Probably not. Hardly. And if I pimp myself hard enough are the answers.

But I want simpler answers one of these days. I want to be perfection for two minutes, which is about how long it took to finish the vanilla creme brulee. How does one wow and dazzle incessantly? How can a person be as complete as a dish can be for ten minutes, and be as successful as a restaurant can be for years and years. I suppose the answer is probably in the intersection of Jeremy Lin and Barack Obama. And that's only because one can't go left and one only goes left. Even though I can't hit game winning shots or sing Al Green like Bam, I take comfort knowing at least I can stuff my face with my wife at my side.

Frankies 457
457 Court St.
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-403-0033

Posted by Danny on February 22, 2012 at 1:26 am

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