Frankie’s
56951 N. Main StreetI used to watch a lot of Food Network. A lot. J and I used to plan trips based around what restaurants were featured on the various shows. Then, I got a full time job and work nights. I don’t watch a whole lot of Food Network anymore. That’s too bad because it seems like there are a lot of Michigan and Chicago restaurants being featured recently…the two places I eat the most.
While I don’t watch a whole anymore, I did see in the local media that Robert Irvine’s show Restaurant: Impossible taped a show in Three Rivers. It hasn’t aired yet (airs September 5), but I still would like to check the place out to see what Mr. Irvine came up with….and it’s kind of a better idea to do it before the show actually airs.
I had never been to Frankie’s before today so I have no idea what it looked like before. The restaurant is on Business 131 or North Main Main Street to the south of US-131 on the north side of Three Rivers. There is somewhat of a train theme to the place as it sits right next to the railroad tracks.
When you walk in the door, there’s actually a choice of two doors from there. One leads in to the bar area while the other leads in to the dining room. It doesn’t really matter because once inside it’s actually one big space, but we chose the dining room door anyway.
The dining room and bar area have somewhat of a modern barn feel to it. Again, no idea what the restaurant used to look like so I can’t compare. I’ll have to watch the show to determine how much actually changed.
The walls are painted black with white trim and “X” beams through them. The best way for me to describe this is to think of a red barn with the white x through the doors. It’s the same pattern but black. The floor is dark wood while the lighting is an interesting wood chandelier.
We didn’t see a sign for a hostess so we headed to a table near the fire place along the back wall. A waitress saw us and followed with menus. She got our drinks (Coke products) then went to pick up a high chair for L while we looked over the menu.
A lot of the comments I have read since the remodel long for the old Frankie’s. I know how hard change can be at an established restaurant and the locals don’t usually like change, so I didn’t put much weight into the Foursquare tips I read prior to our visit.
The menu is not as large as I expected it to be. There was a section of sandwiches, a section for pizza, a handful of entrees, a few salads, and some appetizers. The menu was one page front and back.
I scanned the sandwich list until I found the burger. My selection was the Classic Burger which is served on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cheddar cheese. The meat is fresh sirloin that is grilled in kind of an oblong shape. The soft, buttery, toasted brioche roll is in the same shape. The sandwich is served with golden brown hand cut french fries. The plate is a classic hamburger and fry combo but almost everything on the plate is home made.
J ordered the Club Wrap. The flour tortilla is wrapped with ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and mayo. J said her wrap was delicious and way too much for her to eat. She opted to take half of it home and focus on the delicious home made fries that also came with meal.
J’s mom went to the entree section and ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs. This rather large plate of soft spaghetti noodles is served with a chunky tomato sauce and sirloin meatballs with two slices of garlic bread on the side. This plate was also way too much for one person and half of it was taken home for a later meal.
The bill for the three of us was right around $30. Our waitress was right on top of our meal which flies in the face of a lot of the reviews I’ve read of the place lately.
Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t know what Frankie’s used to be, but I liked what it is now. The atmosphere is something really unexpected in a place like this which may be why some of the long time customers seem to not like the remodel. As someone who’ seeing Frankie’s for the first time, I liked it. All of our meals had a number of home made elements to it and that’s always a winner with us.
Classic Burger w/Home Made Fries
- Club Wrap
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
SW Michigan Dining 
Looks awesome. I’m heading up to Burton this week to checkout Paliani’s which Robert Irvine says was the worst Italian restaurant he’s ever had.