Anyone that reads our blogs knows all too well, that we are lovers of the East Coast. It may be perhaps a little less obvious, that we also really LOVE Austin, and anytime our affections for both merge, we are exceedingly happy people! This delightful combination does not happen near often enough, especially with regard to food! We typically hope our culinary cravings happen to line up with our geographic location, except when it comes to Italian. We have discovered a place in ATX where the pizza transplants us to NYC if only for lunch or dinner! I will admit upfront that Italian food is not my go-to when I am hungry, simply because more often than not, growing up in Texas, it was disappointing. Living on the East Coast gave me a whole new appreciation for pasta, bread, and sauce. My hubby and kids love Italian so a happy balance had to be found! Enter Frank and Angie’s Pizzeria!
We stumbled across it after returning from one of our frequent NYC trips and we were in love. I am pretty sure they had my vote at the sound of Sinatra playing, and my husband when they did in fact have garlic in a shaker! This is his biggest pet peeve with local Italian eateries, WHERE IS THE GARLIC?! On our first few visits we had the pizza and were very pleased. Over our next few visits I tried some of the other dishes, but my hubby did not. Despite his best intentions to try something new, he simply could not turn down the pizza! We had enough good experiences at Frank and Angie’s to feel comfortable recommending it for couples for both lunch and dinner, but before we gave it the wanna-be-nomads stamp of approval, we wanted to kid test it. More accurately, we wanted to test it on our three hard to please, insanely hungry teenagers! Last week was my birthday, and to their surprise, I decided to forego my usual Tex Mex request and take them for Italian! Their enthusiasm was tempered by the typical teen angst of “if mom likes it we probably won’t”!
As anyone with children or a gluttonous husband will tell you, appetizers are essential for a pleasant dining experience. Very few things spoil a good meal more than the incessant whining of “I’m STARVING” while waiting on food. While it is highly unlikely anyone will actually succumb to starvation, it is fairly common mom will lose her composure and be irritated at said whining before the plates make it to the table! To offset this undesirable set of circumstances we immediately order garlic bread with cheese (4.25) per miss 13 year old, cheese addicted Felda Rose! Our waiter, Winn, was off to put the order in while we continued to look over the menu. He returned to take our order at least three times, and was unfazed after asking “are you ready to order” and repeatedly getting three yes replies and two no replies. We are with teens remember, this is a process! He brought our drinks and appetizers and was rewarded with a unanimous YES, we are ready to order! The kids ordered quick, thanks in part to the warm fragrant bread on the table. We should have ordered two! Was it good? Suffice it to say the plate was empty before anyone uttered a word. They thought it was great. It is good, REALLY good, especially the sauce, but here is where confess, I prefer the Garlic Bread ($3.50) without cheese. Their bread is made from scratch every day, yeah really, and it is AMAZING.
Before we move on to the food, it is worthy of mentioning the staff at Frank and Angie’s! Aside from the aforementioned “I’m starving” whine ruining a good dining experience, bad waiters are the quickest way to turn a family off to a restaurant. You will not encounter rude, lazy, or clueless waiters here! They are informed, attentive, friendly patient, and happy to tell you what their favorites are. Had it not been for Jimmy, Angel, and Winn taking the time to tell us what their favorites are and what makes certain dishes special at Frank and Angie’s, we would have missed some of the yummy discoveries we made, and our oldest son would not have a new favorite Italian dish and dessert.
The manager, Angel, who dropped by our table to see how are experience was recommended the Mama Soprano’s Baked Ziti with Meatballs ($8.25). My daughter Felda changed her order and decided to try this instead. However, after finishing his own Fettucini Alfredo w Chicken ($9.75 served with salad) he simply had to try Mama Soprano’s! He declared it the best he had ever eaten, “no offense, mom! I am not used to ziti having so much going on”! None taken, it was very good Ziti! I may try it with chicken on our next visit. Anthony assures me he will be ordering it next time and *gasp* asked to take it to go. Anthony is 16 and this is the first time he has asked for a to go box.
The hubby orders Frank’s Mufaletta, the ½ ($12.25) since the whole feeds four and he no doubt plans to have a pizza too. The Mufaletta is a New Orleans Italian sandwich with capacello ham, salami, provolone, and an olive oil, vegetable, and herb mixture served on their homemade bread. He enjoyed it and was pleased to try something different. This was a well-made sandwich, well presented, and although I did not try it personally, it smelled delicious!
Joseph is our middle and loudest child. If you know him, you cannot imagine him quiet. Well, he was at Frank and Angie’s! He ordered the DeNiro ($7.25) which is a meatball, provolone, and romano sandwich, which is also served on their bread baked from dough made from scratch daily. JoJo did not leave anything but a memory of this sandwich, and he is usually the one that eats the smallest portions. He mumbled a “It is VERY good” through a mouth full of food. Again, he was quiet through dinner, never happens, we seriously may have to order these to go and feed them to him medicinally to keep his mouth from getting him into trouble at dinner! He is a talker! For our veggie friends, it is noteworthy that this sandwich can be ordered with veggie meatballs.
One of the other servers there, Jimmy, assures us the Pavarotti is a wonderful vegetarian pizza. He also suggested we try the Margherita Pizza, which is my favorite pizza, but it tends to be a “if you have tried one, you have tried them all” kind of pizza. He assured me the Frank and Angie’s version was a little different. He was right. It absolutely was. I am not certain what to accredit that to, but it worked and their Margherita has become my favorite. Donnie stands by his original choice of Pepperoni or Cheese as his fave, but there are so many varieties to try that we suggest you just go with your craving. Their most popular is The Chairman of The Board.
I ordered the Carmela ($7.95), which is chicken parmagiano with provolone and pizza sauce served on Focaccia Bread. DELICOUS. I am a fan of chicken sandwiches in general, but sometimes in a effort to give them variety, the chef does too much and you end up with bread and sauce. The Carmela has never disappointed me. The chicken is cooked perfectly, the sauce is simple enough not to take over, the cheese is mild but yummy, and the bread, did I mention the bread yet? One of my all time favorite sandwiches, and I am a girl who has been known to travel just to get a certain sandwich!
Before we move on to dessert, let me add a note about their lunch specials. We have most frequently dined at Frank and Angie’s at lunch, and their specials are filling, timely, and budget friendly. Monday through Friday 11-3 1 slice 2 topping and a salad is $6.75 or have Donnie’s favorite, a 10 inch 2 topping for $7.75. Not in the mood for a heavy meal? No problem, go for a bowl of soup, salad, focaccia bread, and tea or coffee for $6.50! The dining room is fun, quaint, and decorated with Italian movie stars, musicians, and a lovely mural, but if you are there on a nice sunny day in Austin, Texas, opt for the outside patio overlooking Shoal Creek!
Last but not least, it was my birthday, so dessert was a no-brainer! We chose to split two things, since we were all very full from our meals! After a quick deliberation and recommendations from the staff once again, we settled on Tiramisu ($4.95) and The Holy Cannoli ($3.95). The kids had not tried either before, and Anthony was extremely impressed by the Cannoli, which they make in house. The homemade Cannoli had a ricotta filling that was sweeter than most, and I think that is why I found it so enjoyable. Anthony declared it his new favorite Italian dessert, and to be perfectly honest hogged the whole thing after allowing everyone a tiny sampling! The tiramisu was so much better than I expected. It did not have the overpowering coffee taste I normally associate with this dessert. Felda “loved” it and Felda knows dessert! The boys gave both a “oh hells yeah” rating, which is teen speak for very good!
We left Frank and Angie’s Pizzeria a very well fed, happy family, already discussing what we will each order next time we are there. This is one of very few occasions that we actually did re-heat and enjoy our to-go boxes, and I dare say my Carmela sandwich was even better the second day. We will be back again and again, and highly recommend you give them a try yourself! Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, what is better than an Italian meal, a glass of wine, Sinatra playing softly, and a perfectly lit room? Thinking about a chain restaurant, or your usual? “hey fuggedaboudit” and stop by Frank and Angie’s instead. Wannabenomads promise you will not be disappointed. They are located at 508 West Ave in Austin, Texas! Be sure and drop us a comment to let us know what you ordered and how much you enjoyed it
