“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore-e …”is exactly how I remember Dean Martin, or Dean Martin as rendered by my father, Hugh Speed, when he was feeling a little, shall we say, festive. And festive might be a good word for Dennis Max’s latest venture, Frank & Dino’s in Deerfield Beach, scheduled to open this Thursday (718 S. Federal Highway, 954/427-4909).
Frank and the rest of the Rat Pack would undoubtedly approve of this snazzy Italian place, which can best be described as traditional, upscale New Yawk Italian, with Sunday gravy, orrechiette with rapini amd sausage, veal marsala, chicken piccata, yellowtail snapper oreganata, rigatoni, mussels, clams, you name it. The menu is extensive; you will undoubtedly find a favorite here.
Some of mine were the pepperoncini ripieni, a hot finger pepper stuffed with sausage; the timballo di melanzane, lightly pan-fried eggplant layers topped with mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce; mussels in an herb broth; Sunday gravy.
The place is decked out with signature Max elements, like the large drum lights and the sleek woods, and it was designed by Adolfo Galvez, who also worked with Max on Max’s Harvest, among other projects. There are large black and white photographs of the Rat Pack everywhere, and a bustling convivial little bar.
Our server, Ed Stein, was A+ wonderful (ask for him), as was Pete Stampone, the manager. All in all, I can see this as a real neighborhood favorite, a beacon in the largely desolate Deerfield restaurant landscape. Dennis Max likely has another hit on his hands—and we think you’ll be feeling that’s amore too, after you give it a whirl.
