9 to 5 The Musical?
The taste still lingers on my tongue, the rich foods dancing in my belly.
Because Franchesco’s Ristorante, 7128 Spring Creek Road, Rockford, is promoting its new menu, co-owner Frank Salamone and family treated members of the local media, including Northwest Quarterly magazine, to a sampling of things to come.
The new menu blends Franchesco’s classics with popular specials, while making room for more custom creations. Along with a larger menu of daily and weekly specials, diners can also find new favorites like miso and sake-marinated sea bass atop rice. Along with Italian classics, the new menu also infuses American traditions like macaroni and cheese made with three cheeses and the Boursin-stuffed filet, as well as Mediterranean flairs, like sautéed chicken made with roasted artichokes and tomatoes in white wine and butter sauce.
“We still do a lot of specials here on a daily to weekly basis,” says Michelle LaMay, Salamone’s granddaughter and the restaurant’s general manager.
LaMay loves to show off the glitzy new restaurant opened in 2009. Touring through every corner of the kitchens, basement, dining rooms and banquet spaces, LaMay covers everything. We see the conference rooms, set with classy linens and TVs for company retreats or private dinners, and Frank’s Room, a banquet space with blue walls, gold trim and pictures of Frank Sinatra. On weekends, the room comes alive with local bands, a dueling pianos performance and private events.
Next, we go inside the kitchen, where chefs are racing about, thick cuts of meat in hand. At one end of the kitchen stands a single, richly upholstered booth – the Chef’s Table – where small groups can interact with a chef while he cooks their made-to-order meals.
Inside the main dining room, amidst fine linens and high-back chairs, we begin our meal with a variety of homemade focaccia and other breads. The tomato focaccia goes quickly, as does garlic-crusted Italian bread.
Before long, Executive Chef Tino Salazar brings out his first custom-made dish: two large pan-seared scallops, drizzled with a rich, lemon-thyme Chablis sauce and topped with a fringe of fried leek. The amazing flavor lingers on our tongues as the chef introduces his second course, a rolled Caesar salad. Lettuce leaves wrapped in a rich dressing sit above a fresh-grilled pineapple, which adds a sweet undertone to the sharp dressing and savory Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Then, the chef brings out a generous portion of pan-seared sea bass sitting atop spaghetti covered with a fresh-tasting, chunky sauce of tomato and asparagus. The acidity of the tomato cut the richness of the sea bass perfectly.
Finally, we linger over coffee and generous samples of Tiramisu, rich dark chocolate layer cake and a tall, creamy cheesecake.
LaMay says her family occasionally hosts such feasts to familiarize local businesses with Franchesco’s.
“Kerry Ingredients, up in Beloit, comes in here a lot, so we recently invited them here for a special dinner and they were just floored,” she says. “Our ‘Tour and Taste’ offers ideas for event planners and helps them to see all the things that we can do for them here.”
Tags: banquet, business, chris linden, cuisine, fine dining, food, franchesco, franchesco's ristorante, franchescos, italian, pan-seared, rockford, salamone, scallop, sinatra