"Twas the night before Thanksgiving....who wanted to go out...?Recently, I was asked what was my favorite italian restaurant on Long Island. Not wanting to be rude, I didn 't say home , I said I don 't have one. Well, I was wrong. Franina is MY FAVORITE italian restaurant on Long Island.We have been going to Franina for the past several years. Always a solid meal with expert service. Normally, the restaurant is full and you need a reservation, especially on weekend nights.This night it was very slow. Actually, I think only 20 or so people had dinner during our meal. Sometimes, this can work against you. Not this night, it 's part of what made the evening special. We felt that the entire staff was serving us exclusively. We felt special.We met the chef at the bar before our meal. We asked what fish was good, he responded with the usual suspects, bronzino, red snapper, swordfish...the usual. I know he personally made our meal. Perfection.We started with something that wasn 't on the menu. Fried shrimp. I had been craving it. Not sure they do it all the time, maybe they did because it was slow. Well, they knocked it out of the park. U10 's expertly battered in panko with a side of marinara sauce. Simple, right....not so easy to make extremely well. Hot, crunchy and not over cooked. Sublime.We followed by splitting the pappardelle with veal ragu. Also, surprisingly light. No butter or cream. That would be cheating. For our main, we split the branzino. Wow ! Sauteed and finished with a light dusting of breadcrumbs. Nicely garnished with vegetables and a few roasted potatoes. Again, simple, but hard to execute at this level. Perfection.Franina is the pinnacle of a professionally managed restaurant with seasoned and knowledgeable staff at all levels. It 's sort of a ballet where the maitre de greets you and the captain takes your order and waiters bring your food. It 's an experience that evokes earlier times times I am fortunate to remember as a child . I am sure they still do table service on some dishes. I haven 't seen it, but I 'm sure they do. The room is elegant with graciously spaced tables. They have three dining rooms. Private parties would be nice here.Franina is a cut above.Give it a try."
