First-time visitors might step inside Frankie’s Sip’s & Savories and mistake it for just a snazzy cocktail bar. Which it is. Their signature drinks are excellent, especially the Kentucky Bash with bourbon, honey-drizzled blackberries and ginger beer. But under the direction of chef Pedro Rangel, a former chef-de-cuisine at Boca, it also serves mouthwatering Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food that’s kept me coming back ever since Frankie’s opened in 2022.
Up until recently, I had no idea Frankie’s also serves lunch. You can order it a la carte, but I highly recommend the $25 lunch special that includes fresh squeezed juice (go with the lemon juice, topped with Sprite, thickened with shaved ice and garnished with mint).
You also get a dip (whipped ricotta, hummus or baba ghanoush) and a pita stuffed with your choice of breaded curry chicken, succulent short ribs, falafel, sweet fried haloumi with honey or Musakhan, a Palestinian chicken dish spiced with sumac and caramelized onion, though Rangel adds pine nuts and garlic sauce. Each combo is served with fried fingerling potatoes, sliced thin to maximize their crispiness. It’s a lot of food, and I felt ashamed when I wolfed mine down only to have my two dining companions ask for to-go boxes.
If your appetite’s not up to the task, a la carte items include creamy deviled eggs with pickled chorizo, tennis-ball-sized arancini filed with risotto and velvety morsels of lamb ($17 for two), a falafel salad ($12), or share a mezze board (which serves about three people for $34). You can also order any of the items included in the lunch special individually.
When I posted a photo of my lunch on Facebook, one follower commented, “So so underrated,” while another said, “Thanks for the reminder.” I worried for a moment that some people might overlook how good this place is. I sure hope not.
As we walked back to the office, my co-workers grabbed some espresso drinks at Lydia’s across the street and marveled at 19 Garfield Place. Completed in 1923, it was once known as The Doctor’s Building as it was built to house medical offices. It is also one of the city’s rare late Gothic Revival-style buildings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Like Frankie’s, it’s a beautiful asset to this city that sometimes might get overlooked.
14 Garfield Place, Downtown, 513-996-0021, frankiessips.com.
Dining and Cooking