How you doin'? Frankie and Benny's at the Greenbridge Retail Park is quintessentially Italian American
AS the on call weekend reporter, I decided to shun a night on the tiles in favour of a family meal.
Taking my mum and younger brother, whose university diet runs to beer and Alphabetti spaghetti, we headed to the Greenbridge Retail Park in Swindon.
On arrival we were taken aback by the throngs of people waiting for a table, but were reassured by a polite waitress that the wait would be no longer than 30-minutes. And no less than 25-minutes later we had been seated and ordered our food.
I went for oven-baked chicken Parmigana, a chicken breast cooked in garlic breadcrumbs, smothered with cheese and ham on a bed of Neapolitan spaghetti.
Mum decided on the tuna fishcakes and salad dressing and Luke plumped for a gigantic Manhattan burger.
My chicken Parmigana was perfectly cooked and crunchy on the outside and the spaghetti was delicious. It was seasoned well and left a sweet coriander aftertaste.
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Mum said her fishcakes were just the right texture and had obviously been made with 100 per cent salmon, because they were extremely fishy.
Frankie and Benny's, Greenbridge Retail Park, Drake’s Way, Swindon
(01793) 613136
Luke wolfed down his towering burger and caught his breath enough to say it was one of the best he has eaten in a long while. Coming from a connoisseur of fast food that was a compliment indeed.
For dessert mum and I ordered cinnamon waffles and Luke chose traditional apple and blackberry crumble.
The waffles were divine and accompanied by lashings of toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream. Luke's crumble did not have enough fruit to compete with its mountain of crumble.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was quintessentially Italian-American, with Rat Pack music and a how to speak Italian CD playing in the gents.
The bill came to an impressive £48 and, as I waddled home, I thought that this on call malarkey wasn't so bad after all.
Why do ALL journalists ALWAYS adopt a completely bizarre writing style when producing local newspaper restaurant reviews?
Seriously. They are the only times you will ever read of someone 'plumping' for a particular choice and read the description 'lashings' when the writer actually means 'slightly more than expected'.
Something that was ordered is always 'divine' but something else will always be not quite up to scratch.
These reviews are always the same and are never anything less than a cliched joke. It's actually a real shame as you can never, ever get a proper feel for the restaurants, or the food itself.
Editors really should insist on proper reviews that are written in normal English.
Why do ALL journalists ALWAYS adopt a completely bizarre writing style when producing local newspaper restaurant reviews?
Seriously. They are the only times you will ever read of someone 'plumping' for a particular choice and read the description 'lashings' when the writer actually means 'slightly more than expected'.
Something that was ordered is always 'divine' but something else will always be not quite up to scratch.
These reviews are always the same and are never anything less than a cliched joke. It's actually a real shame as you can never, ever get a proper feel for the restaurants, or the food itself.
Editors really should insist on proper reviews that are written in normal English.
Agree BM and who in their right mind would choose the fare on offer at F & B's cos its upmarket Maccy D's at best and at £16 each I'm sure your reporter could have eaten proper food for the same money in any one of the Town's eateries that are a tad more discerning with the fayre they serve!
Agree BM and who in their right mind would choose the fare on offer at F & B's cos its upmarket Maccy D's at best and at £16 each I'm sure your reporter could have eaten proper food for the same money in any one of the Town's eateries that are a tad more discerning with the fayre they serve!
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