Francolini's — Restaurant in New Orleans

It's all about the perfect sandwich

Oh yeah! You'll have to get a number or... you're not allowed to order anything and you migh get a dirty look from one of the workers in the other side of the bench, but don't worry... they are friendly.

A long line of happy costumers some waiting outside, anxious to get in. NO TICKET, NO SERVICE, a sign posted at the door "I got a number!" "I got a number!" one person shouted, like he has just won a bingo or, the lottery ticket. Once you're inside you don't see much but a few stools and a couple benches, behind the counter many frenetic hands moving synchronously preparing sandwiches, some taking orders, others delivering the food from a small prep area. Never forgetting that if they ran out of bread, you are out of luck, so I read. They have a few others tables back there, along the side of the building but I think they're for the dogs, the cats or whatever can be on a leash Hey, no one seems to care about the seating. People are there strictly for the sandwich. A unique combination of processed meat, God help us! imported cheeses and oils and saturated combustions with fresh vegetables blended together in a symphony of marinated dreams. The perfect sandwich?... perhaps. We've been there three or four times and ready to go back again to stamp our tickets. Not a lot to eat for us vegetarians, but what we got, we ate. No crossed contamination because there are no raw meats back there. Just make sure that when you place your order you speak fast loud and clearly. We have an accent so we ended up with a mortadella sandwich instead of a portobello. No problema. They remade it and everone on the line clapped. I was disappointed about a recent comment. As a customer don't like any restaurant telling you, if you don't like it, please go somewhere else. Why to waste time informing customers about actions they'll naturally take if they're dissatisfied with your service; instead, focus on proactive solutions and addressing their...

I’ve waited a while to write this review. I tried many items as I was encouraged to do so by several people in town. This is my fair and honest review—leaving much more to be said.

The owner is dramatic, and the main reason I’ll never return, but most of the staff were generally polite. You can tell this place really becomes the owner’s personality and that isn’t for everyone.

The quality of the meat was questionable. It looked pale and dry. Some of the vinaigrettes became too much with the other sauces. These recipes were poorly calibrated and felt like the creation of amateur chefs who thought they were in The Bear.

The vibe is kind of “TikTok-doesn’t-always-translate-to-real-life” with things like the big mozzarella stick with a rather bland and underperforming vodka sauce. The grilled chicken was exceedingly dry and impossible to eat. I would pass on this if I were you. Other menu items like the Gandolfini and the 94 have far too much meat, resulting in an overwhelmingly unbalanced meat to vegetable and bread ratio. Things like the Roxy were served cold and sloppily arranged. The focaccia was sometimes stale.

However, they’ve got some great stuff on their menu like the Big V and the Smoltz. They’re also the only option for New Jersey inspired sandwiches in this area, but it’s a distasteful experience overall. From the attitude and vibe of “feeling like you have to think their food is the best or else” to consuming subpar food and experiencing a mediocre menu, I’ve decided they don’t deserve...

Have had two sandwiches thus far — one hot and one cold. I was so excited when I read about the Underdog because I am a big fan of mortadella. However very little flavor of mortadella could be found. It was overpowered by the spiciest of all of the accoutrements — the salsa verde, garlic, mustard and particularly the spicy broccoli rabe. All of those things tasted great, but I yearned for the mortadella, which has its own spice and bold flavor, neither of which could be discerned.

Today I ventured on with a hot sandwich — the Friday special called The Roxy, a meatball sandwich with garlic butter, ricotta, lemon zest, basil, mozzarella and parmesan. First, the sandwich had no color at all. Second, except for the red pepper flakes, none of the other accoutrements could be found in the flavor profile. What I was left with were the meatballs that were a big disappointment. They were gray and mushy, lacking any caramelization at all — who doesn’t brown their meatballs? The meatballs seemed nothing more than unformed, ground meat slowly pan cooked in its own rendered juices i.e. steamed.

I look forward to trying some of Francolini’s other offerings when I have an extra $30 to spend on a delivered sandwich (to avoid the line), but in the meantime I hope the obviously creative chefs find a way to balance the flavors a...