My great-grandfather, Benedetto, started in the food business in 1900,
when he
opened a typical taverna in Borgetto, in the province of
Palermo, serving local wines such as Passito, Inzolia and, of course, Sicilian reds,
pasta, salads and Sicilian dishes. Then my father continued the
family tradition, and,
like many Sicilians, moved to America
after WWII. Along with his passion for culinary art, he had a
mission: to give back, through traditional cooking, the flavors
of Sicily to the community of
immigrants in
Brooklyn.
I started working at my uncle's Pizzeria in New Jersey when I
was twelve
years old, and have carried on in the family tradition
ever since: the first
Francesco's
opened on New York City’s
Upper
West Side at Columbus Ave., in 1999, and
was followed by Francesco’s
in Burlington, NJ in 2002.
Our third location, on West 4th
Street in
Greenwich Village, was opened March 2009.
Why we are so proud of our food
From the day we opened Francesco's we
have taken great pride in our food.
We came from four generations of Italian chefs who
were passionate about their
cooking. We
have tried to capture their passion and authenticity
in the food we
serve at our restaurant.
Our recipes
Many of the items you see on our menu are prepared from recipes that
have been
handed down by our fathers and their fathers.
Our ingredients Everything is fresh,
nothing is frozen. Because tomatoes, olive oil and flour are the
heart and soul of Italian cuisine, we import ours from Italy. Even
our pizza crust is
made with Italian virgin olive oil.
Our chef
He too, comes from a long line of chefs. And he, too, is trained
in authentic Italian
cuisine.
We hope you will enjoy your meal with us, and that you will come
back often!
