We started off with fried raviolis and cheese stuffed breadsticks which were served with marinara. What you will notice as soon as you bite into one of Franco’s menu items is they are homemade. I dipped both of those mugs in the marinara, bit down, and was absolutely impressed. The cheese was stretchy, the fried raviolis were flavorful, and the breadstick had a great crunch to it. A texture you can only get with fresh baked bread. The marinara was amazing as well.

Apparently this Franco’s location has been open a little over 4 months. I was told there was another location in Broken Arrow that was closed down due to difficulties staffing it. So when you give Franco’s a try, be patient if eating there. Tonight there were only two people working.. one of the owners and an employee. While there were only two or three parties eating inside, there was a constant flow of to go orders. Not to mention they are expanding it to the building next to them. Only a minority of restaurants in the area serve good homemade fare, so I’m more than happy to be patient while they ramp up!

 I asked the guy helping us out what he suggested. He said most people order either the Italian beef or the Chicago deep dish. I have given Chicago deep dish a shot both here and at Gino’s East in Chicago, it’s not bad, but not really my bag. So I got the Italian beef.

This thing was no joke, and it was served with fresh cut fries! A ton of meat, a ton of cheese, and au jus! I mean could you ask for any more? And I will tell you what is amazing about this sandwich. I mean I absolutely love meat and cheese, but the star of the show is the bread. A perfect crusty sub roll. It’s hard to find good sub rolls in Tulsa. I feel like every sandwich place has the same one. And those that do not have that sub roll, use the ones from Sam’s. But this one was special, like it was just made to suck up that au jus!

I was told the owner Franco was from Italy, and had multiple restaurants in Chicago. There were claims of multiple awards for both the Chicago style pie and the Italian beef sandwich. Now I’ve never had another Italian beef sandwich, so I’m taking their word on it. But it was delicious.

Speaking of delicious, let’s talk about dessert. Now when I saw they had homemade cannolis, I was excited to grab one, but the owner convinced me to try something else. She told us nothing beats their tiramisu. I asked her if she made it from scratch. She pointed out her floured apron and said we make everything here, nothing is pre-packaged. I thought well hell if this woman is this passionate about her tiramisu, who in the hell am I to question her. And that was not a mistake! It was absolutely delicious.

So if you are into that Chicago type of Italian, give them a shot. It’s a small local business, everything is homemade, and they are passionate about their food. Just remember if you’re eating in to be patient. Not only are they busy, but you don’t want to rush good food!