Like the Frank Sinatra song title says, “The Best is Yet to Come,” and that’s what Carlo Vaccarezza is banking on with a restaurant bearing the blue-eyed crooner’s first name.
Frank and Dino’s is set to open the second week in July at the intersection of Short and Mill streets in a circa 1895 building. The flagship location is in Boca Raton, Florida, and owner Carlo Vaccarezza and his culinary team have spent more than a year splitting time between the Sunshine State and Lexington, readying the new eatery for its debut.
“We’re in the final stages now,” he said in early June.
Vaccarezza, who’s also a Thoroughbred horse owner, breeder and trainer, said the menu at the two restaurants will be the same, except weekend brunch service will be offered in Lexington. There will be live music and happy-hour specials to help draw in diners, and the restaurant will seat about 200 people, with another eight to 10 tables outside.
Like its menu, Frank and Dino’s atmosphere reflects “Old World charm and contemporary tastes,” chef Peter Masiello said.
He describes the menu as “very authentic” and “very different” from what exists now in Lexington for Italian cuisine, and he says pasta, veal and chicken dishes will figure prominently.
Peter Masiello, corporate chef for Frank and Dino’s, says the atmosphere will be classy and upbeat, a bridge between rustic Old World charm and contemporary tastes.
“You’ll be hearing kind of that swanky music playing in the background; a beautiful bar scene, lively,” he said. “There’s going to be a beautiful energy” where one can relax and enjoy themselves.
"You’ll be hearing kind of that swanky music playing in the background; a beautiful bar scene, lively."
Masiello said he and colleague Antonio Villalobos will take turns spending extended periods at both restaurants to ensure consistency. Some on their culinary team will be newly hired while others will transfer from Boca Raton.
Masiello said he’s been quite studious about the Lexington dining scene, and when he’s gone to local restaurants he’s taken note of what’s available, what diners are looking for and what they’re ordering.
At Frank and Dino’s, Masiello said diners can enjoy any one of the eggplant-based dishes, including an eggplant slice rolled up and filled with ricotta cheese, topped with homemade mozzarella cheese and baked in a woodburning pizza oven.
There will be an antipasto platter with meats and cheeses for sharing and enjoying with a glass of wine, he said. And, as for pasta, he’s quick to mention the Sunday Gravy, an Old World Italian American dish of pasta in a hearty sauce with meatballs and sausage that Italian grandmothers are traditionally known for.
In addition to pasta galore, there’s an extensive list of Italian meat, fish and chicken dishes, salads, appetizers and soup on the menu.
He says the 16-ounce veal parmigiana practically sells itself when diners see it being carried to other patrons and instantly want to order their own.
“It covers the entire plate,” he said. “It’s a spectacle when the waiter brings it out.”
He said the selection of homemade desserts like baked chocolate cake and banana cream pie will finish off the meal with fond memories of home.
Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays was added because in downtown Lexington there’s a lot of weekend foot traffic to support it, Masiello said. There will be Bloody Marys and mimosas, some egg-based dishes and a few Italian-inspired options, he said.
Working to open a new restaurant in the past year hasn’t been easy, Vaccarezza said, including the difficulties experienced by restaurateurs at local and national levels in finding employees to hire, and the opening is a bit later than anticipated.
“The process has been very challenging because of the pandemic, but there’s nothing we can do about it, you know?” he said.
But armed with experience, he’s now ready for new horizons. After the Lexington location is up and running, Florida auto industry magnate John Williams, who’s chairman of Williams Automotive Group, and Vaccarezza are now teaming up to open Frank and Dino’s locations in Tampa, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and North Carolina.
“He likes the restaurant business and we’ll make a really good partnership — he’s very easy to work with,” Vaccarezza said. “It’s a pleasure to have somebody aboard of his magnitude.”