New Restaurant coming to Lincoln Square

Finally. Someone has bought the old G.P. Franklins on Lincoln. Spoke to the new owner briefly today. It's going to be a southern Italian place. They've taken out the bar that blocked off one of the rooms and the space is looking pretty good. And BIG. He hopes to open by the end of the month. But unless those workmen are on 24/7, I sincerely doubt it.

Will update when I gather more info.

4767 N. Lincoln Avenue

Dish has the Dish:

Dish newsletter wrote:Trattoria Trullo, formerly across from Ryan Field in Evanston, will open in Lincoln Square (4767 N. Lincoln Ave.) the first week in June, offering what should be a step up from the space’s previous tenant, a soda fountain called G.P. Franklin’s. Chef-owner Giovanni DeNigris, a native of Puglia, tells us to expect the same southern Italian menu and the same staff as he had in Evanston, plus a deli, a retail shop, and a patio.

That's good news. I thought Trattoria Trullo was a decent restaurant in an unfortunate location. But it's certainly going into a more restaurant-competitive environment.

It was discussed here:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... ebab9a5075

Trattoria Trullo in Lincoln Square is open. They have a cafe in front that serves smaller portions. I had dinner in the main restaurant. All in all it was a good experience except (no surprise for a new place) service was spotty.
I asked about the soup of the day and the waiter had a hard time explaining what 'lentica' was. It would have been easy to say, it's like an italian vegetable soup'. The waiter strangely brought the soup before asking what we wanted to order for the main dish. My husband had spaghetti with mussels. The mussels were stuffed with breadcrumbs. I had cheese ravioli with a lump of marscapone cheese in the middle in a tomato vodka cream sauce.
After asking what the special dessert of the day was, we decided to order tiramisu. The waiter brought the special dessert which was a small chocolate lava cake with ice cream. We didn't want to go through the pain of sending it back because it was the wrong one.
After we flagged down the waiter for the bill, he brought our credit card slip back without a pen to sigh it. It's a little detail but one that is important.

Food was good and they have a big women's bathrooms which is always a plus in my book. We will be back but plan to try the cafe next time.

swissy wrote:...they have a big women's bathrooms which is always a plus in my book.

I've always said that big women should have their own bathrooms.

To clarify, I meant I was happy that there was more than 1 stall in the bathroom. I hate when bars/restaurants only have 1 per gender.

I ordered carry out from their Cafe (lunch) menu. the other day. Needless to say, they got my order wrong: I had ordered the gnocchi tartufo ("spinach stuffed potato gnocchi with green peas tossed in a black truffle cream sauce") and got the cavatelli crudaiola ("homemade cavatelli pasta in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and pulp of fresh tomato and basil topped with arugula and ricotta forte") instead.

While I was sad that I didn't get my gnocchi, it wasn't a total loss since a) both dishes cost the same (a bit overpriced at $10, including tax & tip, for not that much food) and b) the cavetelli was quite good despite being slightly underseasoned. The pasta was tender & mildly sweet, the tomato was tangy if not a bit watery and the arugula provided a welcome bitter contrast. While the cheese was excellent on its own, it was a bit overpowering for the rest of the dish. I'd give it a C+.

I'll go back, if anything to finally try the gnocchi. Also, next time, I'll give the dining room a try. The interior of the restaurant was quaint and neat with mostly high-top tables, its own Italian deli case, and what looked like an interesting wine & liquor assortment.

Since it's right in my hood I thought I'd try the restaurant again. Sat in the cafe part this time (menu's the same as in the restaurant). My friend and I split a tasty spinach salad. My main dish, ziti with white bean puree and tomato chicory was fine, nothing special. Not a lot of flavor actually. My friend had spaghetti with seafood. It was called adriatico or atlantico or something. It had scallops and shrimp and mussels over spaghetti. This place has a great atmosphere and service was attentive but the food was only so so. It's a shame because it's in a good location with a nice space. Oh well.

Maybe just an appetizer next time. I don't plan on coming back for dinner.

My fiance and I ate dinner there the other night. It was excellent. The food was hot and everything was delicious...... I gave them a favorable review on Yelp because everything really was very good... I myself am Italian and pretty critical of good Italian meals, but this was very, very good...