she explains. “After I became 
the mother of my own three 
beautiful daughters, having that 
kind of legacy to give my girls was 
important to me.”    

Offering classics like Lasagna, 

Cheese Manicotti, and Eggplant 
Parmigiana, the menu at Franco’s 
provides those familiar favorites 
that anyone might expect to 
see at an Italian eatery. But the 
superiority of the flavors created 
here is what sets it apart, flavors 
that give a strongly worded 
hand gesture to expediency and pay respect 
to the method of time. These are the very 
essence of great Italian cooking, using the 
freshest ingredients combined with care and 
understanding of how to achieve depth and 
an oddly simple complexity that translates 
into remarkable robustness on the tongue. 
“Everything that can be made from scratch 
is made from scratch, right down to pureeing 
fresh tomatoes for our sauces,” Bassolino-
Meadlock says. “We wouldn’t have it any 
other way.” 

Alongside more well known dishes like 

their Veal Picatta and New York style pizzas 
made with freshly-tossed dough, the chefs at 
Franco’s offer a new lesson in the language 
of love with the Seafood Lasagna, blending 
a flavorful mixture of cheeses with plump 
Gulf shrimp, tender scallops, and succulent 
crabmeat layered together with fresh spinach, 
scratch made lasagna noodles, and their 

signature creamy Alfredo sauce to disprove 
the theory that seafood and cheese possess 
flavors that feud. 

For both their most traditional Old World 

offerings as well as their reimagined classics, 
Franco’s is an authentic taste of Italy that 
showcases an inherent love and appreciation 
for food. There is a certain respect and 
reverence, a deep comprehension that, unlike 
anything else, sharing a meal is a way to bond. 
“I love to see people happy here, having a 
memorable experience over a plate of food at 
one of my tables,” Bassolino-Meadlock says. 
And at Franco’s, a place at a table is a place in 
the family. 

Franco’s Italian Restaurant is located at 

25241 Perdido Beach Boulevard, Orange 
Beach, Alabama 36561. Open daily  
11:30 a.m.- 10:00 p.m. For more 
information, call (251) 981-9800 or visit 
www.francosorangebeach.com.

•

May 2017   |   31  

“The concept here is ‘La Famiglia,’ and that’s absolutely what we 

are—a family-owned, truly authentic Italian restaurant.”

Tiramisu

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 qts. heavy cream

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 6 pkgs. lady fingers

• 4 oz. amaretto liqueur

• 2 oz. dark rum

• 2 oz. Kahlua

• 2 eggs

• 32 oz. mascarpone cheese

• 1 tbsp. salt

• 2 cups espresso 

• Unsweetened cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS:

In a mixer, whip together cream, sugar, 

and eggs until stiff. Add amaretto and 

mascarpone and beat mixture together 

until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine 

Kahlua, rum, and espresso and stir. In a 

large, straight-sided glass serving bowl, 

line bottom with half of the lady fingers 

and drizzle half of the espresso mixture 

over lady fingers to soak.  Spread half of 

the mascarpone mixture over first layer 

of lady fingers and level, using a spatula. 

Dust with cocoa powder, then repeat to 

create another layer of espresso-soaked 

lady fingers and mascarpone. Dust last 

layer of mascarpone with cocoa powder. 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before 

serving.

XX-XX CoastalCuisine.indd   2

4/23/17   1:57 PM