Frangente — Friday Night at the Table

I like eating out, and Friday night now occupies the social territory that Friday lunch once held before the world began quietly rotting from the inside.

Last night, it was Frangente.

The place itself is bright and draws you in with green-and-white striped cushions, polished tabletops, fish-adorned lampshades and silver-clad exposed ventilation ducts that somehow stop just short of becoming self-conscious.

Milan increasingly specialises in restaurants that appear designed entirely for Instagram. Frangente, thankfully, still feels designed for people who intend to sit in it for several hours.

We began with squid, chicory and Cantabrian anchovies sharpened by garlic, olive oil and hot pepper, alongside roasted sweetbreads with carrot cream and spinach.

The wine — a Befehlhof Mitterberg Pinot Nero from Alto Adige — turned out to be exactly the right decision: light enough to sit comfortably beside the squid and sweetbreads while still carrying enough structure to accompany veal fillet with Dijon mustard and braised aubergines, as well as an excellent pigeon served with grilled endives.

The sweetbreads and pigeon quietly stole the evening.

Dessert arrived in the form of panna cotta followed by two glasses of Ximénez-Spínola Delicado, a Spanish Pedro Ximénez sweet wine somewhere between sherry and passito.

Particular credit must go to the waitress, who somehow managed to serve the entire non-counter section of the restaurant entirely unassisted with an almost theatrical calmness.

Towards the end of the evening, the proprietor — an affable bearded gentleman — appeared briefly at the table to ensure everything had gone well.

Which, of course, it had.

There are cheaper Friday nights in Milan. But few better ways to spend several hours with someone you like.

The damage? €87 per person including wine, water, dessert and dessert wine. Not cheap, but Milan is an expensive town these days.