EatingOut: Frankie & Benny's

Jul 22 2010 By Ben Spencer

Silverburn Centre, Barrhead Road. Tel: 876 9590. www.frankieandbennys.com

AMERICAN food has long been a favourite in the hearts, minds - and bellies - of Glaswegians.

Burgers and fries and drive-through restaurants have become commonplace in the past few decades as Uncle Sam's dinners have been given a firm thumbs-up.

Frankie and Benny's offer a spin on the usual US formula with their American/Italian fusion.

My partner and I stopped off for dinner at their restaurant in the Silverburn centre. It's ideally placed for a bite to eat after working up an appetite at the shops.

Stepping inside, you are spun back in time to 1950s America with the classic tunes of the crooners playing, iconic pictures on the walls and comfortable booths to slip into.

The American/Italian influence even extends to the bathroom, where Italian lessons are played over speakers. Bellissimo indeed.

For our starters, my other half and I were both drawn to prawn dishes.

I chose the tiger prawn skewer (s5.95), with four large shell on tiger prawns served with fresh rocket and a sweet chilli dip.

The dip was a tasty addition to the prawns and I certainly made short work of it all.

My partner was also impressed with her prawn cocktail (s4.55). This featured large juicy prawns along with crisp iceberg lettuce, mixed peppers and celery, which she dipped into a rich thousand island dressing.

I just had to go for the promising sounding 10oz New York strip sirloin (s15.95) for my main.

An aged strip steak was cut thick and served with roasted cherry tomatoes, flat mushroom and a fresh rocket and Italian hard cheese garnish on the side. I chose house fries as a side dish and couldn't resist some peppercorn sauce on the side to give it an extra bite (99p).

My partner, a lover of ribs, was determined to sample the full rack of BBQ ribs (s13.95).

These baby back pork ribs came smothered in sauce with fries, coleslaw and fresh corn on the cob.

We finished our meals off by sharing an apple and rhubarb crumble with custard (s3.75) and a sorbet which featured three refreshing scoops of lemon and mango (s3.75).

With a dining experience like this, it's no wonder that Glaswegians continue to love the food from across the pond.