26538 Moulton Parkway
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Every city has that one shopping center, which is just a dead zone. Whatever happens in one of these Bermuda triangles of retail centers, they only end up lasting a couple of months at the most. Most of the time, the property management decides a remodel could drum up foot traffic and attract more business for the unfortunate tenants who have the misfortune of opening a storefront in these cursed centers. Still, most of the time, it doesn't work out.
This is precisely the situation that Franco's Famous has walked into. The Village at Nellie Gil Ranch is situated at the corner of Moulton and La Paz and is anchored by Smart and Final, Mod Pizza, and Chuck E. Cheese. This rebranded shopping center had a remodel within the last couple of years. Still, there's been a lot of turnover even after that, and you can always get front-row parking at the almost desolate Smart and Final.
Franco's Famous is trying to buck that trend, though. Opened in late 2019, Franco's was very busy on the recent Wednesday we visited. The inside is comfortably styled with a bar centrally located as soon as you enter, comfy booths off to the right, and a smaller seating section to the left. The wall to the restroom is lined with framed discs proudly displaying their sister restaurants, including the nearby Flamingos and El Cortez in neighboring Laguna Niguel.
Unlike those restaurants mentioned above, Franco's has no combo plates. Instead, their menu is divided into starters, tacos, burritos, and specialties. Entrees range between $14 to $20, while three street tacos will set you back $10. It's not too bad for this part of South OC. We were seated right away and waited only a minute or two for our good friends Mazi, Marita, and their baby boy Zayne to arrive. We quickly made our selections, so let's see if Franco's can break the curse of this shopping center.
This is the obligatory Chips and Salsa picture when dining at a Mexican restaurant. The chips were freshly fried and pretty solid, while the salsa was too mild and needed many more chunks, which would have helped with the watery texture. Katie also ordered a Guacamole De La Casa ($10), which had a pleasing texture and was mildly spiced.
Katie started our entree portion of the evening with her selection, the Pastor Street Tacos ($10). These mini tacos came with red-hued sliced pork, a Verde salsa, and a slice of charred pineapple. Katie described these as decent, as the pork was dry, and the dominant flavor came only from the pineapple. She'd get something else on future visits. The menu did not specify that this came with beans and rice, so I'm sure she got them as a side item. She was fond of them both.
This qualifies as a combo meal, but it's not one you get to build yourself. The Carne Asada Tempiquena ($20) comes with a marinated steak and a cheese enchilada and is rounded out with beans and rice. Mazi was generous enough to share a bite of this with me, and the steak was nicely tender and flavorful, while the enchilada was full of cheese but needed more sauce to balance it out. A good-sized plate of food.
As is my custom when eating in a Mexican restaurant for the first time, I generally steer towards carnitas as a barometer as to whether a Mexican spot knows what they are doing. That meant the Carnitas Jalisco ($17) would sit before me. Unfortunately, the pork was bone dry, and there were not enough beans to make this enjoyable. I used much of the sour cream Katie requested with her meal. Like with Katie's meal, I'd get something else on future visits to Franco's.
Lastly, Marita went with the Beef Fajitas ($20). I have scoured their menus online for this item, but I am still looking for it there. I must have missed it because I've seen others getting this on Yelp. Maybe I'm just getting old. Like most fajita dishes, this came out scalding hot, with red and green peppers, onions, and sliced marinated steak strips. Marita seemed to enjoy this very much.
It was a little hit-and-miss at Franco's Famous this evening. Katie and I were not thrilled with our choices, but Mazi and Marita could not have been happier with their selection of meals. I'd return to see if I could find something much more to my liking. I felt the prices were not crazy out of control, and the service we experienced this evening was more than satisfactory. With the crowd present during our stay, Franco's is the type of place that can turn things around for this shopping center.
Out of five blackboards (in honor of Nellie Gail, the real-life woman whom this shopping center is named for and who, before her move to California, was a school teacher in Washington State), five being best to zero being worst, Franco's Famous gets 2.5 blackboards.
Franco's Famous does not have a website for some reason, but you can find more information about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/franco-s-famous-mexican-kitchen-and-cocktails-laguna-hills
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ReplyDeleteI don’t agree, some people don’t really understand Mexican food but I guess we all have our own opinions based on our past experiences.
ReplyDeleteFamous Franco’s does an exceptional job giving a great quality dish at a fair price.
Personally I like spicy salsa and Franco’s is perfect , the chips are normally very fresh and warm when served, they are some of the best I have had at any restaurant.
My two favorite dishes are the Chili Relleno and the steak Tampiquena. The Steak is huge, tender and has great flavor, comes with an enchilada, beans and rice, is enough for two dinners.
The service is excellent, very friendly, fast and they have an extra staff member that keeps your salsa and chips full.
The proof in the pudding is they are always busy so get there early and enjoy.
My rating is 4.5 out of 5, the only knock I give them is it take a while to get a table, like the old saying- no one goes there anymore they are too busy.