In Ione: Luncheon in the Diner Nothin’ Could be Finer

By Antoinette May Herndon

You know how it is when friends have a “great” restaurant for you. “You’ll love it,” they insist.

I don’t know about you, but those words trigger a rippling twinge of uneasiness down my spine.

It was that way the other night when friends from Ione, Kathy and Joe Fellure, suggested a favourite of theirs, Fran & Kathleen’s Grill. “Wait till you taste the chilli,” Kathy enthused.

Hmmmmm, that did sound alluring. Chilli is one of my favourite dishes. But, let’s face it, I’m finicky. I like my chilli to be really hot. Spicy hot, not just hot hot. So often restaurant chilli comes up short. A tad wimpy for my taste. Still, I am nothing if not a risk taker. Charles and I agreed to rendezvous with the Fellures at Fran & Kathleen’s.

The restaurant at first took me a bit by surprise. Actually the term “restaurant” seems a little overblown. The place is basically a tiny diner that does a brisk business in take-out. In fact, if you were “casting” a diner to play a diner, Fran & Kathleen’s would certainly get the part. Prepossessing it’s not. What the tiny bistro is instead is warm and cosy. There’s definitely a down home ambience about the eatery.

“We worried a lot about the décor,” the owner, Fran Donavan, told me. “We wanted a place where everyone would feel comfortable— not too girlie because we wanted ranchers and construction men to be at home here, but not too masculine

either. It was important that women would like it too. What we settled on is a hodge podge.”

Well, I’m glad Fran said it first. The bistro is a hodge podge, but that’s part of it’s comfy appeal. I liked the effect of the big black and white checkerboard floor covering contrasted with cheery red chair seats.

Outside there’s a row of what looks like tractor seats that have been painted the same joyful shade of red. These are mounted in front of the outdoor counter. With a patio as well, it’s easy to imagine that Fran & Kathleen’s does a lively trade in summer.

Now for the new news: there is no longer a Kathleen connected with Fran & Kathleen’s. Replacing Kathleen as Fran’s partner is Patrick Donavan, Fran’s son who is already doing the cooking at the restaurant.

For the past four years, Fran & Kathleen’s has functioned primarily as a lunch house but Patrick plans to extend the hours to include dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Watch for this new development in April.

Tri trip and pulled pork smoked on the outdoor cooker are signature dishes at Fran & Kathleen’s. Unfortunately there were light snow flurries the afternoon we were there—way too cold for al fresco cuisine.

Instead, Kathy Fellure ordered another house specialty, the stinky blue cheese burger. ($7.50) Besides the blue cheese, there was ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato and onion.

Her husband, Joe, also selected a burger, his being the ranch hand burger with BBQ sauce, provolone cheese, bacon and lots of grilled

onion rings. ($7.50)

It was a grand night for burgers. My guy, Charles, picked the double bacon cheeseburger. ($9). This one had thousand island dressing, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion and bacon. It was grand in every sense.

Fran is specially proud of her burgers. “They are always fresh,” she says, “and we make a point of tenderizing them ourselves.”

Can’t say the burgers weren’t tempting—all very thick and juicy—but I had been first lured to Fran & Kathleen’s by the dream of chilli and was determined to go for it.

Now let me tell you, Patrick Donavan’s chilli is not for sissies. It’s very hot, spicy hot. And that’s just the way I like it. ($4.50)

I also enjoy the “regular house salad” ($5) which didn’t seem a bit regular to me. It was exceptional— lots and lots of crisp lettuce, tomato, onion, apples, cheese, and cucumbers with a ranch pesto house dressing.

You know how it is when friends say “you’ll love it’? Yeah? Well, this time I really did.

VITALS: Fran & Kathleen’s Grill is at 4 Plymouth Rd., Ione. Phone: 274-4116. Open daily. Hours, Sunday through Wednesday, from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. Credit cards accepted.

PICTURES

The exterior of Fran & Kathleen’s Grill is a diner right out of central casting.

Ronnie Donavan, daughter and sister of the owners of Ione’s Fran & Kathleen’s serves a hungry forsome.