Fresco, Sand Lake

I had lunch at this Italian restaurant in the K-Mart plaza just off the Sand Lake Rd exit last Wednesday. I had a meatball panini with fries for $8. I also received a house salad for free because the waitress and I mis-communicated over what I wanted as my side selection. The salad was a little wilted. However, it was still better than most salads in an Italian restaurant and it was comped. It even came with some olives and mozzarella cheese. The meatball panini was ok. The meatballs were a little undercooked. I can forgive that since it appears that they took pains to make them to order. The fries were crisp. They had a bread basket. It was a very filling meal. The place is half in and half out. It partially makes an attempt at being a nice restaurant. It looks low end from outside. It's in the far corner of a dump of a shopping mall next to a bad chain store. The signage is cheap. Inside they make the same half hearted effort. It's one part gourmet shop and one part cafeteria. There is way to much empty space. It seats about 100. There were about 20 people there at lunch. It has a tiny bar with a TV. The service (2) was good. The silverware was a little dirty. They sell wine (double retail) in the back. They don't make pizza at lunch. All in all, it's like Janine Garafalo. You can find good things if you look, but, it doesn't feel like making any attempt to reach its potential. I wouldn't mind eating here again. I just wouldn't go out of my way again to get here.