Fran's has one of the most ambitious menus in Charlotte. Unfortunately, the execution of the menu is decent at best, extremely subpar at worst. Yes, they have the famous bacon-wrapped tater tots... but by the time they arrived at our table the tots were cold and the maple glaze has solidified into a gooey mess. As a main, I had the meatballs, which had a good taste, but once again were not hot enough. My friend ordered a salad and opted to get the grilled shrimp. For $5 she got three shrimp, which isn't a bad deal, I guess. But it kicked the cost of the entire salad to $12, and it wasn't worth it at that price.
The service was OK. Our server was friendly, and while he didn't apologize for the slow service or cold food, one got the feeling that it wasn't his fault and the kitchen was having issues. And this was well after the place opened, when most places have all the issues figured out. I'm guessing that the chef is a control freak who insists on doing everything herself, even though food quality suffers for it.