This week's restaurant reviews

Joan Reminick visits Frankly Thai, where "the light, fresh pad Thai with vegetables is, as a friend puts it, 'like being hugged.'" She gives the Franklin Square restaurant two-and-a-half stars.

Verace has "started thinking big," Peter Gianotti writes in Friday's Newsday. Giving the Islip restaurant two-and-a-half stars, Gianotti recomments the assortment of Italian meats and cheeses, the pizza and alla carbonara, among other dishes.

Above, shrimp pad Thai is served at Frankly Thai in Franklin Square. (June 4, 2011)