Tale of the Pie: Franzone's Pizzeria

Yes, my grandparents definitely had those same glasses

Another weekend, another Philly Mag "Best Pizza" spot. This time it was Franzone's in Bridgeport, a pizzeria apparently in business since 1955.

Upon arriving at this neighborhood spot with the hubby and nibble, I immediately decided that I would not look around extensively while we wined and dined. That's because I'm a bit of a clean freak, and this place was not up to par. And let's just say that our fellow diners made the Via Veneto's crowd look runway-ready.

When we saw that a half carafe of wine was only $6.95, we couldn't help but order it and laugh about what we might be getting. It ended up being a chilled red, most likely from a Carlo Rossi or Paisano jug. Oh, and two mini, slightly dirty, old-school Italian glasses that I remember being part of my grandparent's glassware collection. Beer is also quite cheap for a decent selection - $3 for a bottle of  Russian River Damnation, Golden Monkey, Prima Pils or Summer Love from Victory, or Dogfish Head Festina Pêche.


Cleanliness and clientele aside, I had high hopes for Franzone's. Philly Mag sang the praises of their uniquely sweet sauce, and as a tomato pie lover, I was looking forward to tasting it. The truth is, the sauce is good, very similar in taste and consistency to the tomato pie variety but just a tad thinner. It's just the rest of the pie that wasn't very good.

The crust was too floury, too crunchy and didn't have much of a notable taste. It seemed to be striving towards a Mack & Manco style, but didn't quite measure up. The cheese ... wait, what cheese? There was barely any of it. The pepperoni had a strange taste that I'm struggling to describe. Maybe a bit smoky, but not in a good way. And as I mentioned, the sauce was good, but the overwhelming amount of it made the pie so soggy that I had to eat the beginning of each slice with a fork and knife.

Our mozz sticks were also disappointing. Light on cheese, which is quite an anomaly, too crunchy and accompanied by a sauce without much flavor.

Overall - not worth the trip to Bridgeport and definitely not on our Top Pizza list. However, if you'd like to try it for yourself, get a coupon for $1.50 off.

Read the Philly Mag review >>

See what one of our readers thinks of Franzones>>

Pros: Sweet, unique sauce
Cons: Not enough cheese, crunchy crust, soggy sections of slice

Franzone's Pizzeria & Restaurant
501 Dekalb Street
Bridgeport, PA 19405
610-275-0114