I Love Frankie's - Worcester Mass - USA

 

https://worcestersbestpizza.com/

When your web address is "Worcesters Best Pizza dot com", we know that you're not messing around.

Harken back to the Boston Pizza Festival and you'll recall the King of Pie's, Mr. Frankie.  

Well, we finally made it to his spot, Worcester's finest.

His iconic logo below is actually a reproduction of a photo of his daughter picking up

 a slice and taking a bite.  

Hells yeah.  You know how much I love that.

Massive FUBAR on my part coming....

(for those international readers, FUBAR = F**ked Up Beyond All Repair)

We planned to stop at Frankie's on our way back to the Cape from the family Bungalow which is located in the Catskills of New York State (just down the way from the location of the original Woodstock, but that's another story (Pop-Pop and Ammy, among other family members, actually attended, super cool)).

But, I digress (doing that a lot these days).  So the plan was to stop in on our way "home", 4 hours driving down, 2 more to go.  But, little did I know, and failed to inquire about, 

Frankie's is a take-out only joint!  

And, it's 95 outside, and me with a full car of hungry kiddos and wife, so we can't just chill on the sidewalk or go to a park.

And, also, the pizza photo below makes the pie look a bit of a mess (sorry Frankie, but I was doin my best).

This is a grandma with half cheese and half pepperoni.

By separating a specific slice, it looks a bit more presentable.

(yes, I pulled over under a tree by the street and jumped out to devour 3 slices, which were still too hot for the kids to eat, sorry guys, daddy needs some food).

95 degrees, super humid, no flop.  YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Amaze-balls

Yummy to the next level.

We got a second pie and it was equally as great.  This one was a round Hawaiian.

Let's not hate on the topping choice, please?  I fully agree that pineapple has NO PLACE being on a pizza, total sacrilege to put this on a pie.  

But I also know that with canadian bacon it tastes great, so suck it!

Frankie hooked us up with both pies, a salad, 2 cookies, and some sodas.  Thanks Frankie!!!

The king of Worcester and someone I'm proud to have met and can't wait to see again (which might not be until Fall when it's a bit cooler and easier to enjoy    :-O )

Thanks Frankie, you and your staff are truly awesome.

Best pizza in Worcester?

Best pizza in Mass?

Best pizza ever?

Man, I can't deny it.

If you're NOT puttin' some Frankie's pie in your hole, then whatta ya doin'?

DVA

Pizza Barbone - Hyannis Mass - USA

 

https://www.pizzabarbone.com/

A short 2-ish block walk away from Pop-Pop's Cape house resides what is touted as "wood-fired pizza".

And, from first glance it appears to be just that......  but is it???

They certainly have a legit Marra Forni oven, but this one in- act is primarily heated by gas, with a middle pedestal that can house a burning log or 2.  But, the heat is 100% coming from gas.

No hate on the gas, at all.  Pizza's like heat, but they don't care about where it comes from .  Yes, the heat from a wood fired oven tends to be drier than from gas, and coal is even drier than that.  Is that always good?  It all depends on the type of dough (not all dough is created equally).

But, I digress....

Gas or wood this place is 100% legit.

We sat at the pizza bar so that we could enjoy the show.

And we weren't the only ones enjoying themselves...

Vanta (his name) is totally killing it tonight.

As can see from the photos above, they are cranking out the pies, and they have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but they seem to be "doing the dance" quite well.

Assembly line, thank you Henry Ford

Thanks Salt Bae

The oven is not only gas and wood, but the deck rotates as well.  The theory being that it will cook all pizzas evenly.  I'm not sure that I'm a fan of this as all of the Pizzaiolo's that I watch would pick every pie up when it neared completion and give it a little extra attention near the gas outlet.  However, what ended up happening is the pies are undercooked because they need to get them out before they pass by the front, and only when they pass the front, otherwise they'll need to make another rotation as the rear of the oven is inaccessible.  Most pies that I observed were (slightly) undercooked.

A shame because it would take them (the pies) to the next level if they could just stay in the oven  another 10-15 seconds.

Seeing this, I ordered ours a bit over done, please.  And it worked out fairly well.

Nice fold kid

Yumm, crispy on the outside and chewy and soft on the inside.

I would certainly declare this the best Neapolitan style pizza in Hyannis.

Kid friendly, great salads (sorry for no photo), yummy pies, decent wines (not for Luigi though...)

Grab someone's pie and put it in your mouth.

DVA

Boston Pizza Festival 2024

 

Heck Yeah!  Talk about good timing!  We move to New England and within the first few months it's Pizza Festival in Boston?!?!?!? Wicked awesome!

Rolling with the Fam,.  My expectations are super low, but Im not sure why.  I guess it's because I've never been to a Pizza Festival, so I'm thinking it's not too popular and the pizza will be sheit.  Super tiny slices, sitting in the sun all day, limp bizkits.  I guess we should check it out, join me....

All of the Pizzaiolo's are cooking on Fiero ovens, some are gas, some are wood.  About 20 restaurants are represented here.

First up, Premiere on Broadway

I gotta say, WOW.  It doesn't look like in from the photo but this crust is crispy and flaky and fluffy and just awesome.  Don't fault me for the toppings, it's what was available, BBQ chicken.

I also gotta say that I got this all wrong.  Super fresh pies, not sitting at all because there are SO MANY people here.  Stupid long lines, but fresh pies, and legit sized slices.

YESSSSS!   This is f'ing awesome

Dacoopa's is next, only because there is no line....

Decent NY style slice.  Crunchy, cheesy, better to have this than to wait for 45 mins I think.

And now, the fricken hit of the day.

Allow me to present to you, I Love Frankie's

Yeah, this dude is like out of a "History Of Pizza" book or something.

And, he has the longest line at the party, at least 60-70 people waiting, and growing.

This

Is

Frankie

I Love Frankie's is located in Worcester (about 1:45 from the Cape), and we're already planning a trip.

He also makes Grandma pies

Like, wow, just wow.  You can even see the vendor next to him standing and watching (their spot you could walk right up and get a slice...this guy is out of control).

The style of pizza might not be for everyone (I'm talking to you Luigi), but it's one of my favorites.  Similar to New Haven, like a rustic NY pie.  Crunchy and cheesy and saucy, but a good balance.

Epic

Can't wait to sit and relax and enjoy this one again.  Great Job Frankie.

A well deserved beer after the 6 slices I had.

Keep your eye out for a Frankie's post coming in mid-July.

Festivals, who knew?!?

Get out there and eat someone's pie.

DVA

Jack's Pizza Hyannis, My First Grinder, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

 

https://www.jackspizzahyannis.com/

As most/some of you are aware, we've moved to Cape Cod Massachusetts.  I'm not gonna get into that story here, sorry.  What I am gonna get into is my first ever GRINDER!

Yeah yeah yeah, same as a sub, hoagie, sandwich even, all the same they say.  Well sir, maybe they're not all equal..

The scene of the crime is Jack's Pizza Hyannis.  Some might endearingly call this a dive bar that serves Pizza, etc.. others a comfy local family restaurant.  I just call it my favorite place to eat.

I'll do a post on the pizza in the coming weeks, spoiler alert, it's great (well, at least I REALLY like it).  For this session, it's all about the Grinder.

As this is my first ever, and I didn't want to F it up, I asked one of the owners, Tim (the other is his Aunt Grace) for some advice.  No hesitation, he said Linguiça.  Let's go!

Not all of their grinders are hot, but this one is.  They come with your choice of "sauce" (I assumed it was a red marinara type???) and green peppers.  I chose both, but luckily it came without the sauce (no idea why, nor do I care).  I also added cheese (also no idea what type, mozz maybe????)  and then they baked it and I served it with fries.

Yeahhhhhh.

The bread was soft and crunchy, the cheese was melty and stringy, and the meat was super flavorful.  I was concerned that I would be burping this up all afternoon, but nope, not at all.  Just yummy and awesome.  The green peppers, which I'm not normally a fan of because of the strong flavor, worked perfectly with the rest of the "stuff".  

A really great sandwich (grinder :-)), a really great lunch, and a really great restaurant run by a really great family/team.

I can’t wait for some pizza, but you'll have to....

DVA

Mr. Birria - Santee, CA, USA

https://www.misterbirria.com/

Ahhh, beautiful Santee, and right in the middle of a heat wave, and right in the middle of the week.  You can smell the victory in the air (well, maybe it's not victory I'm smelling...., but let's ignore that one for a minute shall we?)

Ughhh, how about a restart?

It's dinner, I'm solo, and I've been wanting to try Birria for a long time, so here's we go!  Birria being slow braised beef, in a flavorful red broth.  The tortillas are typically partially dipped in the broth and then fried on the flat top before the meat added and folded over (into a taco) and then griddled a bit more.

Simply looking at on-line rankings this place is one of the more popular spots, and it's closer to me than Chula or IB, and it's right off the freeway, so yeah, I'm going for it.

Parking lot tent eating, nice....

Again, it's hot, and I'm sitting in a parking lot in Santee, so hell to the yes I am gonna have a beer!

 

They wrap up EVERYTHING to go.  Even for eating in, like me.  This placed opened up during the pandemic, so I kinda get it.  From the get-go all orders were either to-go or via a delivery app and they are just letting that roll on.

I'm trying 5 tacos, one of every style.

These first 2 are the Quesa Taco, and the Taco Dorado.

The next 3 are the Keto Taco, Birria Taco, and the Mulita (not really a taco, but it kinda fits in with what I'm feeling).

The Quesa Taco is the one I was most excited about. I've watched countless YouTube videos on these, griddled cheese with the taco built on top, so I'm leaving this bad-boy for last.

The Dorado Taco.

I was going to explain a little about each of the next tacos, but as I ate them they ALL tasted the same.  No difference at all.  No pinché nada.

The Keto Taco was the same as the Dorado except it had cheese added inside.

The Birria Taco was the Dorado except it had pinto beans added inside.

The Mulita was the Keto except it was made like a quesadilla.

ALL TASTED THE SAME.

Did I say there was no difference?  Not sure if I made that point, cause they ALL TASTED THE SAME.  Just saying.

Next up is the consommé.  This is essentially the braising liquid from the meat.  Not only is the meat cooked in this but the tortillas are fried in a bit of this on the flat top (mentioned previously).  It's all for you to dip the tacos in as you eat them.

This one was pretty good, but again, it just tasted like the taco.  So having more of the beefy juicy flavor wasn't bad, just more of the same.

I haven't touched on it yet but the meat was AWESOME.  Super flavorful and soft, tender, and juicy.  

I could eat a ton of the Dorados.  Just those, like 5-6-7 of 'em maybe.  Dip and eat.

Beans?  If I didn't see them I wouldn't know that they were there.  Unnecessary.

And then this fucken thing.  Burnt cheese log in your (my) mouth.  No thanks.  

Because I left it for last it's all I tasted for a few hours.  Fubar'd that one.

In summary, I LOVE Birria.  I also liked this place a lot, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here again.  If I'm near, fo-sho.  But the next stop will be to Chula, or some place new.  Let's see if there's a different flavor out there.  Right?

Birrie-ahhhhhh

DVA