Today a couple of my grad student friends and I decided to conduct some extensive research, comparing the pizzas at Roberta’s, ABC Kitchen and Franny’s. We have great respect for these establishements for sourcing their ingredients locally, focusing on sustainability and for their culinary prowess. None of us are obsessed with pizza but these artisan style of pizzas were a good vehicle for comparison. I know these types of pizzas well as I cooked a more than respectable version of these at the Lucky Cat back in the day.
The order was chosen based on hours open and when each wouldn’t be too crowded. We started at Roberta’s right after the lunch rush. We then proceeded to ABC Kitchen and then took the first seating at Franny’s. The pizza menus were so varied, we had to stick with the basic margarita pizza for comparing crust, sauce and overall taste.
Roberta’s, excellent crust you would never guess was whole wheat. Nice chewiness combined with crispness. The sauce flavor was full of fresh tomato taste with a nice zing to it. Cheese was in just the appropriate amounts with nice seasoning overall.
ABC Kitchen, one of the first things we noticed with the pizza was a strange flavor we quickly realized was a hint of banana in the whole wheat crust. The flavor didn’t detract but didn’t add anything to the overall taste. The sauce was good and the cheese was under proportioned. Overall, ABC has a good pizza but I’ll go ahead and tell you this was basically a two horse race.
Franny’s pizza was the most authentic of the bunch. The crust, not whole wheat, was top-notch and the sauce had great flavor though more flat than Roberta’s. The sprinkle of Parmesan was a welcome touch but had to be disregarded for comparison’s sake. Cheese was the most generous of the day.
And the winner is…Roberta’s. Let me say it was difficult choosing between the two finalists but Roberta’s had a slight edge on crust and sauce and seasoning. The crust was ultimately satisfying and the sauce was clean and bright, full of tomato flavor. It was the overall flavor, perfectly seasoned which confirmed Robert’s edging out Franny’s worthy competitor.
What I would love to do is go back and compare all of these restaurant’s more adventurous fare. I have infinite respect for the amazing cooks at all these restaurants.
And we all agreed that while the pizzas were delicious, none of them qualified as a vegetable.
