(No website found at time of publishing) – Warwick Village Main Street, Warwick, New York

How I heard of this place: On our first trip to Warwick in July, our host, Samyar, shared stories of growing up in the town of Warwick. Among these stories was one of his friend, who took over his father’s pizzeria; a pizza place that has been in the family for at least three generations! It was closed for the Fourth of July, but on this Thanksgiving weekend, open and bustling with orders.

Type of cuisine: Pizza. Specialty pizzas. Calzones.

Ambiance: Walking through the brick-lined building’s doorway, labeled Frank’s-Pizza Restaurant, we were warmly and exuberantly greeted by Frank, himself. His New York accent boasting a hearty welcome to our host, and his long-time friend, Samyar. The single glass door led into a small, dimly lit room along an all-weather red carpet and tiled floors. Simple tables in varnished bamboo or birch wood, accompanied by wooden chairs with dark backs seated a half-dozen high-schoolers laughing, talking and eating their large pizzas. Refrigerators of Snapple and soda beverages to the far right hosted the largest pizza box I have seen to date. Christmas lights lead the way from the right corner to the register in the window cut-out looking into the kitchen. I first noticed the bottom half of walls painted in a deep red with green on the top half of most, but one wall stood out: with a beautiful mural on the entryway wall of what resembles a grand, old Tuscan home with brick top roof and greenery all around. The lights around the kitchen window also lit up the plain, simple, yet full menus overhead, of a number of creative and novel pizza specials, as well as the more traditional and long-loved options. Additional specials were written in black and red marker on paper plates, taped to the bottom of the menu boards. One such sign promoted: “Homemade Rice Balls $3.95 w/ sauce and mozzl cheese“. Frank stood just behind the island counter in the center of the large kitchen, tossing pizza dough into the air and then dressing it with sauce, generous handfuls of cheese and toppings. To his left, four, large pizza trays held the slices: cheese, pepperoni, vegetable, and two thick-cut squares of Sicilian pizza. To the left of the register and atop a small refrigerator of soda-gallons, Elmo, dressed in a red and white pizza-doned apron waved happily behind Frosty the Snowman’s head. The display case underneath, which I would like to believe, had, once upon a time, hosted a variety of fresh olives and salad sides, was covered with brown paper and the words, “Welcome to Fran’s Pizza” handwritten with a red marker. And, of course, no local, home-grown pizza joint is complete without the stacks of white take-away boxes, ready at the wait.

What I ordered: Being full from a weekend of non-stop eating, but also feeling the need to sample one of the delicious-smelling slices, I selected the simple cheese pizza ($1.99) and Chris felt the need to try Buffalo Chicken Pizza ($2.65).

What I loved: I sampled both, but felt the simplicity and abundance of cheese on my slice outweighed the buffalo chicken. The cheese, gooey and melted, brought out the slightly sweet flavor of the perfectly prepared pizza dough and the light seasonings in the marinara/pizza sauce. Beautiful.

Why I loved it: Simple. Tasty. Frank’s New York accent.

Cost: Average ($2-$4 per slice)