Franka Pizzeria for Lunch!

Yesterday afternoon I had to run down the the East Village around lunchtime to pick something up (quick details: earlier this week I opened Instagram at the exact right moment to catch Liz Lidgett gallery's flash sale and I nabbed a funky framed print for only $20! anyway, I digress...). Since the gallery is right next to Franka Pizzeria, which I've been very excited to try, I decided a lunch treat of a Margherita pizza was a great idea. 

What I loved:

• The wood-fired crust. Okay, I know I've said that I'm crust agnostic, but I think it's time to fess up about something. I DO have a favorite crust type, and it is totally wood-fired. I love how it chars and gets crunchy, but the right dough still rises and gets all poofy and tasty (yes, this is my v. technical description)
• The tomato sauce. They use san marzano tomatoes, which look adorable in their whole form, and taste sweet chopped up as tomato sauce on a pizza
• Sprinkled maldon sea salt on top of the whole masterpiece. Such a subtle and yummy touch. 

What I didn't love:

• The massive basil leaves, while a visually appealing work of art, were not great to actually eat. They slipped off in one bite. 
• The pizza was ready about 10 minutes sooner than it's promised time, so by the time I got home, the pie was pretty cold. Still tasty, but a bit of a bummer. 
• I knew ahead of time that the prices were on the high-end for this place, but I still wanted to try it. I always leave at least 20% on takeout (especially in COVID times!), so with tip this pizza, which I think was only 10 inches  (or a "big" personal pizza, IMO), was $20.  
• I want to be clear here: I don't mind to pay top dollar from time to time because I understand places like this use high quality ingredients. But given the size/price combo, it's not really accessible for a family pizza night unless you want to spend upwards of $100. Definitely worth it for a date night (or an upscale solo takeout lunch, if your style is like mine) though. 

All that being said it was a very good pizza and I'm intrigued at some of their non-traditional toppings combinations, so I'll probably be going back.  I also had fun having a pizza photo shoot in my office. 

Today was Jack's Valentine party at daycare. Of course I could not resist the opportunity to put him in a pizza-themed outfit and do a photo shoot this morning. Most of the expressions on his face are him asking me for more fruit snacks in exchange for standing still and smiling for the camera.  He's a great negotiator honestly. 

Overall rating: 4.5/5