It's All About the Sauce at Anthony Franco's

There was some pressure on Monday night, as the Butler pizza restaurant was the first stop on our tour. But Anthony Franco's lived up to our expectations, delivering a piping hot pie which we could barely wait long enough to cool before we sank our teeth in.

Coming up to the counter at Anthony Franco's, customers can't help but notice the interesting specialty slices the pizza place has to offer. Specialty slices include Penne a La Vodka, Chicken Marsala, Chicken Parmesan, Spicy Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and even a fajita-type slice. The Butler Anthony Franco's, at 1516 Route 23 South, is one of seven locations of the restaurant, the others in Verona-Montclair, Parsippany, Ramsey, Paramus, Lincoln Park and Livingston.

This particular Anthony Franco's delivers to , and parts of Bloomingdale and West Milford.

Whether you walk in on a Friday night, or, like we did, on a Monday night, Anthony Franco's is almost always busy. But this does not mean you will have a long wait, as within minutes of walking in the door, Manager Tom Ptasznik will ask you what you ordered and immediately check on the status of your order.

Now that you know a little about the restaurant, let's get to the pizza.

Editor's Review

Having had Anthony Franco's pizza a dozen-and-a-half times, I went into this almost knowing what to expect. And that's a good thing. But I cleared my mind of expectations and excitement to be able to give a fair, unbiased opinion of what I thought of this pizza.

Overall, the pizza was good-it came to the table piping hot, looking seemingly appealing. But one thing I did immediately notice as the pizza was being placed down on the table was that the center of the pizza was not entirely cooked the way the rest of the pizza was. That is not to say this is a frequent circumstance with Anthony Franco's pizza, but on this particular night, and as evident by the photos we took, the middle could have been a little more done.

I should also note that during this contest I will never ask for a pizza to be cooked "a little well done" as I often do. All we will order each week is a "large cheese pizza."

Cheese: I thought the cheese-to-sauce ratio was absolutely perfect on this pizza. I really don't like when there is so much cheese on a slice and you can barely taste the sauce, and I'm happy to say that wasn't the case here. For the most part, the cheese was cooked to a nice consistency, and as I took the first slice, the cheese mostly stayed on the pizza, and did not just flop right off.

Sauce: The sauce was my favorite thing about the pizza. I am one of those people who thinks that the sauce can actually make or break a pizza, and in this case, it definitely made it. The sauce has a nice sweetness and it was evenly spread on each slice, making each bite as enjoyable as the last.

Crust: As I mentioned above, when I'm not judging pizzas, I typically ask for them a little well done. Despite this pizza being a little undercooked in the middle, the crust was actually cooked just to the way I like it. Not too flimsy, but not burnt. I also really liked the thickness of the crust, which was neither thick nor thin.

Overall Rating: I give Anthony Franco's Pizza a 4 out of 5.

Restaurant Reviewer Ashley Mastroianni

Cheese: I thought it was a little too much. The taste is pretty good and the flavor is about average, but the center is not as cooked as the rest of the pizza.

Sauce: I like the sauce. It is not too chunky and there is the perfect amount of it on the pizza. I think the sauce is on the sweeter side. It is also well-blended in terms of the flavor.

Crust: This was my favorite part! The crust has a nice crunch. I really do like the crust- I would say that it's perfectly browned. My favorite part is the bubbles.

Overall Rating: I give Anthony Franco's pizza a 3 out of 5.

Anthony Franco's Pizza
Price of large pie: $11.95
Tasted on: Monday, Feb. 14
Next Stop: Next week, Mayor Robert Collins will be joining us as we taste the pizza at . Feel free to join us, as we will be there at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.