Frankie's Pizza

Having done a piece on Arbetter's Hot Dog stand, I couldn't fail to also do one on Frankie's Pizza shop that has been in the same spot on Bird Road and 91st Street for over 55 years, just a few blocks away from Arbettter's. Now I consider myself a bit of a pizza expert having sampled all types throughout years of my travels in the USA and Italy. I also lived many years in NYC where some of the best pie in the US can be sampled on many different forms. Frankie's is the thin crust square pan type, one that folks in the northeastern part of the US will instantly recognize. If you're a deep dish pizza lover like Chicago style, this may not be your favorite, but if you like thin crispy crust lighter style pizza, Frankie's is one of the best in town and maybe in the top ten for the entire USA. I admit that since I grew up in the Shenandoah area of Miami, we mostly hung out and ate pizza at the old Pizza Palace on SW 8th Street and 31st Avenue, but in high school I did hit Frankie's up anytime we went to the Bird Bowl bowling alley or to a high school game that took us in that direction. Frank and Doreen Pasquarella came from Ohio and opened the original Frankie’s Famous Pizza in South Miami in 1955. Two years later, they moved their pizza shop to a small grocery store located on Bird Road. Back then, that area was like the wild west with practically no other shops around and some folks riding horses in the early morning hours. Frankie's is still run by Frankie’s daughters Renee and Roxanne Pasquarella and it looks identical to what it looked like in the early 60's when I first went there. It's a little hole-in-the-wall place that the minute you step inside you feel like you stepped back in time 40 years! If you decide to take a trip back in time, just remember that it is closed mondays and is a cash only joint.