Gianfranco’s Pizza Rustica

Gianfranco’s Pizza Rustica is a tiny (emphasis on the word tiny) little pizzeria nestled in the heart of Olde City Philadelphia.  It has a reputation of being a great eatery so we had to try it, twice.  We have tried to review this place before but never got around to finishing the review.  I think the reason for that is this: Gianfranco’s makes the most non-descript slice of pizza ever. There is nothing to write about on either end of the good/bad pizza spectrum.  It’s neither good nor bad.

I guess I should get down to details about the pizza.  The proportions of sauce to cheese is fine but the sauce is thick and kind of cakey, sort of like a mud pie you would make as a kid.  The crust was not crispy enough.  All of these ingredients make up the plainest slice I may have ever had. Again, not a bad slice but there really wasn’t anything to it.

if we were to get a fresh pie for takeout it might be better

They usually have a variety of pizza “specialty” pizzas with all sorts of toppings on them. We sampled the pepperoni, the BBQ chicken pizza and some slice with spinach on it. These were slightly better than the plain slice. BBQ pizza always seems like a good idea, in theory, but the BBQ sauce is usually so sweet that it tastes more like a desert than a slice of pizza.

I should note that this place closes at 8pm.  We have only been able to get there near closing time so the pies may have been sitting out for a while.  I also feel like if we were to get a fresh pie for takeout it might be better but I don’t live near the place so the chances of that are slim.

Don’t even bother trying to eat inside on a hot summer day. There’s no AC plus the pizza ovens blazing away in that small space is unbearable. Instead, take your slice outside and sit at one of the outside tables (if one of the dudes who work there isn’t already sitting there) and people watch Olde Cityites walking by. Apparently they have two other locations. One on 11th Street and one on Broad Street in South Philly.

We are going to try and get here again sometime around lunchtime when the pies are fresh because, despite our experiences, we keep hearing that it’s good.

Rating:

Gianfranco’s Pizza Rustica
6 N.3rd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 592-0048
www.gianfrancopa.com