i Fratelli Pizza 2208 Dallas Parkway 972-608-8833
Promised Delivery Time: 30 minutes Actual Delivery Time: 26 minutes
The Score No delivery fee or fuel surcharge: 10 points Polite, professional order-taker: 15 points No online ordering: -5 points Delivering sooner than promised: 20 Points Consistently good quality from expanding local chain: 20 Points Having a pizza on menu that has everything I want: 20 Points Excellent House Salad: 6 points TOTAL: 86 Points
In the ultra-competitive world of pizza delivery, you're only as good as your last pie. When the Observer first rated the Greenville Avenue location of i Fratelli Pizza, we gave it an excellent score. Still, that was 15 months ago, and restaurants, particularly chains, can suffer a steep drop-off in quality if they're not careful. With this in mind, seemed time to see if the product of this ever-expanding local institution could still pass muster.
Pulling up their website www.ifratelli.net, I discovered my first pleasant surprise: no delivery fee or fuel surcharge. That's a huge plus considering that many places that rely on third-party delivery services can charge upwards of $10 an order. The second shock was seeing The Big Brother Signature Pizza: pepperoni, green pepper and mushrooms. My faves.The Big Brother added Italian sausage and green onion into the mix. Perfect. I selected a medium version and a house salad and prepared for a short wait.
Barely half an hour later, a sharp rap came at the door. The house salad featured good greens and a garlicky vinaigrette with pepperoncinis. Then came the main event: the luscious, oily Big Brother, crowded with tasty toppings and baked into its classic oval shape. Each savory mouthful was full of basil, a spice trick that separates the serious pizza contenders from the wannabes. Despite the abundance of freight, the pie offered balanced flavors,the sausage and pepperoni blending well with the vegetables while the crust more than held its own. My only quibble: i Fratelli doesn't yet have online ordering. Nevertheless, you can never have too many good pizza places
