I have a not-so-secret secret. I like cheese. And carbs. Lots and lots of carbs. In fact, when the two come together, you are likely to find me in the corner with a string of cheese dangling from my mouth. Oh, who are we kidding? I would never let cheese go to waste like that.

So I already knew that I would be happy walking into Joey Fratello’s. What I was skeptical about was their claim to authentic New York pizza. I come from New York and I’m Italian. No way could they really make me THAT happy.

I took my seat and took in the full menu. I quickly found the spinach artichoke ragoons that were screaming to be my friends and then I matched it up with a vegetable pizza. My belly was already grumbling from just the idea of this awesomeness being there soon. I placed my order with the waitress and then sat back to see who else was dining here tonight.

They had a large party that was obviously celebrating something. Since I’m great at eavesdropping, I found out that not only were they celebrating,

but they had actually driven to Findlay from Dayton and Detroit to meet up to celebrate a birthday. And then I heard the words, “Best pizza ever,” get bounced around with reckless abandonment. Hmmmm…

And then in the back corner, a family took up residence in the booth. You could tell from the smiles on the kids faces that this was a huge treat, and the parents… They looked pretty happy themselves.

My spinach-artichoke ragoons were delivered and I tentatively took my first bite. HOLY. COW. Rather large bites followed. The oozy center mixed with the crunchy outside made me want to live on just these alone for the rest of my life. I knew my happiness lived in these ragoons, and I simply couldn’t get enough happiness. To say that I was sad to see the last of them is rather an understatement.
Next came my pizza. Once again, I was tentative, because surely this could not live up to the hopes and dreams of a truly authentic New York pizza. But it did! I’m not really sure if I horrified my fellow diners or if they were truly in awe of how I knew how to enjoy this experience. Let’s go with the latter. The crust: perfect. The toppings: Amazingly fresh. And the cheese… Oh that glorious cheese.

After I finished my food, I asked the waitress if I could please move on as I had surely met my Disney World. Sadly, I did have to go home though. But luckily, I can go back to Joey Fratello’s any time I want.

What is your favorite topping combination on their pizza?