During my previous trip to Long Island, I was fortunate enough to have my sister take me to some new pizza places I had never tried before on the South Shore. We made it through Oakdale, Islip, and Bayshore. Before heading out and trying all these alleged great places, I did some research to make sure what others were saying about them on the InterWebs. All of these places had great reviews so I figured we would be embarking on some great slices of pizza. While en route to try some of these other "great" pizza places, I passed by Fratelli Pizzeria in a strip mall and asked my sister to stop so I could randomly try a place.

Fratelli's Pizza is a place where the family who owns it works there. They have not outgrown their space, and their egos haven't outgrown their community.  You know the places I am talking about, the ones that started off in a single store location, and kept expanding before ultimately redesigning the establishment and losing all the old school pizza ambiance they once possessed. I see these places all over Long Island. This was a definite plus to me that they remained a mom and pop joint.

A patron overheard me asking my sister if she had ever been to this location and if the pizza was supposed to be good.She explained to me that she has been coming to Fratelli Pizza for years, and this was the only place she would ever buy a slice from. It is touching when you hear customers promote a place for the owners. This is something you seldom get down in Florida.

When the slice arrived, I wasn't blown away with the presentation. There were too many bubbles, and the cheese didn't appear to look like a quality brand. Upon picking up the slice, I noticed that it was nice, thin, and crisp. The pizza guy noticed my inspection and asked me in a joking manner if I approved. After talking with him for a while, I got the feeling that he was part of the family who owned it and took a tremendous amount of pride in what he was serving (outside of caring to pop the bubbles while it was in the oven). Fratelli Pizza really does possess a nice staff.

The cheese wasn't as bad as I suspected, but the slice could have benefited from a bit more sauce. There really wasn't enough on this slice. It was applied disproportinately on the pie, with the edges and the center getting the most. The sauce I did taste had a nice sweet flavor to it.

Fratelli is a place I would go back to try again, and if they have Sicilian, that will be the slice I try next.

Fratelli Pizza in Bayshore gets 5 out of 8 slices.