Restaurant Face-Off: Amorina vs. Franny's

Any neighborhood worth its onion-salt has at least one decent pizzeria. Fortunately for Prospect Heights, it has several. 

is the better known, is beloved by food critics, as well as foodies who like their pancetta hand-cured and wood-roasted. , appeals more to the budget-conscious and to those with small children in tow. 

I fall solidly in the latter category, which is why after more than half a dozen years in Prospect Heights I can count on my nose the number of times I have dined at Franny's, whereas I have sampled most, if not all, of Amorina's pizzas. 

But recently, I felt I needed to mix it up again. Why not pit these two pizza joints against each other, one week apart, using my finicky kids as the judges?

Our first stop was Amorina where my wife Dina and I shared the Ceci e Cipolle—a salad with chick peas—and a carafe of Montepulciano (for good measure). I ordered the pizza Carbonara, with pancetta and a fried egg on top, and my wife tried the Prosciutto e Fichi made with figs.

Ordering for our two kids, Elan, 6, and Ana, 5, is easy because their tastes lean towards the ... boring. We always go with the plainist pizza, the Margherita, making a point to have it served without the basil leaf adornments, to prevent my "little angels" from gagging.

Elan and Ana, at the moment, are "over pizza" but agreed to indulge me in this experiment. Ana picked off large gooey islands of mozzarrela cheese, making this thin-crust pizza even thinner.  Elan, perversely, hates going to restaurants, but settled in without much complaint. 

The kids almost finished their pie. Dina and I enjoyed our meals, if not our entire dining experience. With tip and tax we spent about $80.

Since Franny's is a bit pricier, we decided on take out. They don't deliver so I was sent to pick up the order (Tomato & Mozzarella, Clams and Parsely, and Meatball) and was charged a $1.00 "To-Go" fee for the privilege.

Upon first taste of the Tomato & Mozzarella, Elan pronounced, "This is the worst pizza I've ever had." Following that eruption, Ana, reluctantly nibbled hers, and agreed, steadfastly refusing a second bite and ordering ravioli from the freezer. 

Meanwhile Elan had softened his initial stance and made his way through three slices—though only up to the part where the red tomato sauce bordered the crust.

My favorite was the Meatball which was quite savory.  The garlicky sea food pizza was adorneed with large, moist, and flavorful clams but I prefer my mollusks with spaghetti. Dina found the pies too bready.  Meal, without tip, came to about $50. 

The verdict:  We're going to stick with Amorina.  But not for a while.  At the moment, I am completely "over" pizza.