I am one of the many that participates in fantasy football leagues. One year, a league commissioner ordered pizza from Michaelangelo’s, at 8330 W. Puetz Rd in Franklin, for our draft party, and I enjoyed it enough to add it to my list. 

Michaelangelo’s offers carry-out, delivery and dining service, so I decided to dine-in. Coming from the north toward Franklin, the GPS-recommended Hales Corners exit ramp was closed, so I exited at 84th Street from 894. I thought 84th Street would get me through Greendale and into Franklin. It doesn’t. Get to Highway 100 or 92nd Street. You’ve been warned.

When I arrived, I sat in the bar area, which was pretty quiet but had college football playing on a large LED TV. That would do nicely.

The bar looked new, a thought confirmed when I later learned that it was just opened in July. I’ll tell you more on that later.

Owner Dennis Rau started in the pizza business when he was in high school. Morning announcements during homeroom included a job announcement with Steverino’s Pizza on 27th and College. A classmate dared him to apply, so he did and ended up accepting a position as a delivery driver.

Steverino’s also had a Franklin location, and in 1981, Rau and a friend, whom were both invested in the business by this time, decided to trade in their investment for the recipes and equipment. Michaelangelo’s was born.

Rau purchased the former grocery store building housing the current location in 1991 and leased the other half of the building out to a business office and later a barbershop. Last December, he began the process of expanding by converting the barbershop space into a bar area with additional seating. That project was completed in July.

The dining room and bar were both very clean and well kept on my visit. Patrons were starting to arrive for the dinner rush, while others entered for carry-out orders. I don’t think the phone was silent more than 30 seconds at a time, so prime time had definitely arrived.

Michaelangelo’s menu features popular appetizers – such as breaded ravioli, garlic cheese bread and mozzarella marinara – but also broccoli poppers, which I haven’t seen on a menu before. Salads, pizza, Italian specialties, sandwiches and traditional favorites including ribs, shrimp, broasted chicken and fish round out the menu.

While customers can order a four-piece chicken dinner for dine-in, large orders of their popular broasted chicken are only available for carry-out in sizes ranging from eight to 20 pieces.

Pizzas come in three sizes: an 11-inch junior, a 13-inch small, and a 15-inch large. A 10-inch gluten-free crust is also available. Cheese pizzas range from $9.50 to $15.95, while additional toppings range from $1.25 to $2.

Specialty pizzas include the veggie supreme, meat-heavy butcher shop, Hawaiian, barbecue chicken, buffalo chicken, Michaelangelo’s special and Michaelangelo’s supreme. The special is topped with cheese, sausage, mushrooms and onions, while the supreme adds pepperoni and green peppers to the special’s list of toppings.

All pies are thin crust and baked in a round, shallow pan. Spreading the fresh-made pizza dough in the pans allows control over shape and size, providing an appreciated consistency and aiding in providing a crispy, sturdy crust.

I started with the barbecue chicken pizza, topped with thick layers of mozzarella cheese, diced chicken, real bacon bits, onions and a thick, rich barbecue sauce. I haven’t had many barbecue chicken pizzas. I’m usually disappointed with them, but I was a fan of this one.

The chicken was moist, and the finely diced onions complemented rather than overpowered the bacon bits and other flavors. The crust was crispy, and the sauce and cheese were generously applied. I needed more than one napkin, but I wouldn’t call the pizza messy. I guess I’m just messy.

Next up was my "control," a sausage and pepperoni pizza with their house pizza sauce. Michaelangelo’s sauce starts from a canned base that gets their own special blend of seasoning added to it. The sauce had a nice, mild flavor to it. The sausage and pepperoni were spicy enough for me, so I didn’t mind not getting more of a kick from the sauce.

Rau gets the Italian sausage from a sausage maker in Germantown, and the pepperoni comes from a meat purveyor in Milwaukee. I could taste the fennel in the sausage, and I thought both toppings were flavorful and sufficiently spicy, as I think they should be.

As much as I enjoyed the flavor of the pizzas I ordered, I was probably most impressed by the crust. The pizzas were cut into pie slices as opposed to squares, and when I lifted the slices, they either didn’t flop over at all or if they did, it was very minimal.

The center of the crust was so thin and the toppings were generously applied, I was just amazed at how they pulled this off. As I looked at the crust from the side, I could see the separation of layers, indicating a light airy crust. This is the 78th pizzeria I’ve blogged about, and I’ve never seen a crust that thin hold up the way it did.

A cornmeal-free, crispy cracker crunch on a thin, light and airy crust that tastes good and is made from fresh dough is exactly what I want. Michaelangelo’s delivered.

The combination of crust characteristics and flavor profile of the sauce and toppings put Michaelangelo’s on my list of personal favorites. I would be more than happy driving across town – and dealing with detours, if necessary – for this pizza again in the future.

If you’re a super thin and crispy crust fan, then you should definitely visit Michaelangelo’s. From what I could tell, broasted chicken fans may also want to pay them visit. I think I’ll have to give that a try, too.