By Rick Rodriguez Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Nov 01, 2012 at 11:17 AM

West Allis seems to have quite an abundance of pizzerias. Fratelli's, 6202 W. Lincoln Ave., is another I found in the Entertainment Book. They feature New York-style pizzas and Chicago-style Italian beef and hot dogs. Fratelli's is a family-owned business operated by brothers Dave and Tim Sanchez along with their father, Sal.

Fratelli's is a small shop with a large menu. There are five small tables for dining in, but there is also a patio for outdoor dining during the warm months. However, it seems most of Fratelli's business is carry-out and delivery.

As I stood at the counter to place my order, the menus surrounded me. The pizza menu was behind the counter at the top of the wall on the right. It listed the sizes and specialty pizzas offered such as the creamed spinach with bacon, featuring spinach, bacon and a white cream sauce, and the Meaty Matt, featuring sausage, pepperoni and bacon.

The cheese used at Fratelli's is from Wisconsin's own Grande Cheese Company. A plaque on the lobby wall proudly states so.

A white board on the wall next to the entrance listed daily pasta and sandwich specials, while a chalkboard to the left of the counter listed deli sandwiches, such as the "Almighty," featuring five different meats!

Other menu boards list burgers, cheese steaks and chicken sandwiches. Hot wings, pastas and ice cream round out the menu at Fratelli's. They seem to have something for everyone.

I had a chance to speak with Sal for a bit. He told me that he and his family moved to Milwaukee from Chicago and opened Fratelli's four years ago. They take a lot of pride in their homemade Italian beef and claim to be the only restaurant in Wisconsin serving Vienna hot dogs in their natural casing for that special flavor and snap when bitten into.

The pizzas come in three sizes: an 8-inch personal pizza, a 14-inch and an 18-inch pizza. Cheese and one-topping pizzas are $5.50, $13 and $15, respectively. Additional toppings can be added for a charge, of course. All pizzas are hand-tossed and cooked in a "stone hearth oven."

Since Fratelli's pizzas are so large, they also cut their pizza slices into squares. So far this is only the second New York-style pizzeria I've come across that cuts the pies into squares. I'll bet they would accommodate if you asked for the standard triangular slices.

I ordered the Meaty Matt. The crust was crispy and chewy, typical of New York-style pizzas. The homemade sauce was mild, but tasty. Chunks of Italian sausage and pepperoni both were more mild than spicy.

I hardly noticed the bacon at first and thought they forgot to add it, but I eventually found it in the form of finely diced bacon bits. I'm not sure if it was the amount of bacon or the size of the bits, but I could barely taste the bacon.

Fratelli's had the feel of a popular neighborhood stop. While I waited, I noticed the carry-out orders were split between pizzas and non-pizza orders. Pizzas didn't seem to rule here, at least not that night.

I don't live in the neighborhood, but I'll keep Fratelli's in mind the next time I'm craving a hot dog or an Italian beef sandwich. I have to know if they're as good as advertised.

Rick Rodriguez Special to OnMilwaukee.com
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, and I plan to stay in Milwaukee forever. I'm the oldest of three children and grew up in the Riverwest neighborhood. My family still lives in the same Riverwest house since 1971.

I graduated from Rufus King High School and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a business degree.

My true passion for Milwaukee probably started after I joined the Young Professionals of Milwaukee (now called FUEL Milwaukee) which just celebrated its one year anniversary at the time. The events that I attended, and sometimes organized, really opened my eyes to what Milwaukee had to offer, as well as its potential for the future. So for the past, present, and future FUEL Milwaukee corporate sponsors out there, that organization does produce results (editorial)!

I love all of the Milwaukee Sports teams, professional and amateur. I love the Milwaukee arts scene and all of the festivals. I love that you can find a free concert in the summer just about every day of the week. I love the various neighborhoods around the Milwaukee area and the unique characteristics that they offer. I love the people who take the time to tell us about those unique characteristics. I have to hold my breath and count to ten when someone tells me that there is nothing to do in Milwaukee. Then I prove them wrong.

Most of all, I love the Milwaukee dining scene. I love how it continues to evolve with modern dishes and new trends while the classic restaurants continue to remind us that great food doesn't have to be "fancy schmancy." However, I also love the chefs that create the "fancy schmancy" dishes and continue to challenge themselves and Milwaukee diners with dishes we've never seen before.

Our media provides attention to the new restaurants, which is great, but I don't like seeing the older great restaurants close their doors (Don Quijote, African Hut) because they've been forgotten, so I try to do my part to let Milwaukeeans know that they're still out there, too. I do that through social media, online reviews, and a dinner club I run for my friends, where we visit restaurants they haven't heard of before or try ethnic cuisine they haven't had before.

My dream is that one day I can mention a great experience in Milwaukee and not have someone respond with "have you been to Chicago?" I don't like those people very much.