Nancy and Charles Frankulin invite you to check out their Buffalo chicken and other hand-tossed pizzas and homemade Italian specialties. (Photo by Charmaine George)

I consider Bosco’s Italian-to-Go owners Nancy and Charles Frankulin to be my friends, even though they know that because their thin-crust pizza is made “Detroit style,” or on a conveyor belt oven, instead of on a traditional New York-style stone, their pizza is never going to finish at the top of my list of local favorites. 

Even so, I give them high marks for quality ingredients (I do love the taste of their pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese), super-fair prices and for being quality people who genuinely care about their community.

These Wesley Chapel High graduates have seen a lot of local pizza places come and go in their nearly five years since taking over the Bosco’s location in the Freedom Plaza on S.R. 54 from original owner David Bosco.

And, while many more restaurants failed because of the Covid-19 pandemic the last year+, Bosco’s has maintained its clientele and has continued to deliver (more on that below) its Italian fare to more and more people in every community in Wesley Chapel.    

Plenty Of Favorites… 

I do want to make it clear that although Bosco’s isn’t my favorite pizza locally, there are plenty of options on their menu that I do genuinely enjoy. 

First of all, the pepperoni on the hand-tossed pizza (above) is delicious, and I also like their plain cheese and “meat feast” pizzas (the latter with pepperoni, Italian sausage and bacon). Photographer Charmaine George, who took all of the photos on this page, said the Buffalo chicken pizza had just the right amount of spice and there also are veggie, “Honolulu pineapple,” white winter spinach and chicken Alfredo pizzas on the menu, starting as low as $11.50 for a 14” plain cheese and going up to no more than $20.99 for the 18” meat feast and “Works” pizzas.

I also genuinely like Bosco’s crispy, naked baked chicken wings (I get them plain, as shown below, with the sauce on the side; 8 wings for $7.99, 16 for $14.99 and 40 for $35.99), the sides of homemade meatballs or sausage ($3.39), the chicken Alfredo pasta dinner ($8.49) and especially, the chicken parmigiana dinner ($8.99, it also comes with pasta) and hot sub sandwich ($8.49). The cut-up strips of chicken parm aren’t breaded, and the thicker tomato sauce is extra zesty, so you can enjoy the entrée even if you’re on a low-carb diet (although you’ll probably want to try it with one of Bosco’s fresh salads instead of the pasta if you’re keto-ing). 

As for the subs, the bread does come out with a crispy edge, so I do recommend not only the chicken parm, but also the meatball ($8.49) and sweet Italian sausage (with onions and peppers) subs (also $8.49). There also are cold Italian ($8.49) and ham and cheese ($7.49) subs that Nancy says are very popular but I haven’t tried. All of Bosco’s subs come with a bag of chips and a can of soda, too.

Speaking of salads, Bosco’s has a very tasty Greek salad, with olives, feta cheese and banana peppers ($8.99), as well as Caesar ($6.49), chicken Caesar ($8.99), grilled chicken or chicken tender salads (both are $8.49) and an antipasto salad ($8.99) I’ve never sampled.

I do also like Bosco’s garlic bread sticks ($4.99) and garlic cheesy bread sticks ($5.99), as well as the lasagne ($9.49), baked ziti ($7.99) and stuffed shells ($8.49). All dinners are served with a small salad and garlic knots. I’ve also never tried include calzones (with one topping of your choice, ricotta and mozzarella, for $11.49), strombolis (stuffed with 3 Italian meats & 3 Italian cheeses for $12.99). Add $1.75 for each additional topping with your calzone or stromboli. 

Save room for dessert, as Bosco’s offers hand-piped cannolis ($3.39) and delicious CinnaStix ($5.50). “There’s a baker in New Port Richey who provides our cheesecake ($3.39), tiramisu ($3.99) and cannolis,” Charles says.

Helping Those In Need

Charles and Nancy also enjoy doing their part to help the local community, as they have done school supplies drives in years past and now have a small food pantry on at Bosco’s to help local residents in need.

“We collect non-perishable food items and offer them to anyone in the community who says they need help, no questions asked,” Nancy says. “There is no stigma here. We’ve only been collecting items for a few months, but already have had a lot of locals thanking us for the help.”

Bosco’s also provides its own pizza delivery, instead of using Grubhub, Uber Eats or other delivery services. “We deliver to all of Wesley Chapel,” Charles says proudly. 

Bosco’s Italian-to-Go is located at 30122 S.R. 54 and is open Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. For more information, call (813) 907-2440 or visit BoscosItalianFL.com.

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