DaVinci’s Ristorante in Anderson, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: DaVinci’s Ristorante

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: http://www.davincisusa.com/

Location: 307 E. Greenville St. in Anderson, SC

Date of Review Visit: December 5, 2012

What I Ordered: Small (12’’) pan pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $11.53 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: DaVinci’s offers 3 styles of crust: pan, traditional, and thin, all at the same price.  I like thick crust, so I always order pan unless I plan to microwave leftovers later (the thick crust does not microwave well).  The pan crust is gold and crunchy on the outside but chewy on the inside, as it should be.  Pick a crust to suit your preference: you won’t hardly go wrong.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: The sauce layer is quite thin, and therefore the pizza is slightly undersauced.  The sauce has a sweet taste but not overly sweet like Papa John’s.  The sauce also contains some bits of tomato peel.  This can be the mark of a good (fresh) sauce, but I have a personal preference against them.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The pizza is undercheesed only in the sense that the cheese does not go to the edge of the sauce, much less the pizza.  The quality and taste of the cheese are good.  Sprinkling on some parmesan cheese provided on the table adds some real flavor.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: Sausage and pepperoni is a classic combination, but rarely have I seen it work as well as it does here.  Both meats have enough spicing to give them zest but not enough to be overpowering.  I know from experience the ham is very good too.  Score: 10/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza’s appearance is quite good, the only detraction being the ring of sauce outside the cheese.  The Italian-language music they usually play in the dining room makes for a compelling atmosphere, and I have never had a problem with the service.  Score: 8/10.

Value: This is not cheap pizza a la Little Caesars or Cici’s, but this is very good quality pizza for medium price.  Therefore, it represents good value.  Score: 8/10

Taste: The quality of the toppings is what really sets the taste apart here: they turn what would otherwise be an above average pizza into one that is just shy of the best.  Score: 17/20

The Final Judgment:

Offering very good pizza at a reasonable price, DaVinci’s is one of my favorite pizza restaurants in Anderson.  Stop here once and you will probably see why.  Score: 67/80