DePalma’s Italian Cafe in Athens, GA

The Facts:

Pizza: DePalma’s Italian Cafe

Business Category: Locally-owned (3 locations, all near Athens, GA)

Website: http://depalmasitaliancafe.com/

Location: 1965 Barnett Shoals Rd. in Athens, GA

Date of Review Visit: January 13, 2013

What I Ordered: Large (18”) pizza with sausage

Price: $15.52 (includes tax but not drink)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust on this pizza is large and chewy.  It does not have much taste, but some corn meal baked into the bottom adds a little flavor.  This crust is not a disaster, but I have certainly eaten better.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: This pizza is well-sauced in terms of quantity.  You can see and taste the Italian herbs and spices in the sauce, but they do not overpower the taste buds.  Overall, this is a good sauce.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: The pizza is slightly undercheesed, as evidenced by the bare spots of sauce in a few areas.  However, in other areas the cheese actually gets baked into the outer crust, so undercheesing is not a serious problem here.  Even better, the cheese has low grease and good taste even before sprinkling any parmesan cheese on the top.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The toppings are sufficient in quantity.  The sausage in particular comes in large hand-cut slices.  The sausage is a little spicy, but that is expected for good Italian sausage.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The large bland outer crust and bare spots of sauce look unappetizing even though they are not.  The service at DePalma’s is excellent, as is the atmosphere in the dining room.  Score: 7/10.

Value: The price looks expensive, but this is a good quality 18” pizza, not the 16” or 14” that is normally called a “large” pizza.  Thus, this pizza does not score as poorly here as you might expect. Score: 7/10

Taste: This is a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Everything blends together very well; no part really stands out.  Given some of the not-so-great scores in “The Micro,” the taste produced by this pizza is quite a surprising accomplishment. Score: 17/20

The Final Judgment:

This is my favorite pizza restaurant in Athens.  The fact that a score in the low 60’s can claim that title speaks somewhat of the poor state of pizza in the Classic City.  Be that as it may, this pizza is the best around, and for that it deserves credit.  Score: 63/80