The Facts:
Pizza: Amici Cafe
Business Category: Regional Chain (7 locations, all in
eastern GA)
Website: http://amici-cafe.com/
Location: 233 E. Clayton St.
in downtown Athens , GA
Date of Review Visit: March
7, 2015
What I Ordered: Small (11”) pizza with pepperoni and Italian
sausage; Mr. Pibb to drink
Price: $15.04 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
The Micro:
Crust: The crust on this pizza is kind of unusual: it is a
half-inch thick around the edge but very thin underneath the toppings. The crust reminds me of a Chicago-style
butter crust except that it has no butter taste. Instead, Amici’s crust has a fresh bready
taste that I like quite a lot. Score:
8/10.
Sauce: The sauce is spiced just the right amount, enough so
that you can taste the spices but not so much that they overpower the tomato
taste. The sauce appears in plenty of
quantity. Overall, this is a fantastic
sauce. Score: 10/10.
Cheese: The cheese on this pizza has an average, bland taste
except for the parmesan cheese, which really brings the cheese blend
alive. They sprinkle on some parmesan
for you, but you can add more using the shakers on the table if you see
fit. The cheese emits some grease but
does not peg the grease meter like the poorer quality cheeses. Score: 8/10.
Toppings: The pepperoni and Italian sausage appear in slightly
above average quantity, but both meats taste pretty bland. The toppings do not offend too badly, but I
have definitely eaten better toppings elsewhere. Score: 6/10.
The Macro:
Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza’s appearance is excellent,
especially with the parmesan cheese sprinkled on. The dining room has a downtown packed-in atmosphere
with some TV’s tuned to sporting events, as they should be in a college town. The service was also attentive and excellent. Score: 9/10.
Value: Amici makes good quality pizza, but it is also pretty
expensive. $2 per meat topping for a
small pizza adds up quickly. Score: 4/10.
Taste: Everything comes together pretty well here. The sauce and parmesan cheese really stand
out on the taste palette. But for some
better-tasting toppings this score would be even higher. Score: 17/20.
The Final Judgment:
I first found Amici Café several years ago as a UGA
student. Among downtown Athens pizza
places, I like Mellow Mushroom and DePalma’s,
both of which have locations less than 2 blocks away, a little more, but Amici
is slightly better than Your Pie and far better than Little Italy.
Amici is worthy of a regular spot in your dine-out pizza rotation. Score: 62/80.
