Angelo's Italian Restaurant in Kingsland, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Angelo's Italian Restaurant
Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 1371 Highway 40 East (1st traffic light east of I-95, exit 3)
Website: https://www.angelositalianrestaurantga.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2023
What I Ordered: large (16") pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $21.16 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on Angelo's Italian Restaurant's pizza has a crispy texture with medium thickness.  I could taste the freshness in this crust.  Unfortunately, my pizza was also slightly overbaked.  I would have really liked this crust if it were not overbaked.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a thick texture with a nice tomatoey taste.  It appears in high quantity.  The pizza tastes spicy due to spices they sprinkle on top of pizza, not due to the sauce as with many pizzas.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese is 100% mozzarella.  The taste is a little bland, but it appears in adequate quantity and leaves very little grease.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in tiny crumbles and adds no independent flavor.  Likewise the pepperoni adds a little spice but nothing else.  Both toppings appear in only adequate quantity.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: The spices sprinkled on top of the pizza combined with the spiciness of the sausage and pepperoni overwhelmed my taste palette.  It is just too much spiciness for me.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks like what it is: a medium-thickness crust pizza with too many spices on top.

Dining Atmosphere: Angelo's Italian Restaurant has a small homey dining area that was quite crowded when I came here on a Friday afternoon.

Customer Service: The service was pretty quick considering they were busy.

Monetary Value: The price seems a little high, but this is a quality 16" pizza with a drink, so the value grades out better than you might initially think.

The Final Judgment:

Angelo's Italian Restaurant would win my golden oven pizza award with some better toppings and fewer spices to cover up the other flavors.  I still like it better than OPS Pizza Kitchen across the street, and I see why this restaurant is so popular.  Score: 81/100.

OPS Pizza Kitchen and Cafe in Kingsland, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: OPS Pizza Kitchen and Cafe

Number of Locations: 3, all in northeast Florida or southeast Georgia)

Location Reviewed: 1378 Boone Ave. in Kingsland, GA (just east of I-95 exit 3)

Website: https://www.opspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: December 2018

What I Ordered: Personal pizza (10”) with pepperoni and sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $12.40 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: OPS bills its pizza as a New York style thin crust pizza, but while the crust is indeed thin the pizza looks and tastes more like a wood-fired pizza.  The thin crust has a nice crispy texture.  Only a lack of flavor leads to a minor deduction.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza has almost no sauce, which is typical for a New York style pizza.  What little sauce it does have tastes slightly spicy almost like salsa.  This is not my favorite style of sauce.  Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in high quantity and does not produce much grease.  The 100% mozzarella cheese “blend” also does not have much flavor.  Even sprinkling on some parmesan helps only a little.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in decent quantity, but that’s where the good news ends.  The sausage is slightly spicy but comes in flavorless tiny ground chunks.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices and is also fairly flavorless.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is rather lackluster, as nothing really adds any distinct flavor.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a solid appearance with an even cut.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining atmosphere resembles a sports bar with lots of TV’s big and small tuned to sports programming and 80’s rock music blaring through the speakers.

Customer Service: The service was attentive and fine.

Monetary Value: The price is fairly expensive for a 10” pizza, and the quality is not that great.  Therefore, the value is not that great.

The Final Judgment:

A decent regional pizza option but nothing more, OPS is OK in my book (but only OK).  Score: 69/100.

New York Pizza in Hartwell, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: New York Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 105 W. Franklin Street in Hartwell, GA

Website: https://www.newyorkpizzahartwell.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2018

What I Ordered: large (16”) pizza with sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $16.88 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The Hartwell, GA version of New York Pizza (aside: every town seems to have a pizza place called New York Pizza) has a nice fluffy crust with a fresh bready taste.  The crust is thicker than you would expect for a New York style pizza, and overall I like it even if it is not very New York-like.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have much sauce, but what sauce there is has a nice tomatoey taste and a thick consistency.  On the down side, I found pieces of tomato peel in my sauce, and I don’t like finding pieces of anything in my sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in good quantity, and it doesn’t produce much grease.  I have eaten pizza cheese that has more flavor, though.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage is applied in very low quantity, and it appears in tiny bits.  What sausage does appear has decent flavor with only a little bit of spice.  Still, this area really needs to be better.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is fairly bland, held back mainly by the scant amount of sausage.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a fairly bland appearance, which is mainly a result of the lack of toppings.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area has a nice atmosphere with some TV’s for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service was fine.

Monetary Value: Before you balk at the price, keep in mind that I ordered a 16” pizza, and it fed two people, not one like most of my pizza endeavors.  That considered, average price plus above average quality equals above average value.

The Final Judgment:

New York Pizza, Hartwell, GA version is a solid if unremarkable pizza place.  I would come here again.  Score: 80/100.

Papa's Pizza-to-Go

Basic Information:

Pizza: Papa’s Pizza-to-Go

Number of Locations: about 20 locations across 4 states

Location Reviewed: 3064 US Highway 76 in Hiawassee, GA

Website: https://papaspizzatogo.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2017

What I Ordered: Small Piggystix (cheese bread with bacon topping); medium fountain drink

Price: $9.33

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Summary Review: 2 stars (out of 5)

The Macro:

Crust: Not to be confused with the big national chain Papa John’s, the crust at Papa’s Pizza-to-Go comes in medium thickness.  This chain used to have a location near my home in Athens, GA, and I used to order the Piggystix regularly because I thought it was their best product. (Aside: I also liked their Hundred Pounder pizza: 100 slices of pepperoni and a pound of cheese on an 18” crust.  Unfortunately, I had nowhere to store the leftovers from such a pizza on this visit.)  My Piggystix were baked the perfect amount.  The crust is fresh, but it has no other real distinctive.  This crust is not offensive but not commendable either.  Score: 5/10.

Sauce: For the Piggystix, the tomato sauce comes on the side for dipping.  The sauce is not overspiced, and overall it has a nice tomatoey taste and a nice thick consistency.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The Piggystix are somewhat undercheesed, and what cheese there is has little flavor.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The bacon used to come in nice juicy chunks, but now it comes in thin too-crispy pieces that have little flavor.  The bacon appears in decent but not stellar quantity.  Score: 4/10.

Overall Taste: I used to eat the Piggystix all the time and enjoy them, but the thin crispy bacon makes the taste very pedestrian now.  Score: 5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The Piggystix have a somewhat bare appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Most Papa’s Pizza-to-Go locations have no frills sit-down dining areas, though the drive-up window is a nice convenient touch.  The lake view from the hillside Hiawassee location adds some scenery to the dining area.

Customer Service: The service is counter service, and it was fine on my visit.

Monetary Value: Below-average quality plus below-average price equals average value.

The Final Judgment:

Papa’s Pizza-to-Go’s Athens location closed almost a decade ago, and the quality this pizza exhibits today makes it easy to see why.  Most people can find better pizza elsewhere.  Score: 62/100.

Nacoochee Village Tavern and Pizzeria in Helen, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Nacoochee Village Tavern and Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 7275 South Main Street in Helen, GA

Website: http://villagetavernpizza.com/wp/

Date of Review Visit: May 2017

What I Ordered: 12” The Carnivore pizza; Coke to drink

Price: $17.21 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Nacoochee Village’s crust is thinner than average, but it still has some body.  The crust has a nice crispy-but-chewy texture. Overall, this crust is not the best ever, but I like it.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce has fresh tomatoey taste.  The sauce’s consistency is a little thin, but it is applied in just the right amount.  The sauce is probably the strength of this pizza.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: This pizza is somewhat undercheesed, and what cheese does exist seems to be bland 100% mozzarella.  The cheese also produces a decent amount of grease.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: All-meat pizzas usually shine on the toppings criterion, but Nacoochee Village really falls flat.  The sausage, meatball, and ham toppings add a little spice but nothing more.  Only the pepperoni stands out: it is tasty with just a smidge of spiciness, but it comes in small thin slices.  In hindsight, I would keep the pepperoni and lose the other toppings, thereby ordering a one-topping pepperoni pizza.  On the bright side, all toppings do appear in good quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: The spiciness from all of the toppings really overpowers everything else.  Some odd shreds of basil scattered atop the pizza only add to the herby/spicy taste, and they add to it quite a bit.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The toppings dominate the pizza’s appearance, as you would expect for an all-meats pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has some unique stump-like tables, and true to the tavern in its name alcoholic beverages take center stage on the menu.

Customer Service: The service was OK but somewhat slow and unhelpful in ordering.

Monetary Value: You can tell that Helen is a tourist town, because even for a 12” all-meats pizza this pizza is very overpriced.  If you are on any kind of a budget, go anywhere but here.

The Final Judgment:

Nacoochee Village’s pizza is unique and different, so I can see why some people would like it even though it does not suit my palette.  Score: 70/100.

Peppino's Pizza in Athens, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Peppino’s Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 950 Whitehall Road in Athens, GA (corner of Milledge Ave. and Whitehall Rd.)

Website: https://peppinos.wixsite.com/athens

Date of Review Visit: November 2015

What I Ordered: 1 slice of pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $5.50

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Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Peppino’s Pizza comes in the very thin New York style with only a narrow thick area around the edges.  I couldn’t taste (or hardly even find) the crust under the pizza, but the crust around the edge had a decent well-baked bready taste.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: This is an odd situation.  The pizza is very undersauced, but what sauce there is has a nice tomatoey taste.  Unfortunately, the sauce is probably the strength of this pizza.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in average quantity, but it produces a lot of grease.  Sprinkling on some parmesan slightly improves what is a rather bland taste.  Overall, this cheese is pretty bad.  Score: 3/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in good quantity.  The pepperoni slices are very thin; they have a little spice but no real flavor.  The sausage is tastier than the pepperoni, and it appears to be freshly sliced.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: The super thin crust ensures that this pizza has little substance, and the bad cheese really hurts the overall taste.  There are worse-tasting pizzas around, but this one is far from the best.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: Peppino’s Pizza looks like the cheaply made college town pizza that it is.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has a nice casual atmosphere with booths and TV’s.

Customer Service: The restaurant has counter service, and the service worked fine on my visit.

Monetary Value: For only 1 slice of medium-quality pizza, the price is actually fairly high.  Thus, there is no real value to be found here at all.

The Final Judgment:

For a quick single slice snack, Peppino’s Pizza is passable, but there are far better pizza options in Athens.  Score: 66/100.

Amici Cafe in Georgia

Basic Information:

Pizza: Amici Cafe

Number of Locations: 13 across 2 states; based in Madison, GA

Location Reviewed: 233 E. Clayton St. in downtown Athens, GA (1 block from UGA)

Website: https://amici-cafe.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 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)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

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.

Overall 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: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is excellent, especially with the parmesan cheese sprinkled on.

Dining Atmosphere: 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.

Customer Service: The service was attentive and excellent.

Monetary Value: Amici makes good quality pizza, but it is also pretty expensive.  $2 per meat topping for a small pizza adds up quickly.

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: 82/100.

Mama G's Italian Restaurant in Clayton, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Mama G’s Italian Restaurant

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 777 US 441 South in Clayton, GA (just south of US 76)

Website: https://loveisgoodfood.net/

Date of Review Visit: February 2014

What I Ordered: Small (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Mello Yellow to drink

Price: $12.52 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Mama G’s is the not-too-thick not-too-thin hand-tossed variety.  I am a thick-crust pizza fan who also sees the value in a thin, crispy crust.  The middle-of-the-road style is probably my least favorite, and the rather pedestrian qualities possessed by this crust did not improve its standing in my book.  On the bright side, the pizza is almost perfectly baked, and some shreds of cheese end up baked on the crust.  Overall, this crust is not bad, but it is a rather ordinary crust that gives the pizza a rather ordinary character.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in good quantity, but it has too many herbs and spices for my taste palette.  I ended up tasting only the spices and not the sauce.  A little more delicacy is in order, in my view.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese comes in good quantity and quality.  The cheese blend is slightly bland unless you sprinkle on some parmesan provided on the tables.  Then again, given the overspicing of the sauce, blandness in another category may not be so bad.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni is OK but nothing special.  The sausage, on the other hand, is excellent: it appears to be hand-sliced.  Both toppings appear in good quantity and have the right amount of spiciness.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The crust holds this category back, but everything else works together pretty well.  The quality of the sausage really helps.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a balanced appearance with a nice golden-brown color.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area is rustic and functional with lots of decorations (too many, in my opinion) on the wall. Some TV’s give a sports bar feel, and live entertainment on selected summer nights adds to the energy.

Customer Service: The service is quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: $12.52 for a 10” pizza and drink is quite steep.  The quality is good but not that good.

The Final Judgment:

I stop at Mama G’s rather often when I am hiking in the north Georgia mountains.  This restaurant is a good if somewhat pricey option to satisfy your pizza hunger.  Score: 79/100.

Gondolier Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Gondolier Pizza

Number of Locations: 19 locations across 4 states; based in Cleveland, TN

Location Reviewed: 6901 Lee Highway in Chattanooga, TN

Website: https://gondolierpizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: October 2013

What I Ordered: 2 small pizzas, 1 with sausage and pepperoni, and 1 with sausage and onions

Price: $11.84 (includes tax but not drink)

Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust is a nice, thick crust baked to a perfect golden brown.  The crust does not have a lot of taste, but it does its job without being bulky or distasteful.  This is not the best crust ever, but it is pretty good.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: You hardly notice the sauce thanks to all the cheese (see below), but that is not because the pizza is undersauced.  The sauce does not have a strong taste, and even though it may do little to add to the pizza, it certainly does nothing to detract from it.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: This is probably not the tastiest blend of cheese I have ever eaten, but the quantity more than makes up for any blandness.  The cheese covers the pizza from crust to crust with a thick layer of off-white goodness.  Memo to the national chains: this how you cheese a pizza.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: As good as the cheese is, the toppings are almost as bad.  The sausage appears as tiny ground balls, and the thin slices of pepperoni add only a little flavor.  The quantity is decent but not excellent.  There is room for improvement here. Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: The cheese and crust make a nice combination, but the taste of this pizza is held back by the quality of the toppings.  I do like the taste of this pizza, but it could be better. Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The appearance of the pizza is satisfactory except that the cheese looks too white to me.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has a casual family atmosphere with big screen TV’s.

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: Now here’s an odd case.  Gondolier sells their pizzas buy-one-get-one free.  If you only buy 1 pizza, the value is probably average at best.  Buy two and the value/quality ratio starts to tip in your favor.  Thus, you should bring a friend or take one home for tomorrow whenever you come to Gondolier.

The Final Judgment:

Gondolier makes a pretty good pizza, and it is significantly better than the national chains.  I will come here again the next time I am in the Chattanooga area.  Score: 84/100.

Paparonni’s Pizza in Danielsville, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Paparonni’s Pizza (pronounced PAW-PAW-RAW-KNEE)

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 200 Gen. Daniel Ave. N. in Danielsville, GA

Website: https://paparonnis.com/

Date of Review Visit: February 2013

What I Ordered: Small (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; 0.5 liter Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $8.54 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on this pizza has some good qualities.  It is not too thick and not too thin.  It has good consistency.  The taste is quite good at first, but the more I ate the more I noticed a salty taste that seemed to be due to the crust.  I will revisit the saltiness in the “taste” criteria, but overall this crust grades out pretty well.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a good, fresh taste, and it appears in good quantity.  The company Paparonni’s buys its sauce from is advertised on the walls of the dining room: it is based in California.  This sauce is among the better sauces I have ever tasted.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese is quite good here as well, both in terms of taste and quantity.  The cheese under the top layer comes out in small chunks because it never completely melts.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: Unfortunately, this is not the strength of this pizza.  The sausage is small processed balls with plenty of spices but little flavor.  The pepperoni is only a little better: the taste is passable, but the slices are thin and greasy.  Score: 5/10

Overall Taste: The salty taste is somewhat prevalent, but it is not as bad as Pizza Hut.  The toppings are quite a shame because everything else works together pretty well.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has pleasant symmetrical appearance, but it is served in a box even if you dine in.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room is purely functional and needs some sprucing up, especially the old ugly carpet.  On the bright side, Sirius XM’s The Message is played over the speakers in the dining room.

Customer Service:  I have never had a problem with the service.

Monetary Value: The price is low and the quality is rather good, but this is only a 10” pizza.  Exceptional value would demand this be a 12” pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Paparonni’s website says they want to make the best pizza you have ever eaten.  While it is not the best pizza I have ever eaten, it is pretty good.  Paparonni’s is worth a short drive to Danielsville.  Score: 84/100

DePalma’s Italian Cafe in Athens, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: DePalma’s Italian Cafe

Number of Locations: 3, all near Athens, GA

Location Reviewed: 1965 Barnett Shoals Road in Athens, GA

Website: https://depalmasitaliancafe.com/

Date of Review Visit: January 2013

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

Price: $15.52 (includes tax but not drink)

Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Overall 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 parts as detailed above, the overall taste produced by this pizza is quite a surprising accomplishment.

Pizza Appearance: The large bland outer crust and bare spots of sauce look unappetizing even though they are not.

Dining Atmosphere: DePalma's has a nice dining atmosphere that has a touch of class.

Customer Service:  The service at DePalma’s is quick and attentive.

Monetary 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.

The Final Judgment:

This is my favorite pizza restaurant in Athens.  The fact that a score in the low 80’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: 83/100