One of the benefits of being the Pizza Snob is that everyone wants to take you to a pizza place that they have discovered. My latest such encounter was courtesy of my in-laws (Bud and Ally) in Texas. On my last visit there, they couldn’t wait to take me to Campisi’s Pizza in Fort Worth. The story goes that Bud and Ally had their first date at Campisi’s original “Egyptian Lounge” in Dallas, nigh 57 years ago. Bud told me that as a youngster, the Lounge was a place where you could get a beer as long as you were tall enough to put your quarter up on the bar!

Campisi’s lays claim to introducing pizza to Texas back in 1946.  It now has nine locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After church on Fathers’ Day, we headed to their newest one on Fort Worth’s main drag, Camp Bowie Boulevard. The place is more of a full-scale fine dining Italian restaurant than a pizza joint with nice comfortable seating both indoors and out.   Its walls were covered with old photos and several amplified print excerpts. These writings on the wall made it no secret that the original owners were well-connected with the Mafia. Even Jack Ruby, killer of Kennedy’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, was one of their notorious patrons.

Our group decided we would order full meals and sample their pizza collectively as an appetizer. We opted for their large cheese with half pepperoni. Described as “16×10, Serves 3 for $11.95,” I was puzzled for a minute by the measurements until I spotted that their pies were oval and not round.  By now you know how The Snob feels about pizza tradition, and an oval pie sliced into strips just doesn’t cut it.  It’s just too sloppy and unorthodox to pick up and eat. I can’t imagine a true New York mobster would let them get away with this!

It turned out, however, that this was one of the only major complaints I had about Campisi’s pie.  The crust was thin and in no ways like a rectangular Sicilian. Despite its shape, it was prepared and cooked expertly. The crunchy crust was blackened on both the ends and the bottom. It was a tad bit flakier than it was chewy but nonetheless quite tasty. The cheese and sauce were both fresh-tasting although the cheese had a slightly different taste than the classic mozzarella. The overall conclusion at our table was that it was delicious.

It was a great Fathers’ Day treat for the Pizza Snob, one that I would not hesitate to repeat. Aside from pizza, everything else we had was equally as fabulous. Just maybe someday they will learn that God intended for pizza to be round!

PIZZA SNOB RATING     **** Near Perfection

Campisi’s Pizza
6150 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX   76116
817-916-4561
www.campisis.us

Having free time in a different town sends a consistent message to the Pizza Snob’s brain: “Find  pizza!”

It was a stinkin’ hot Texas afternoon, and with some time to kill I searched for a fast slice. My iPhone quickly indicated I was close to Joe’s Pizza & Pasta on Bryant Irvin Road. Of course, being in Fort Worth it was no surprise to me that the place was named Joe’s.  The map app tried its best to mess me up by sending me to North Bryant Irvin Road instead of South despite my not having entered any distinction in the address.

No surprise either that I found this Joe’s situated in a strip center since that’s all this area of Fort Worth seems to be—an endless sea of small shopping centers. The place itself was familiar as well. I immediately recognized it to be a place I visited a few years ago at Christmas time. My recollection was good, so my hopes were high about getting a good, quick slice before my scheduled late afternoon pizza dinner with my father-in-law.

Joe’s works from a fairly good-sized room of tables and chairs and offers a rather full Italian menu. As expected though, it was pretty dead at 1:30 on a mid-week afternoon. The curtains were drawn to keep out the hot Texas sun, and the staff was busy watching a “non-American” football game on the telly. (I hate the word soccer). I ordered a single cheese slice for $2.50, and their five-buck credit card minimum made me pull some cash out of my wallet. My future slice was waiting there for me with a few of its friends in a state of about 75% cooked. The server tossed it into the CPO (conventional pizza oven) while I waited at a table in hopes of maybe seeing someone score a goal.

It didn’t take long for my slice to cook, and it served up looking pretty good–hot and firm. However, I did notice that the cheese was not melted consistently throughout the slice. It folded nicely and went down fast. Had I not needed to save my appetite for my next stop, I would have had another for sure. Hot, crispy and chewy were the words that best described it. Underneath it all, though, it wasn’t really anything that special. It leaned towards bland. Perhaps a fresher slice or my use of the table condiments would have gotten Joe’s a better score from the Snob.  But I’m a purist, so I want it to be tasty without doctoring it up.

Nonetheless, if I ever find myself on a Forth Worth shopping trip with the family, you just might see me sneak away to this Joe’s for a slice.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *** ½ Working on a Good Thing

Joe’s Pizza & Pasta
4750 Bryant Irvin Road
Fort Worth, TX 76132
817-263-1133
[no website]

Mrs. Pie first told me about Fort Worth’s Mama’s Pizza back in the 80’s when we lived in the Lone Star State. She reminisced about loving their Hamburger Pizza in her high school days. That was a time when I didn’t trust eating any pizza in a Zip Code that didn’t start with a zero. And, as most of us already know, hamburger just doesn’t belong on a pizza. So, in all those years I never visited Mama’s. On my last trip to Texas I tried this place after discovering it had received many accolades as Best Pizza in Fort Worth.

In business since 1968, there are now eight Mama’s locations in the greater Fort Worth area. My father-in-law, Bud, and I paid a visit to one just after their lunch buffet shut down. We went to their Camp Bowie location which sits curbside in a strip center on the west end of the boulevard. Mama’s offers pizza, salads and subs from a large spacious room with plenty of table seating. There were a few old video games present, and the walls were covered with Texas and cowboy artifacts.  Continuing with the Cowtown theme, the rest rooms were even labeled “Cowboy” and “Cowgirl.”

It’s an order at the counter place, and we summoned up a large 20-inch pie which set us back about twenty bucks. Advertised to have 16 slices, they turned out to be half-slices by classic standards. Taking my suggestion passed down from his daughter, Bud put in a request for half-hamburger. I started out with a rather disappointing salad covered with chicken that tasted like yucky deli meat.

The pie arrived rather quickly and at first glance was a total disaster. It looked like nothing more than a slimy, greasy blob of strange white-looking cheese (where was the tomato sauce?) sitting on a bed of puffy dough. The oversized end crust carried a sheen that made it look like a pretzel. On the bottom there were greasy grill marks more akin to a Mexican quesadilla than a pizza.

As expected, this over-cheesed and over-doughed mess didn’t taste any better than it looked. It was a dismal excuse for pizza—undercooked, soggy and floppy. The slices could not even be picked up to eat. The cheese was unusual and tasteless to say the least. Bud even said the hamburger tasted like it came out of a box. Finding little redeeming value in our pie, we wound up leaving more than we ate.

Our adventure just goes to show that you need to be careful what people who haven’t tasted real pizza consider to be the best. Later hearing of our ordeal, Ms. Pie said that it was better back in the day.   As for the best pizza in Cowtown–I’d rather take a mediocre slice at one of the countless Joe’s joints or go upscale at Campisi’s any day.

On the drive home, we wondered why we even were bringing home our leftover slices. To add insult to injury, I later got a traffic ticket in the mail when a camera caught me running a “yellow” light on Camp Bowie. The Pizza Snob has had better days than this one.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *1/2 Thinking About the Trash Can

Mama’s Pizza
5800 Camp Bowie
Fort Worth, TX 76107
817-731-MAMA
www.mamaspizzas.net

The Snob as his alter ego, Music City Mike, and The Kid made their second annual trek to Louisville to spend a weekend at the incredible Forecastle Music Festival.  While the music scene in this great city never disappoints, The Pizza Snob still struggles to find good pizza there.

We usually spend our days in hip Bardstown Road’s coffee shops, restaurants, and shops. This Saturday afternoon, we visited the BoomBozz Taphouse location on Bardstown Road for lunch.  BoomBozz began in 1998 as a single local joint called Tony BoomBozz Pizzeria. There are now two BoomBozz Taphouse locations in Louisville plus ones in Arizona and Indiana. According to their website you can plunk down 30 large for franchise rights to their recent reinvention.

Set back a bit from the street, the place is located in a free-standing, newly remodeled brick building. There was table seating both inside and out in addition to an extended bar and an enclosed party room. Nice digs. It was obvious at first glance that Tony’s one-time pizza joint morphed into an upscale sports bar that also serves pizza. Unfortunately, in the process they traded in a classic pizza joint name for a rather lame one.

The Taphouse menu is pizza-centric.  They offer their pizza in four types of crust (traditional, thin, wheat, or gluten-free). Noticing what was being delivered to some other tables, the Snob balked at their interpretation of tradition and went for the thin.  Besides also peddling their beers, they serve some appetizers, salads, subs and a limited pasta menu.

Although slices were not on the menu, we were told they were available. Since the Kid said he wasn’t too hungry we decided to go for slices and salads. When I asked how big they were the waitress simply said “pretty.” Stalling on whether to order one or two, she said it didn’t matter since they would be making a whole pie anyway.

Maybe it’s a Louisville thing, but the slices came out as “double-wides” much like we had the year before at Papalino’s. They were a real bargain at only $2.99 each, and adding a side salad to qualify for the lunchtime special, the price totaled a mere $4.49. (Must be big money in selling beer.)

The slices looked nice and thin like they were advertised with an obvious sprinkling of parm and a few scant basil leaves atop the mootz. While the slice was fresh and tasty–notably the oil and tomato sauce– it failed miserably at the crispness test. It was chewy without any crunch, and my slice had no support at all. I really couldn’t tell whether cooking it more would have improved it, or if the issue was the makeup of the crust. I first thought about cutting it in half, but finally settled on folding it over so I could stuff it in my mouth.

We left a bit disappointed taking away a nasty aftertaste from the parmesan add-on.   Driving back to Forecastle, the Kid summed it up best saying, “What did you expect from a sports bar?” The Snob’s search for great pizza in Louisville will have to continue.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *** Better than Dominos
BoomBozz Taphouse
1448 Bardstown Road (at Eastern Parkway)
Louisville, KY 40204
502-458-8889
www.boombozztaphouse.com

The news broke last November that Mississippi-based Soulshine Pizza Factory would be opening its first out-of state location in Nashville. This Pizza Snob had zero interest after looking at its menu and pizza photos on its website. Nothing classic or traditional about this place that offered only gourmet-style pies overloaded with toppings. Not that there is anything wrong with that–but that’s just not what the Snob likes in his pizza.

Soulshine built an impressive structure adding yet another lively bar and outdoor patio option for the young urban professionals in the newly resurging Midtown area. They even deserve high praise for their partnership with local radio station Lightning 100 to present local live music on a weekly basis. However, something is wrong when the menu doesn’t even have a plain cheese pizza on it. Like most things in life, even topping-abused pizza needs a good foundation to start with. Sadly, you won’t find one at Soulshine.

I really had no plans of ever eating at the place and made it there by accident. General Joe, my boss, grabbed me for lunch wanting to visit the new Two Boot pizza joint.  We got there only to find it wasn’t open for lunch yet, so we decided to mosey up the block to reluctantly give Soulshine a try.

Soulshine is certainly a nice, fun place decorated with some great portraits of famous Southern musicians. As for the menu, in addition to their fancy specialty pizzas with silly names, they offer some untraditional pizza joint appetizers, exotic calzones and po-boy sandwiches. I ordered the lunch special of soup or salad and an eight-inch pie for $8.99.  I had to go off-menu to ask for a plain cheese pie. The General went for a calzone, and our other guest went for some kind of goofy pie.

After seeing and tasting it, I was disappointed as expected. Suffering the most was its cracker-like, stiff and flakey crust that was totally devoid of any taste whatsoever. The tomato sauce and cheese were just plain and simple while the excessive oil layering came across as greasy rather than flavorful. The General said the calzone flunked as well.  The other guy didn’t like his goofy pie either.

­­If you happen to see me again at Soulshine, it will be to see an up and coming local band and not to eat their pizza. This is just not a place for a classic New York-style pizza seeker like the Snob.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     **1/2 Perhaps Not a Total Waste

Soulshine Pizza Factory
1907 Division St Nashville, TN 37212
Nashville, TN
615-401-9859
www.soulshinepizza.com

Original Review: 07/21/2012
Previous Rating: ***1/2 Working On A Good Thing

The Kid and I recently made a return visit to the Forecastle music festival in Louisville. Our adventure again gave us the opportunity to sample wares of the nomadic version of California’s Pie for the People. The end result was my realization that the first time out, I slightly under-estimated the quality of their tasty pizza.

We each had a festival-priced $5 plain cheese slice which actually had come down a buck from last year. Specialty slices such as the “Bowie” (thin and white like his “Thin White Duke” persona) were still $6.

Our slices came out fresh and hot after only three minutes in one of their travelling conventional pizza ovens. Their pie still remains somewhat un-classic with the cheese a little too bright-tasting, and the tomato sauce a little too light both in color and flavor. However, I give it high marks for its tasty delicious coating of oil and its “Triple-C” crust (crispy, crunchy and chewy).

Pie for the People was certainly one of the top food items available at the festival, and I look forward to going back next year to enjoy it again.

NEW PIZZA SNOB RATING     **** Near Perfection

Pie for the People
61740-B, 29 Palms Hwy
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
[And A Music Festival Near You]
760-366-0400
www.pieforthepeople.net

Original Review: 08/25/12
Previous Rating: ***** Near Perfection

I have nothing more to say other than that I mis-rated it the first time. Simply stated, Five Point Pizza makes a perfect slice of cheese pizza. The Snob has now made three follow-up visits, and each time I was served a flawless slice.

Since my first dinner time visit, I have learned about their great two-slice lunch special that includes a drink for $8. Be warned, the room is small, and you should expect to wait. If you find yourself in a hurry, you can usually find a seat at the bar to grab a quick slice or two.

The Five Points slice is a darn good one in the classic traditional sense. It has a perfect form that keeps it firmly at attention at all times. Even though the tomato sauce is light in color, it is still quite flavorful. Overall, everything about their slice is just right.

Although the Snob still thinks that Joey’s House of Pizza is the best that Music City has to offer, I predict that Five Points will repeat this year on top of the upcoming Nashville Scene’s Reader’s Poll as Best Pizza. It’s hip East Nashville location and expanded hours simply give it more visibility than Joey’s.

I never miss stopping by Five Points when I am in East Nashville.

NEW PIZZA SNOB RATING     ***** Sets the Standard

Five Points Pizza
1012 Woodland Street
Nashville, TN 37206
615-915-4174
www.fivepointspizza.com

Original Review: 08/01/12
Previous Rating: **** Near Perfection

My annual trip to ATL this summer made me realize one thing—the people in that town just don’t appreciate how good Fellini’s Pizza really is. It makes me cringe whenever it fails to be cited on local “best-of” lists. And, I sincerely apologize for not giving it the perfect score it deserved last year.

On this trip I visited my third of their seven locations. It is always refreshing to know that Fellini’s are open until midnight or 2:00 a.m. depending on the location. After a late evening out, I ventured to the Chandler Park one which sits in a new building a few blocks from the Little Five Points area.  Like the others I have been to, I was able to dine al fresco enjoying my two cheese slices outside on the patio that lovely summer night.

Tasting these delicious works of art, I realized that the Snob was a rookie rater when he evaluated Fellini’s over a year ago. No doubt in my mind now, these slices are perfect. Fresh and tasty, they were crafted just right, delightfully lavished with olive oil.

The Snob has many lofty goals when it comes to eating pizza around the USA. My newest one is to visit all seven Fellini’s locations.  They are three for three, so far.  I suspect that they will maintain this perfect score.

NEW PIZZA SNOB RATING     ***** Sets the Standard

Fellini’s Pizza
BUCKHEAD
2809 Peachtree Rd.
404-226-0882
PONCE DE LEON
909 Ponce de Leon Ave.
404-873-3088
CANDLER PARK
1634 McLendon Avenue
404-687-9190
Atlanta, GA
www.fellinisatlanta.com

Original Review: 09/05/12
Previous Rating: ***** Sets the Standard

Music City pizza-lovers need not worry. Joey’s House of Pizza is not losing its five-slice rating. The Pizza Snob just wanted to gloat and boast about how his home town has one of the best pizza joints in the USA. It seems that as of late I visit Joey’s on a regular basis, and my waistline is starting to show it. My weekly trips there have allowed me to introduce many friends and associates to the place. In turn, Joey’s daughter Stefany has introduced me to some of their wonderful specialty slices.

Joey’s specialty slices rotate a bit, and I usually find myself tempted to add one alongside my regular lunch order of two cheese slices and their “melt-in your mouth” chicken parm. Here are some of the recent ones I’ve tried.

Sicilian
Much known and loved in the New York area, and sometimes referred to as the “square,” the Sicilian puts the usual ingredients together a little differently. It addition to its shape, it is a half-inch thick with a light fluffy dough in between a crisp bottom and a cheesier base that sits atop the tomato sauce. It’s a real treat and the Snob recommends getting an end piece to enjoy the crispy end crusts.

Grandma
This name has been used in a number of different ways but Joey’s version is the classic one. Cut like a Sicilian, the Grandma is crispier, and employs the ingredients of the traditional Margarita slice:  a sparse use of cheese and tomato sauce, delicate seasoning and a topping of freshly-cut basil leaves. It’s a nice, lighter alternative to the Sicilian.

The Gladiator
This Joey’s creation is not for the timid. I have seen the Gladiator bring down many a good man and wipe out an entire afternoon of work due to its nap-inducing ability! It is a double-crusted wonder covered heavily with mozzarella cheese and deliciously stuffed with both pepperoni and sausage—a carnivore’s delight. Remember, I warned you.

Doctore
Another Joey’s invention, the Doctore won a special mention in the 2012 Nashville Scene Food and Drink Writer’s Choice awards. Just looking at this work of art will make your mouth water. It is absolutely delicious, and a gourmet pizza lover’s delight. The fresh sliced tomatoes and sautéed spinach layering over the massive glob of yummy ricotta cheese is indescribably delightful.

There are still a few more special slices at Joey’s that I haven’t tried, and I look forward to eventually tasting every one of them. The waiting lines at Joey’s may be long, and the weekday lunchtime-only hours restrictive, but do yourself a favor and get over to Joey’s if you haven’t yet.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     ***** Sets the Standard

Joey’s House of Pizza
897 Elm Hill Pike
Nashville, TN 37210
615-522-8389
www.joeyshouseofpizza.com

Life as a Pizza Snob means that friends and family love to take you to new pizza places they have discovered. Such was the case recently when The Kid’s girlfriend’s family invited Ms. Pie and me to join them and our young ones for a Sunday lunch after church. The chosen place was the brand-spanking new Wall Street Pizzeria located in the retail center adjacent to the mega condo complex at the Franklin Road-Moores Lane intersection.  Wall Street sure picked a great location for a pizza joint.  They should see a good delivery business from both hungry condo-dwellers and the many churches along Franklin Road.

Wall Street was so new that I could not find any info whatsoever about it on the web. I later learned that they are still in a soft-opening stage after taking over the space vacated by a failing restaurant. Our group of six arrived to find a rather empty room with more of a swanky bar vibe than that of a casual slice place. Since it was such a nice day, we walked right through to their outdoor patio where we were graciously greeted by our waitress.

Like always, we kept things basic and ordered a couple of large 18-inch NY-Style pies from the top of the menu: one plain cheese ($13.99) and another with pepperoni. The lower half of the menu featured some specialty pies with Wall Street-themed names such as the “Black Friday,” “Bull Market,” and “Pork Futures.” Salads (ours were fair), calzones, and sandwiches were offered along with beer and wine.

The pies came out quick, looking classic but light-colored. They turned out to be limp and soft. It was either a case of not being cooked long enough or not having the oven hot enough. Ingredients-wise, there seemed to be a slight blend to the cheese. Along with the tomato sauce and a touch of oregano, they nicely combined for a tasty eat. Pie dimensions were good with the right amount of fresh fixings and a good-sized crust handle. They were also not overly greasy or oily. The Snob’s advice to Wall Street is simple:  just cook it some more like I did later for great leftovers!

Wall Street shows promise.  It is definitely worth another visit.  Watch this blog for an update.  Hopefully, our next pie will get the well-done treatment. The Snob won’t make special requests on first visits, since he expects a pizza joint to serve the best they have to offer. However, on return visits, I am not shy about asking for it the way I like it—chewy and crispy.  This place could be a welcome addition to the Franklin-Brentwood area.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *** ½ Working on a Good Thing

Wall Street Pizzeria
Davenport Boulevard
(Franklin Road at Moores Lane)
Franklin, TN 37069
615-465-6166
[no website]

A few weeks ago, my weekly pizza-loving lunch buds suggested we try Little Chicago, a new joint in a tiny shotgun space on the Demonbreun strip near Music Row. It faces south and sits between the Interstate and the Music Row Roundabout (the circle surrounding those awful naked statutes).  Several years ago, this city block converted to food and drink spots.  Native Nashvillians and tourists alike may remember that this strip once housed a row of country music star gift shops. Sadly, there is no longer a convenient place to get your George Jones key chain or Hank Williams Jr. shot glass.

Like their name suggests, Little Chicago offers a Deep Dish pizza and follows their Windy City theme with Chicago-style hot dogs. In addition to the pizzas and the dogs, there is a wide variety of other menu items available:  burgers, wraps, pasta, etc., and beer. They are open until 3 a.m. (4 a.m. on weekends), and they deliver.

My bud who had been there before swore that they also had a thin-crust pie. In fact, we found that they offered a thicker hand-tossed in addition to the thin. We all took advantage of their $7.99, 10-inch pie lunch special. I went for a plain thin while my buds opted for hand-tossed with pepperoni.

After ordering we sat down and waited, and waited, and waited. Hampered by what I suspect was some kind of kitchen problem, it was a ridiculous 45 minutes before we got our pies. When the pies arrived, the hand-tossed ones my buds ordered were way too thick and puffy for the Snob’s standards. Mine was thin as promised and strangely reminiscent of the one I had at the Old Chicago chain in Cool Springs—the dreaded Crisscross cut and everything! Could this be the standard Chi-town thin alternative to a Deep Dish?

Knowing the limitations of what I had in front of me, I lowered my standards, but it really wasn’t that bad. Right off the bat, I liked it much better than the greasy one I had at Old Chicago. At the cost of being redundant, I will say it again, however, there’s just no clean, easy way to eat the slices in the middle when you cut a pie this way. On the positive, my pie was quite fresh and tasty and obviously put together using fine ingredients. On the negative though, the crust was a tad dry and brittle offering little texture and chewiness.

The Snob certainly forgives Old Chicago for the horrible wait that we suffered. (Our waiter did his best by apologizing and not charging for our drinks.) However, it’s just not a pie worthy of the Snob going back for. Chicago Deep Dish lovers, I am sorry.   I can’t help you here, but that’s just not my thing. My advice, though, is to call in your order, especially at lunch time. Unless, of course, you can risk losing your job for taking a two-hour lunch! We all managed to sneak back into the office and keep ours.

PIZZA SNOB RATING **1/2 Not a Total Waste
Little Chicago
1524A Demonbreun Street
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
615-321-8660
www.littlechicagonashville.com

Not to be confused with West Nashville’s great NY Pie, there’s a place called NYNY Pie that has opened up in Mt. Juliet’s new giant outdoor shopping center. I was easily enticed by the name, but for the Snob, Mt. Juliet is no short hike from Frank-town. So, there it sat on my list waiting for an adventure out east on Interstate 40. The chance came one spring Saturday after my crew and I embarked on a hiking adventure to the remarkably magnificent Burgess Falls just outside Cookeville.

Never mind that we had a picnic lunch at the falls, my buddy Bassman Steve and I were game for a couple of slices after I let Ms. Pie loose in the wilds of the Providence Market Place Shopping Center. It is one of those new-fangled outdoor malls where you can drive right up to your destination. Trouble with these places is that there is no easy way to find anyplace the first time. We eventually stumbled onto NYNY occupying some prime corner real estate.

NYNY is a family-owned business that offers a fairly extensive Italian menu including salads, pasta dishes, hero sandwiches, calzones and deserts. They also feature some nifty lunch specials and offer most types of booze (beer, wine and liquors). Pie-wise, they list out many specialty pies of both the red and white sauce. And, for us normal folk, they make a Sicilian and a classic thin.

This is a table-seating joint, so we took off our hiking boots and grabbed a table on the outside corner patio. Things started off just fine when we learned that there were slices on the menu, and the Bassman followed my lead in ordering a pair of cheeses. Our sweet and kind waitress told us that they were a good size, made from a special 20-inch pie.  This certainly gave us great value and extra carbs for the super $1.99 per slice price.

They looked great when they arrived, and we both realized that we were about to eat something classic and great.  We were not disappointed. My initial reaction was that it was just short of being a perfect slice, needing to be crispier. Just a few more minutes in the oven would have nailed it.  The Bassman agreed. On further examination, our slices were nice and thin, with a good oil base. Both the tomato sauce and cheese were fresh and delicious. I experienced some sauce run-off when I folded my slice, so maybe it was a little heavy on the sauce. The crust was good and chewy, despite not being at maximum crispness.

The Bassman summed it all up by saying it was “definitely worth a repeat performance.” It is a long way from our home turf, but NYNY Pie will be hard to pass up whenever I find myself driving home on I-40.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     ****1/2 Nearer Perfection

NYNY Pie
401 S Mount Juliet Rd., Suite 250
(Providence Market Place Shopping Center)
Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
615-754-6969
www.nyny-pizza.com

The Snob lived in San Antonio for 18 years before moving to Franklin. When people in Tennessee used to ask me what I missed most about San Antonio, I had a simple, one-word answer: Austin! It was a city Mrs. Pie and I loved to visit for music, food, shopping, and mostly for its great vibe. Thanks to a recent business trip, I was able to return after 15 years.

There was no doubt where my first stop would be after my plane landed: I made a bee-line to Home Slice Pizza down on South Congress. Home Slice opened in 2005 after my Texas tenure. I had heard great things about it from a co-worker. I also read that the folk behind Nashville’s fabulous Five Points Pizza did their pizza-making training there.

Driving through Austin for the first time in 15 years, my reminiscing was mostly “that’s where so-and-so used to be” rather than sighting old familiar places. I did find that the South Congress area was still an exciting part of town–full of local color with a steady stream of renovated neon-signed storefronts. Home Slice occupies a large space on the east side of the road. Arriving, I struggled with the unusual requirement to back in and park at an angle on South Congress.

Drat! Home Slice was closed on Tuesdays! What to do? Much to my relief, I found their More Home Slice “slice shop” across the alley. It offered everything I was looking for. The main joint appears to be the traditional Austin restaurant/bar with live music place. “More,” on the other hand, is a small rectangular room with a counter, open kitchen, and stool-seating along the walls and at a community table in the center.

More’s menu board lists cheese, pepperoni, and margherita slices plus two handwritten daily specials. There are also salads and subs with beer, wine, and deserts available. They claim that their menu is the same as the main restaurant. They advertise take-out but do not deliver.

I went for my traditional order of two cheese slices which were $3.25 a piece. Despite the fairly steady lunchtime crowd, the wait for my slices wasn’t long. They were instantly recognizable, looking very much like the ones back home at Five Points. These folks teach well! And, there was no disappointment: they looked and tasted perfect. The Home Slice folks have really brought a bit of New York City to Texas making a pizza about as authentic as it can be. It was slim and trim with all of the right ingredients assembled and cooked exactly how they should be. My slices were awesome and quickly vanished from site–every morsel, including the final tasty remnants of the crust. There are some joints in New York City that should come here for training!

Revisiting Austin was a great experience, and I will try my best to return in the future. The Snob thinks that Music City Mike needs to visit either South-By-Southwest or the ACL Festival next year. The Snob will require a return visit to Home Slice—certainly the best pizza that Austin and perhaps the entire Lone Star State has to offer.

PIZZA SNOB RATING ***** Sets the Standard

Home Slice Pizza
1421 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704
512-444-PIES (7437)
http://www.homeslicepizza.com

After experiencing pizza heaven at Home Slice, I went to visit some sites of the old Austin I remembered when I lived in Texas 15 years ago. I took a stroll down Sixth Street and walked through the gorgeous Driskill Hotel.  I headed towards the Paramount Theatre, a place where I saw many Texas greats such as Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and Jerry Jeff Walker perform. When I walked across the street to snap a photo of the Paramount, I spotted Cozzoli’s Pizza.  Their sandwich board boasted “From New York: Voted Best Pizza in Austin Since 1981.” The Snob suddenly found room for another slice.

Located on Congress just a few blocks from the Capitol, Cozzoli’s sits on a busy city block in the heart of the downtown business district. They sure seemed to be in the right place:  They had a bustling lunchtime crowd. Heading in, I walked past an expanse of tables and chairs to the end of the long line at the counter in the back. Their assortment of Italian wares and the wide variety of specialty slices on display behind the counter made me feel like I was at Sbarro in a shopping mall. They even had the same kind of plastic lettered-sign hanging over their wide-bodied pizza oven.

I ordered a slice of cheese ($3.05) and watched them load it into the oven alongside perhaps a dozen or so other slices. It didn’t take long. I carried my slice on its paper plate and tray over to a table just like I would at the mall.

Sizing up my slice, it looked close to classic but the cheese just didn’t look right—it was pale in color and heavy in dose. When I picked it up, it was mushy, lacking crispness and dripping in oil. The cheese and tomato sauce were off in both mix and flavor tasting as bland as they looked.  All I can say is at least the crust was thin. Cozzoli’s has not only matched Sbarro in terms of their design, but also with their product.  I decided it was just not pizza I’d go back for unless I was desperate.  After it sat in my stomach awhile, I had second thoughts about even returning in a moment of desperation.

I’m not sure who voted Cozzoli’s the best pizza in Austin back in 1981, or, for that matter, any time thereafter. Granted this was only my second Austin pizza-eating experience, but I just can’t imagine anything could top Home Slice.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     **1/2 Perhaps Not a Total Waste

Cozzoli’s Pizza
704 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701
512-480-8440
www.cozzolispizza.net

My Texas business trip took me from the somewhat familiar confines of Austin to unfamiliar Waco, a town I have only driven through. Always looking for adventure and realizing that this may be the only time in my life I might ever be in Waco, I found a pizza joint to try. There really wasn’t much to offer aside from the nasty chains, but I stumbled across a place called Poppa Rollo’s Pizza—self-proclaimed to be both “The Best Pizza on Earth” and “The Best in Waco since 1969.”

Blindly following the directions from Google Maps on my iPhone, I found Poppa’s in a rather dated urban retail district off a major four-lane road. Much to my surprise, the joint was jumping for a Tuesday night.   I had to park my rental car way in the rear. In doing so, however, I was able to see the vastness of the Poppa’s complex. In addition to their enormous main building, there was another large building that housed both a 150-seat party room and a storage facility. I also spotted a drive-through window as I walked towards the front entrance facing the main road.

It was immediately obvious that this place was bent on fun. Out front, there were some small old arcade amusement park rides. Inside off to the left, there was a large game room, and there were several other rooms that were running old movies. (I got to see the Little Rascals while I ate.)  Later, while tracking down the rest room, I encountered a room full of locals having some kind of civic meeting. An interesting place indeed!

Getting to business, my pizza hopes turned pessimistic once I started to look at the menu. The pizzas leaned toward being untraditional, and I failed to even find a salad that interested me. I ended up ordering a plain medium 10-inch cheese pizza for $11.85, requesting their thin crust.

It seemed like it took a long time for my pie to arrive.  As soon as it did, I knew that I would be going for dinner somewhere else.  My suspicions proved to be correct since it tasted as bad as it looked. The pie was slimy, greasy, and covered with burnt cheese—and way-to-much of it sitting on top of a brittle and burnt, dry, cracker-like crust. As for its taste, the best word I could find to describe it was stale. For the sake of blogdom, I forced myself to eat half of it. Not wanting to be rude, I asked for a box to take the rest home. But immediately on my exit, I just tossed it in the trash can.

I guess I should have realized that Waco, Texas would not be a good place for pizza. (That is except of course for the great Nizza Pizza’s Waco location which I forgot all about.) Taking the safer bet, I did manage to get a great Tex-Mex meal before returning to my hotel that night.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *1/2 Thinking About the Trash Can

Poppa Rollo’s Pizza
703 N. Valley Mills Drive
Waco, TX 76710
254-776-6776
www.popparollos.com

My baby’s back up in [Nashville]
And I’m…Down On the Drag

–With apologies to Butch Hancock

The “Drag” is what Austinites call the stretch of Guadalupe Street that runs along the western edge of the UT campus. It is a place where students can fill their needs for school supplies and other life necessities. Before Apple became the world’s largest music store, it was the home of Tower Records, and before the arrival of Netflix, the artsy Varsity Theater. The Drag is also a place to eat and drink, and, as my first visit in 15 years revealed, a spot to get pizza at Austin’s Pizza around the clock.

Austin’s has 12 area locations featuring build-your-own pies with a selection of crusts, sauces, and toppings. Their menu presents a slew of ready-designed “Austin’s Originals” in addition to some limited salad and dessert offerings. The place serves as a comfortable location where students can spend time eating and drinking while tending to some school work.  The upstairs of the drag location is a bar room aptly called the “Drag Bar.”

I arrived late one afternoon and noticed slices were available although not mentioned on the menu. The only remaining after-lunch slice in the glass cage behind the counter was a sausage-pepperoni, so the counter server graciously offered to make me a plain cheese ($3.00) in ten minutes time.

The slice arrived in ten as promised and turned out to be an odd-sized, wide triangle delivered extremely hot. It also turned out to be very hard to eat, since in addition to being so hot, it was quite floppy. On top of that, an excess of both oil and cheese added to the eating difficulty. My messy slice soon became further complicated by its peculiar shape. Think about it—once you eat away the point of a wide triangle; you are left with a long rectangle.  Then, the Fold and Rip becomes your only choice, and in this case caused all that excess cheese to fall off.  Ugh!

The tomato sauce was tangy and the cheese was fresh resulting in a somewhat pleasant taste experience. On the other hand, the crust was a total unappetizing, cracker-like failure. Overall, though, the poor slice construction and lame crust make Austin’s Pizza a late night, emergency pizza stop only.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     **1/2 Perhaps Not a Total Waste

Austin’s Pizza
2424 Guadalupe Street
Austin, TX 78705
512-795-8888
www.austinspizza.com

Some non-pizza business brought me back to Jersey, so I got the notion to see what kind of pizza I could find in Newark. Who better for me to ask than my Twitter friend, Mayor Cory Booker?  Well, I never heard back from him. I guess my tweet got lost among the 76,058 tweeters he follows. Or, perhaps he was too busy getting himself elected to the U.S. Senate.

I asked Google instead. The highest-rated place I came across was Francesca’s Pizzeria & Restaurant which led me to an abandoned storefront on McWhorter Street. Next up was Dickie Dee’s Pizza which I found just a few miles west of downtown in a highly-urbanized area on Bloomfield Avenue. Dickie Dee’s sits on a corner of this busy thoroughfare.

Mid-afternoon, I was able to nab a parking spot in the small lot behind their joint. Walking in, I immediately labeled the place as what locals affectionately call a “greasy spoon”–a label that more defines a place’s menu rather than its cleanliness. The small room had several prefab plastic chairs and Formica tables.  Customers order at the counter. From the giant stack of pizza boxes, I gathered that they do a lot of delivery and to-go business. Their specialties were hot dogs, pizza, steaks, and subs. Listed in that order on their sign, I would soon learn that these were ranked in order of specialty as well. I ordered a cheese slice and a bottle of water for three bucks and sat down to wait during the reheating process.

My slice came out nice and hot looking thin and crisp and having all the right dimensions. True to my label of the joint, it was unfortunately quite greasy–too much oil. After a few bites, it became obvious that while this slice was formed well, it was bland, lacking any real flavor whatsoever. The cheese, tomato sauce, and crust were just plain dull! In particular, the crust was dry and brittle. This was nothing more than an average slice at best, and I didn’t care for another.

While seated I noticed a wall full of autographed photos of local celebs. Catching my attention were former Yankee manager, Joe Torre, and Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi. The dedication on the latter photo was “To the Hot Dog Nazi” which probably said it all:  Dickie Dee’s is better known for dogs than slices. I guess I should have left this one for The Hot Dog Snob!  

Cory, you let me down! Guess I’ll give you a try next time I’m in D.C.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *** Better Than Dominos

Dickie Dee’s Pizza
380 Bloomfield Avenue
Newark, NJ 07107
973-483-9396
[No website]

In revisiting the pizza of his home town, The Pizza Snob was uncertain about the current status of the Venice Restaurant. I grew up down the street from The Venice, so you could say The Snob’s standards were set by this place. Quite often, my Dad and I would shoot a game of pool in their bar before bringing a pie home. When I got older, it became a place where I would go for a “bar pie” and a beer. The Venice was quite famous around town for their excellent extra-thin crust pizza. I knew that it had changed hands a few times since I left town, and I simply lost touch with the place.

Several readers of this blog suggested that I give the Venice a try. And, in prepping for my last trip home, I came across a 2010 article in New Jersey Monthly listing Venice among the state’s “25 Perfect Pizzas.”  I was excited to learn that the current owner is the granddaughter of the original 1939 founder of the place. So, on my first night back home, I gathered the family for our first trip to the Venice in who knows how many years.

The Venice is in its original location, and looks pretty much like it always has. It sits in the middle of a downtown residential neighborhood which presents a serious parking challenge. There are two doors into the place: the bar entrance on the left and the family entrance on the right. The latter one takes you around to the back where you will find a large, nicely refurbished dining room. The front room sports a large rectangular bar where you can sit and chase down a bar pie with a cold one while watching the game or listening to live music. A recently-added outdoor patio is accessible from the bar.

Although the Venice is a full-scale Italian restaurant offering many fine looking dishes, our group stuck with pizza.  We ordered two large cheese pies at $12 each. (The legendary bar pie, generally meant to be consumed solo at the bar, sets you back $7 these days.) I had a delish chicken Caesar salad while we waited.

The pies arrived shortly, and looking at them made me feel like I had journeyed back in a time machine. They looked just like the trademark Venice pies I was once so fond of–light cheese on a super-thin and crisp crust with a thin, blackened and cracked end crust. Diving right in, I was taken back for a moment when my slice drooped while I aimed it for my mouth. Although the bottom crust was darkened and well-cooked, the slices were not at all firm. In fact, they required assistance from your other hand to get them into your mouth.

My taste buds started jumping for joy due to the custom blend of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and olive oil was unbelievably delicious. This just had to be one of the tastiest pies I have ever eaten.  The crust, although limp, was both tasty and chewy. Wasting no time, I estimate that I devoured my four slices in less than three minutes. I still think back and wonder what magic they use to get their pizza to taste that good—especially the savory tomato sauce. My parents thought the pie was too oily, but I found the oil smooth and delicious.

I agree with the magazine that this is one of Jersey’s best pizzas. Had it not been for the limp crust, we’d be talking about a perfect pizza rating. My memory did not recall it being that way back in the day, and I’m not sure whether or not this blemish was simply a mishap or a standard. I promise I will be back to find out.

PIZZA SNOB RATING ****1/2 Nearer Perfection

Venice Restaurant
31 Cottage Street
Bayonne, NJ 07002
201-339-1115
[no website]

Being back in the City for me means two things: live music and pizza. In town for a show, I parked the car down in the Village and hopped on an uptown train with plans of first checking out two pizza joints recommended to me by my readers. The first was Don Pepi Pizza which is conveniently located in Penn Station, Manhattan’s second largest station behind Grand Central.

It had been sometime since I had been to the station common area, and I was quite impressed with its modern look. Not finding a directory, I simply wandered through seeing three other pizza places–one other local one called Rosa’s Pizza, a Pizza Hut, and a Sbarro–before I stumbled upon Don Pepi. It was pretty easy to spot with a giant white “PIZZA” sign atop their open facade. Affixed to the side brick wall was a plaque etched with their name and date established (1985). Counter seating and several tables were inside. Despite its menu, this place was obviously about one thing—pizza by the slice!

Nearing the end of the weekday rush hour, I got on a short but steady line of commuters looking for a quick, cheap dinner, or perhaps just a snack before they went home. The line took me along the counter where several different types of slices were on display ranging from the basics up to a few complicated specialties. I ordered up a simple plain cheese ($3.00) and a bottle of water ($2.00) and moved slowly in line towards the register. I was surprised that my server did not reheat my slice, and I nervously sensed it getting colder while I waited to pay.

My slice looked about as New York as one could be. Everything was in the right size, shape, and mix, exhibiting the perfect crispness. My first bite however, confirmed my suspicions—it was not hot enough! This was an absolute shame for such a beautiful slice of pizza. On the other hand, the lukewarm temperature didn’t hold me back, and it only took a few bites and a matter of seconds before my slice vanished. During its short life span, a few things did get my attention.

For one, this slice seemed to be “garlic-centric” in terms of its pre-applied seasoning. I find myself more of an “oregano-centric” guy since I don’t enjoy the lingering garlic aftertaste. Another thing was that the flour dusting on the crust was evident and coated my fingers.

Pepi’s slice, nonetheless, is pretty much another page out of the NY-Style pizza textbook. Despite these minor variations, it is one that those in the know will find hard to pass up when walking through Penn Station.  Their failure to reheat this slice was nothing other than a sad logistics breakdown. I hope I “fare” better next time my train brings me through Penn Station.

PIZZA SNOB RATING **** Near Perfection

Don Pepi Pizza
2 Pennsylvania Plaza
[Penn Station between 31^st and 33^rd Streets & 7^th and 8^th Avenues]
New York, NY 10121
(212) 967-4385
[no website]

Following the lead of the Slice Harvester, I set out to taste the pie at NY Pizza Suprema in Midtown Manhattan across from Madison Square Garden. Harvester is the Brooklyn dude who visited and blogged about eating at every pizza joint in the City. He gave Suprema his only perfect score. On their website you will find a link to a video of Harvester savoring Suprema slices with his hosts on a local TV show.

Making the quick journey from Penn Station over to Suprema, I opened the front door to find a short line ordering at the counter. Displayed behind me was a wall full of Slice Harvester pizza fanzines. While I waited, I eagerly viewed behind the glass four decks of assorted slices ranging from the weird (chicken and broccoli) to the not-so-weird (cheese, “pep,” sausage, and a mouth-watering Sicilian). This joint is pizza-only except for the “pizza cousins” (calzones and rolls).  They deliver up until midnight, and there is a $10 minimum for credit cards. No booze.

I ordered up a plain cheese for $3.00 which after a quick reheat I took to a booth in the rather spacious back room.  At my table was a reprint of the New York Daily News story (January 3, 2012) on Harvester for me to read while I ate. The slice was good and hot and certainly looked great in all respects—a case of perfect execution. As soon as I took a bite, it was obvious what I didn’t like about it—the sauce. It was unusually sweet and not at all to my liking. It’s a shame that such an otherwise beautiful slice would so boldly stray from taste tradition. I also found it to be a little cheese heavy—so much so that it slipped off the crust while I ate it.

Flaws aside, I finished it off admiring both the fresh, delicious cheese and the crunchy and chewy crust. But Suprema’s sweet sauce left me with no desire whatsoever to have another slice.  Sorry Harvester, but you and the Snob just don’t agree on this one. The best classic pizza in the City is still Joe’s Pizza with Bleecker Street Pizza running a close second.

PIZZA SNOB RATING **** Near Perfection

NY Pizza Suprema
413 8th Avenue
[Between 30th and 31st Streets]
New York, NY 10121
(212) 594-8939
www.nypizzasuprema.com