Stogie Joe's

Not really known for it's pizza Stogie Joe's has a close affiliation with a well known pizza place in Philadelphia, Santucci's.  Located at 1801 E Passyunk Ave this small restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating.  I went here with a good friend of mine before one of the last flyers games of the season for a quick bite before the game.  We shared a house salad, which on the menu states it's for two people.  I love this salad the greens always come out crispy and fresh.  The red wine vinaigrette dressing complements the salami and sharp provolone nicely.  This salad is quit large and could be a meal for someone.  

House Salad

We also shared what they call the "traditional" old style pizza.  This pizza is rectangle in shape and is different from you traditional pizza not only for it's shape but also for it's construction.  The cheese is placed on directly on top of the crust and then smothered with tomato sauce.  This gives the pizza a moist texture on top but helps to maintain the crispy out side of the crust.  The pizza was delicious to eat  with not an overwhelming saucy flavor for how much sauce they put on the pizza.  Another delicious entry I have enjoyed here in the past is the Stromboli.  If you are ever wondering around East Passyunk Avenue go and check it out.

Traditional Old Style Pizza

Nomad pizza

If your in the mood for an upscale pizza experience then you need to visit Nomad Pizza.  Located on 7th st. between South and Bainbridge this restaurant offers gourmet pizza at its finest.  The restaurant has two floors, the downstairs where the brick oven is and there is also an upstairs with a full bar complete with some nice draft selections that are seasonal.  The space is clean and modestly decorated with long wood tables and old movie posters that decorate the walls.  While we ate they were playing the original little rascals.

Upstairs bar area

Now to the food.   We started our meal with a serving of meatballs which the six of us split.  The meatballs are made in the traditional method of combining pork, veal, and beef.  They came to the table pretty quickly after we ordered them and were juicy, garlicky,  and had a good texture to go along with the little tomato sauce, sautéed spinach, and thin cracker they are served with.  The meatballs were very good and I would order them again.

Meatball App.

The six of us split 5 pizzas for dinner from the menu two of which were specials for the night.  The pizza are about 12-14 inches in diameter and are cut at the table when they come out to you.  The crust for the pizza has a nice consistency to it with a slightly crispy outside and chewy inside.  There is also a hint of charred flavor from the brick oven.

Broccoli rabe pizza

The broccoli rabe pizza was one of the nightly specials that we ordered.  This pizza had an earthy flavor with a hint of licorice from the fennel seeds that were used.  Accompanying the the broccoli rabe was a mild sausage that complimented the other flavors nicely.

  Quattro cebola (4 onion)

This next pizza is ideal for all you onion lovers out there.  The Quattro Cebola is a white pizza that combines for different kinds of onions with garlic and a mild cheese.  This pizza was a little strong with the onion and garlic after taste for me.

Spicy Soppressata

This next pizza we tried was from the regular menu and was a crowd pleaser.  Soppressata is a cured pork product that is becoming popular as a pepperoni substitute.  This pizza had a nice combination of flavors to make it one of my favorites for the night.  The hint of honey and the sweetness from the tomato sauce was a nice compliment to the spicy meat.  The buffalo mozzarella cheese and the smokiness from the brick oven made ever bite memorable.

 Truffle pecorino

The Truffle Pecorino pizza was also one of the highlights of the night's dinner.  This white pizza is served with truffles, a hint of onion, and and egg.  For those that know me I am not an egg lover but this pizza was delicious.  The rich truffle flavor was matched perfectly with the saltiness from the cheese and the sweet flavor from the onion.

The  Margarita Roman Style

The margarita pizza is the closest we came to a traditional pizza.  We ordered it Roman style which means it comes out with a very thin crispy crust.  The sweet basil a and the tangy tomato sauce complimented the buffalo mozzarella cheese perfectly.  I would definitely order this pizza again!

Nomad is becoming a popular restaurant in the South Philly area especially for people who are looking for a non traditional pizza experience.  

Taverna (Newark Delaware)

      I know that this isn't the local Philadelphia area, but I felt it worthy to mention. Taverna is located right around the corner from the University of Delaware. The atmosphere was pleasant with plenty of seating if you have a reservation. Unfortunately we did not but there was plenty of room at the large bar that greets you at the entrance. One of the unique things about Taverna is it's coal fire brick oven. The oven leaves a trace of smokiness on the food that gets cooked in it.

Bar and front room

     We started our meal with two appetizers the sweet whipped ricotta with toasted rustic bread and the Taverna salad which was light, crisp and refreshing served with a tangy red wine vinaigrette.  One of the interesting things Taverna had to offer was the fresh oregano and chili oil.  My fellow diners and I were disappointed in the lack of heat from the chili oil, but I thought it added something to each of the different pizzas we ordered.

Sausage

Margherita

     For dinner the 5 of us shared 4 pizza's.  These pizza's are thin crust and about 12 inches in diameter.  We sampled the Four Cheese, the Margherita, the Sausage, and the Crispy Meatball.  For an additional charge of $1 you can add an egg to any pizza on the menu.  We opted to try this feature on the four cheese pie.   Overall I thought the pizza was good and would go back to this establishment if I were back in Delaware.  The coal fire oven adds a hint of smokey flavor to the crust.       The sausage was my favorite and adding the chili oil and oregano complimented the pan fried peppers and onions to make every bite memorable.  Of the four pizza's we ordered I enjoyed the Margherita the least.  The sauce reminded me of the sauce Chef Boyardee uses in it's spaghetti and meatballs.   

Chili oil and fresh oregano

Four Cheese with egg

Chickie's and Pete's

This Philly hot spot is know for it's seafood and crab fries.  What most people don't realize it that Chickie's and Pete's has some really good pizza.  If you like a saucy pizza this is your place.  Their pizza is very thin and usually crispy on the bottom of the crust.  They do an unusual thing where they like to but the cheese on first then the sauce is swirled over the cheese.  It is similar in design to Santuccis pizza who also likes to put their sauce on top of the cheese.

Pizzeria Pesto

Yesterday was a pizza filled day, eating it for both lunch and dinner. For lunch we deviated from our Friday ritual of ordering City Pizza and tried a new spot based on a recommendation from one of my colleagues. He said that this was his favorite pizza spot in the city. Located at 1925 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148 Pizzeria Pesto is a typical South Philly pizza shop that has the usual Italian fan fare associated with a pizza and sandwich shop. We order 3 pies, 2 plain and one pepperoni. To me the best part of this pizza was the sauce. It was not sweet and had a nice tang to it. The crust was nothing to write home about having very little taste and being kind of chewy. Personally I like my crust to be crispy on the bottom an soft under the cheese. So when i fold the slice to eat it crease and splits. Pedro's was more reminiscent of cardboard. I am not sure if it was a combination of the pepperoni and cheese or just the pepperoni but the pizza was pretty salty. The overall consensus was that Pesto was ok but City was better!

City Pizza

I work at a school in South Philly and on Fridays the staff likes to order pizza for lunch.  This pizza is not the best by any means but they run a nice special which is two pies for $15.99.  They have a a tangy sauce, the crust is usually good, and they don't skimp on the cheese.  The pepperoni can be a little greasy sometimes but that doesn't take away from the flavor.  Nothing fancy here just old fashioned pizza.  City Pizza has multiple locations through out the city.  The one we order from is on Snyder Ave.  Today the students decided to honor their science teacher for his birthday by ordering pizza from none other than City Pizza.

Barra

Margarita

 Tonight I went out with a group of friends to Barra, a relatively new restaurant in Philly.  Barra is located at 239 Chestnut Street in Old City in the same space that used to be Paradigm.  Walking up to the door there is a sign advertising the best brick oven pizza in Old City.  I would not go as far as saying it was the best brick oven pizza. 
     My friends and I sampled a good variety from the menu.  We started with one of each salad.  In my opinion the only salad that I remember from tonight is the Wild Mushroom salad.  The lemon thyme vinaigrette was light and the lemon complimented the mushrooms nicely.  The sweet and spicy calamari was very good.  The sweet hits your tongue first followed shortly after with the spice leaving a warm feeling left in your mouth for the next bite.

Gabagool

     We finally get to the pizzas as they come out one at a time.  We ordered 4 pizzas which were all red.  They do offer white pizza but I prefer red.  The pies we ordered were: the Margarita, the Gaaahlic, the Gabagool, and the Roasted Veggie.  The sauce they used had a bit of heat to it but the crust was unremarkable in flavor and texture, although the presentation was nice.  None of the pizzas really stood out to me.  The consensus from my friends were that the two best pizzas were the Margarita and the Gabagool.  If you're looking for great brick oven pizza I would venture to Nomad Pizza Company on 7th between South and Bainbridge.  Look for the upcoming review.

The Famous King of Pizza

What makes a good pizza?  Is it the type of cheese they use?  Or is it whether the establishment uses a sweet or tangy sauce?  Maybe it's the dough they use to make the pizza.  Using the right ingredients makes all the difference in world when it comes to the quality of the pizza.  My favorite local pizza place resides in New Jersey on Rt 70 in Cherry Hill, The Famous King of Pizza.  This pizza gem has been serving pizza in the local area for over 40 years and offers many other delectable foods besides pizza.  I would recommend if you were to try it that you go with slices over a pie.  The slices have already been cooked so when they pop it in the oven it gets a little extra crispy.  Writing this is actually making my mouth water.

Hello!

Hello--my name is Matthew and pizza is my favorite food.  In fact today I ate it for both lunch and breakfast. I am creating this blog to inform people about what I feel are the best pizza places in the Philadelphia area.