So, last night we had one of those recurring debates about who has the best pizza in Erie. We were down at Skeeter's watching the Pitt game. At halftime, with Skeeter's kitchen being closed, we decided we needed order out for a pie. Being the guy who came up with the idea, I was put in charge of making this happen, and being down the street from Dominick's, I made my call. Mind you, it was a bit of an expensive proposition, $14.25 or something for a large with cheese, pep, and sausage, but I think it was worth it. Dominick's has changed hands since I frequented it 15-20 years ago in college, and their pie recipe has also changed. One thing that has not changed is their sausage, which is still very plump, juicy, tasty, and plentiful. I would say the sausage alone saved the pizza, and actually made it very filling, so the large, which was actually pretty good size, was able to take care of 5-6 hungry drunks.
Anyways, Dominick's does not have the best pizza in Erie, but it was convenient and alright. After the pizza came in, the bartender told us that, believe it or not, The Cellblock has some of the best pie in town. "I'll stand by their pizza," was her exact quote, which led to some obvious jokes. J.B. insisted that Skeeter made a killer pie, and I have heard before he is a good cook. And then someone said their wife had been raving about a pizza shop downtown, but we weren't sure of the name. Someone said it may be Howie's, which is actually a chain, but that doesn't mean they have bad pizza...except that ordering from a chain, in a town like Erie that used to have a local shop on every other block, is a bit of shame. For a while though, I'll admit, I was hard-pressed to find good local pizza and took to going to Papa John's and Pizza Hut, which are both convenient, make decent pies, and always have coupons available. However, recently, we've turned back to Mr. Pizza, which has good solid pie and wings and is run by a really nice couple, which counts for something. Steel City has some good pie too, especially their cheese, and their crust receives high reviews.
Finally, my wife's friend highly recommends Mama Mia's, which of course, suffered the tragic loss of one of its delivery men in a notorious bank robbery a few years back. As bad as that whole situation was/is, it did put Erie's local pizza shops back on the map and I think we are seeing a bit of a resurgance in this area. Any thoughts?
Cheers.
Ralph
3 comments:
We used to eat Pio's Pizza on East Avenue when I was a kid. That's when the (De)Nicolia Family used to run it. Pio himself---the old man---made the best pie in the world. I think his boy took it over from there, but he hasn't run it for years, I don't think. The last time I saw Nicolia was at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland for a Tragically Hip show. That was probably 2001. We always regognize each other...he went to Prep, I think.
Barbato's vegetarian pizza is awesome, but I don't care for their red pizza. I prefer Pizza Hut (although they are very expensive).
I've never tried Mr. Pizza, but I've aways heard good things about it. Maybe I'll give them a try.
Two easy pizza ideas: 1) English muffins with pizza quick sauce, shredded mozzarella, and the topping of your choice...cook in toaster oven at 300-350, depending on hot your toaster oven gets.
2) Take two tortilla shells and place one in a round pan sprayed with PAM. Put pizza quick, cheese, pepperoni, banana peppers...whatever. Cover with second tortilla and lower heat. Cover pan and let cheese melt. Turn until both sides are golden and you have pizza quesadilla.
Manja!
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Ralph,
As a follow up, I ordered Mama Mia's pizza last Friday during the snowstorm. They had it to my door within 30 minutes and it was very good. It reminded me of LaCasa Pizza in North East with their fresh crust and tasty toppings.
Mama Mia's three-topping pizza with antipasta salad and tip for the driver cost me $20 even. I'd certainly pay more for Pizza Hut.
Enjoy!
DDDD
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