Vinny's Great Pizza & More - Brookline

618 Brookline Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15226
(412) 344-8500

We had a coupon for Pizzarella Pizza in Brookline, but when we called to place an order ... the location is now Vinny's Great Pizza!   (And guess what - they were nice enough to accept the Pizzarella coupon.)

When I think of a "Vinny's Pizza", I automatically think of a pizza from Vincent's Pizza Park in Forest Hillls and wondered if they were affiliated (the answer is no).  Vinny's Great Pizza & More is actually a chain, with locations in Brookline, Uniontown and Morgantown, WV.  This Vinny's Pizza was named for Vincent Tarzia, who came to American with his mother from Marina Di Gioiosa, Reggio Calabria, Italy.

When we try a new pizzaria, we like to order a plain cheese pizza with a red sauce, so that we can fairly compare it to others we've tried.  Our first impression of Vinny's was the wonderful aroma - we could hardly wait to open the box and dive in!  We enjoyed the robust sauce - it was thick and rich, with flecks of oregano.   The traditional style crust was also thick and rich and had a mild flavor, which made it a good vehicle for the sauce and the generous layer of luscious, gooey cheese.

Vinny's Great Pizza & More has a very extensive menu which includes Appetizers, Salad, Wings, Hoagies and Subs (including gyros), Calzones & Strombolis, Italian Dinners, Desserts and Soft Drinks.  They have red or white pizzas, eleven specialty pizzas and Vinny's Signature Pizza, which sounds fantastic.  It's called "The Mediterranean", and comes with either white or red sauce, and is topped with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, Kalamata olives, onions, mozzarella, provolone and feta cheese.

Here's a cool idea - Vinny's has cell phone coupons!  Send a text to phone number 30364, type CHEESE, hit send and a coupon and special offer will be delivered to your cell phone, "like magic, Baby!"

Little Chicago's Pizzeria - South Side

1728 E Carson St
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
412-431-1450

In April, we tried a pizza from the Blue Grotto - when we were leaving, a man sidled up to us and told us that, while Blue Grotto is good, Little Chicago's makes the best pizza on the South Side!

He might have been right.

Some pizzas we love at first bite, then are less enchanted after a slice.  With Little Chicago's it was the opposite - we weren't sure, but the more we ate, the more we liked it.  By the time we finished the entire pizza - yes, the entire pizza - we were considering Little Chicagos for a new addition to our top ten.

Even though I'm sure they are best known for their Chicago style pizza, we decided to order a medium pizza with red sauce and a traditional crust.  The pizza had a wonderful aroma and we couldn't wait to try it.  The sauce was sweet with a slight taste of garlic, and small chunks of tomato.   We loved the chewy crust, which managed to be thin yet light and airy.  The crust was dusted with cornmeal and, according to one taster, had a "buttery" taste.  Another taster only managed to say "Good!" in between bites.

In addition to the traditional crust pizza, Little Chicago's offers Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza, White Pizza, an Ultra Huge 30" pizza, Calzones, Wedgies, Garlic Pepperoni Stix, a 16" Square Sicilian, French Bread Pizza, Hoagies, Fish Sandwishes and Hamburgers, wings, salads, and 12 varieties of specialty pizzas.  The specialty pizzas include a Philly Ranch and Margarita Chicken, among others.  Some of the sides include Jalapeno Poppers, Broccoli and Cheese Poppers, Provolone Stix an dmore. 

And FYI there is a half off coupon for Little Chicago's in the 2010 Enjoy coupon book.  We forgot to use it!

Pizza Roma and Pasta House, Cranberry, PA

20315 Rt. 19 Cranberry Township, PA
1-724-776-1577

Pizza Roma and Pasta House has been a fixture in Cranberry for over 26 years.  It's easy to see why they have been in business for such a long time - the pizza was excellent and the staff was very friendly.

We ordered a traditional crust pizza with red pizza sauce.  The sauce is homemade; it is deep, rich and flavorful.  The cheese for the pizzas is shredded on the premises and it is very fresh tasting.   We especially liked the crust - it was thin, but sturdy enough to hold up to the extra sauce that we ordered.  The pizzas are baked in Pizza Roma's "old-fashioned stone ovens".

Pizza Roma has three new varities of Specialty Pizza - Spinach Feta, Steak Ranch and Onion, and Buffalo Chicken.  Other pizzas include Sicilian style, Seafood Pizza (with red or white sauce), White Pizza and Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza.  In addition to the pizzas, they serve eight types of hoagies, six different types of calzone, Sandwiches and Burgers, wings and wing wings, salads and appetizers.   Dinners are also available, and include pasta, gnocchi, veal and chicken parmesan, eggplant and more.  We are especially interested in trying their Stuffed Hot Pepper Calzone and some of their homemade soup on our next trip.

Pizza Roma has a fairly large and comfortable dining area and a small bar.  They also offer take-out and delivery to the Cranberry area.

Vocelli Pizza

617 Brownsville Road
Carrick, PA
412-697-0888

Vocelli's Pizza was a pleasant surprise on a cold, rainy January day!

We ordered a traditional crust pizza with extra sauce - I opted to go easy on the cheese, because it made me feel like I am trying to stay on my diet.  Because of the nasty weather, we also opted for delivery, and were glad we did.  The pizza arrived about 10 minutes earlier than we expected and it was the perfect temperature - not too hot and not too cold.

The traditional crust was chewy and enjoyable.  The flavorful sauce had a bright tomato flavor, with small pieces of tomato and flecks of Italian seasoning.  The cheese was the perfect amount for our taste.  All in all, we were very happy with the pizza and would definitely order again - next time I might try one of the gourmet pizzas, and definitely would like to try the thin crust.

The non-dieting pizza taster ordered Vocelli's cheese sticks.  We were expecting an order of traditional fried mozzarella or provolone fingers, so were surprised to find a pizza shaped round, topped with lots of cheese and fried, then cut into fingers.  I tried a nibble and it was very garlicy; the others loved it and also enjoyed the marinara sauce that came with it.

Vocelli's is very generous with their coupons - a current offer that came with our order is for a free grande one topping pizza when you buy a grande one topping pizza at regular price.  We also received coupons for a Grande Gourmet for $14.99 and one for two Grande 2 Topping pizzas for $19.99.

Pizza Hut - Townesquare Way, Brentwood, PA

70 Townesquare Way
Pittsburgh PA 15227
Phone: (412) 885-4404

A flyer appeared in the mail this week from Pizza Hut advertising an online deal - any size pizza, any number of toppings, any style crust (well, almost any) for $10 - that sounded like a deal worth trying!  An even better deal is the extra 20% you can save with your first online order, using the coupon code "IG".  We ordered a hand tossed traditional crust pizza with sliced banana peppers on half and an order of cheese sticks. 

The crust was very bready, with a cardboard-like bottom layer; it was loaded with a red pizza sauce and a decent amount of cheese.  We were glad to have ordered the banana peppers as a topping - they added a welcome zing.  The bright spot was the "Wing Street Fried Cheese Sticks" which we enjoyed - they were small and manageable, and the side of marinara dipping sauce was tasty.

In the long ago past, we used to order a Mexican or Taco pizza from Pizza Hut.  If I do go back again, I think I'll try their Fiesta Taco specialty pizza - beans, cheese, choice of beef or chicken, tomatoes, and onions with a side of Tostito's salsa..

Ephesus Pizza - Downtown Pittsburgh

Ephesus Pizza
322 4th Avenue
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
412-522-9020

We recently saw a television ad for Ephesus Pizza and it looked so good, we thought we would try it.  So I guess their advertising works!

Ephesus sells four sizes of pizza:  Personal (6"), Small (10"), Large (14") and X-Large (16').  We ordered a small and wished we had gone up a size to the large - it just wasn't big enough for us!

The crust and sauce are made fresh daily and the dough is hand tossed.  The crust was thick, with a nice chewiness.  The sauce was deep red, and think, with a good tomato flavor and occasional chunks of tomato.  The cheese was perfectly melted with a slight crust and was very flavorful.

We're not sure that Ephesus will be one of our new "top favorites", but it was very tasty and we did enjoy it.  Since they are a combination of pizzaria and Mediterranean restaurant, they have some very unusual menu items that we plan to go back and try another time.  The Turkish Pizza, or "Pide", sounds especially good.  Pide come in ten varieties and according to the menu are served with a spring mix, fresh onions and lemons.

Foli's Place - Braddock Hills, PA

Foli's Place
1050 Brinton Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
(412) 241-8840

Foli's is a popular local favorite, tucked away in a tiny strip mall near where Braddock Hills, Forest Hills, Edgewood and Wilkinsburg meet. It had been way too long since we'd eaten there, so decided to head over the hill and pick up a pizza!

We weren't disappointed. We ordered a small, which was a 12" 6-cut traditional Pittsburgh-style pizza. The crust was very good, with a light and airy interior and nice chewiness, and a crisp exterior. The chunky tomato sauce had a freshly made flavor, and it had a good proportion of sauce to cheese.

We also ordered a side of cheese sticks - they were perfectly fried, and had just the right amount of spice for our taste. The accompanying sauce was delicious.

Everyone we talked to in Foli's was very friendly and welcoming, from the nice woman who answered the phone, to the restaurant staff and the fellow customers. I have to admit I forgot to pick up a take out menu and am not sure what else Foli's has to offer. The pizza was so tasty, that I would expect nothing but good things from their other menu items!

Donte's Pizzaria - South Park, PA

We found a comment the other day on our Fiori's Pizza review suggesting we try Donte's Pizzaria and thought, "why not"! We often take our dog to South Park and have passed Donte's a zillion times. To be honest, we never even noticed it, and were happy for the suggestion. We found Donte's in a little strip mall near the Brownsville Road entrance to the park.

Our first impression was that Donte's smells great! The wonderful aroma coming from the little restaurant was inviting, and the atmosphere was clean, bright and welcoming. The staff was very friendly, too, both on the phone when we ordered and in person. There are about 10-15 tables inside and two video games to keep you or the kids occupied while you wait.

We ordered a traditional, Pittsburgh style, pizza and enjoyed it very much. The dough is made fresh daily, as is the sauce, and the pizza crust is hand tossed to order. The result was a charmingly uneven crust with a light, airy interior and crisp edges. The bright, fresh red sauce was slightly sweet and dusted with Italian spices.

We like that Donte's offers slices for those days when we are hungry from a hike in the park and need something good in a hurry!

Would we go back again? Yes, we would. We think that it's not in our top favorites, but it was good ... and it's the perfect spot for an after park snack and we're happy to have found it.

Fiori's - Brookline, Pittsburgh, PA

103 Capital Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15226-1241
(412) 343-7788

Some people crave ice cream or mashed potatoes when they are in need of comfort food, but for us it's pizza. During a very sad time this past week, Judy - who is beautiful inside and out - suggested a little pizza therapy and we gratefully accepted. Judy raced her Mustang to Fiori's in Brookline and Nathan ran the steaming pizza from her car to our door.

The first thing we noticed about Fiori's pizza was the aroma - it smelled wonderful and the kitchen came alive with the rich scent. When we pulled the pieces apart, the thick layer of deliciously gooey cheese stretched beautifully and dripped from our hands. The crust was interesting (in a good way). Our impression of the first slice was that it was doughy and bread like. Once the pizza settled, though, the crust changed character and was firm and pleasantly chewy . The sauce was excellent, also, with a deep tomato flavor and a hint of sweetness. We like a lot of sauce and usually order extra sauce on our pizza, which I think we will do next time - just because it was so tasty we'd like more of it.

Thank you, Judy! We love you!

Giuseppi's Pizza - Hilton Head Island, SC

Shelter Cove Plaza
Highway 278
Mid-Island, Hilton Head Island
843-785-4144

When we heard that Giuseppi's Pizza in Hilton Head was founded by a Pittsburgher, we knew we had to try it.

When in Hilton Head, we always make a stop or two at New York City Pizza and recently fell in love with the innovative Pizza Cone at Pino Gelato ... but Giuseppi's pizza tastes like home. Actually, it tastes like a really, really good version of pizza from home!

First of all, Giuseppi's sauce rocks. It is thick and rich with a hint of sweetness, slightly chunky, and fragrant with Italian herbs and spices. (We ordered our pizza with extra sauce and light on the cheese.) The crust is medium thickness; it has the perfect chewiness, with crisp, cheesy edges. The menu describes the pizza: "We start with our homemade hand tossed dough, ladle on our special recipe tomato sauce, add a generous portion of specially blended provolone and mozzarella cheese, then bake it in our stone hearth oven."

Nine varieties of pizzas are on the menu - the Big Cheese, Giuseppi's Special Pizza, Giuseppi's Veggie Pizza, Giuseppi's Mega Meaty, Chicken Alfredo, Jimmy the Greek, Giuseppi';s White Pizza, Shrimp Scampi, and Giuseppi's Ultimate White Pizza. Individual slices of the Big Cheese, Special, Veggie, Mega Meaty and White Pizza are available if you can't manage an entire 12" or 16" pizza. Or, for $2 more, they will make it a stuffed pizza by adding a top crust layer, baste with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, and baking.

If you'd like something other than pizza, Giuseppi's has a huge menu including seven pastas and four baked pastas, eight varieties of hoagies, seven types of wraps, five flavors of Philly Cheesesteaks and four different Parmesan Hoagies. Two Giuseppi's specialties are Weggies(r) and Boli's. Weggies basically folded and stuffed pizza dough, topped with lettuce and tomato, onion and ranch dressing - they are available in 11 flavors, including the Original (ham and pepperoni), Weggiedilla (marinated chicken, cheddar & jack cheese, bacon, onion and BBQ sauce) and a Greek Weggie (chicken, feta, kalamata olives, banana peppers, romaine, tomato and Greek vinaigrette).

The Boli is similar to a calzone - pizza dough filled with toppings along with ricotta and cheeses, then folded and baked, and served with a side of their wonderful marinara sauce. Giuseppi's Boli's are available in Carboli (pepperoni, sausage and ham), Macaboli (mushrooms, onions, green peppers and black olives), Cheeseburgerboli (ground beef, American cheese, bacon, mustard and ketchup) and the Create-a-Boli (you choose!).

Nine salads are on the menu, as well as another Pittsburgh staple - Italian Wedding Soup, available by the cup or bowl. In addition, you can choose from 14 appetizers and extras - Spinach Dip, Stuffed Chili Peppers, Shrimp Basket, Buffalo Shrimp, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Cheese Stix, Chicken Fingers, Buffalo Chicken Fingers, Garlic Toast, Cheese Garlic Toast, Garlic Tomato Cheese Toast, Fries, side of Marinara Sauce, and Meatball Sliders.

Giuseppi's Pizza & Pasta on Urbanspoon

Mm! Mm! Pizza - Brentwood

5208 Clairton Blvd.

Baldwin, PA

412-885-1005

We must have passed Mm! Mm! Pizza hundreds of times and never noticed it. We found a 50% off coupon in the new Enjoy coupon book and thought we'd give it a try.

We ordered just before half time in the Steelers/Bengals game, which was a very busy time for the pizza shop. Despite that, they were up to the challenge and had our pizza ready to pick up within 25 minutes and pleasantly answered our questions.

The shop is take-out only, but there's enough room to watch them stretch and hand toss the pizza dough to order. The sauces are made fresh daily, and the toppings and cheese are also prepared fresh every morning.

We ordered a large traditional pizza with homemade red pizza sauce. The sauce was very good - it was thick and robust, pureed style, with a hint of sweetness. The crust was thick and breadlike, with a mild flavor. My first thought was that it was a little too thick for my personal taste, but in thinking about it, it was the perfect crust for the sauce - a thinner crust would not have stood up to the thick, rich delicious sauce. The ratio of sauce to crust to cheese was just about perfect. Our guest pizza taster, Carol, gave the pizza a B+ rating, and we all agreed.

Mm! Mm! Pizza has an enormous menu - they offer 24 pizza toppings, 13 specialty pizzas, 12 appetizers, 10 types of salad, and also make lamb or chicken breast gyros, wings, calzones, subs, fish sandwiches, and sweet or savory bread sticks. Some of the Specialty Pizzas are very unusual, such as the Flyin' Hawaiian (chicken breast, peppadew, and pineapple) and the Hawaiian (pizza sauce topped with ham, bacon, pineapple, mozzarella and provolone) and even the Seafood Pizza (white garlic butter, shrimp and crab meat, onions, and cheeses). I might be tempted to try two others that sound good to me - their Taco Pizza, or Chicken and Spinach.

We tasted an order of Mm! Mm! Pizza's provolone sticks, and they were very good, helped by the accompanying container of their delicious pizza dipping sauce. Instead of fried baby mushrooms, they offer breaded Portabella slices, and I plan to order some on another visit.

If you don't have an Enjoy or Entertainment book don't worry - Mm! Mm! Pizza offers lots of discounts. They have 2 Pizza Specials every day (2 Medium for $12.99, 2 Large for $14.99) and have daily specials. Their Tuesday special is a large Cheese Pizza for $6.99 or an X-Large Cheese Pizza for $8.99. On Fridays, you can choose your own special from any of the other six daily specials.

Michael's Pizza Bar and Restaurant - South Side

2612 Sarah Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 381-6102


Michael's Pizza Bar is a bar and restaurant on Sarah Street, one block removed from the traffic of East Carson Street, on a corner between S. 26th and S. 27th Streets.

The pizza we ordered was a large traditional Pittsburgh style with extra sauce and light cheese. The traditional crust was chewy and bread like. We enjoyed the sauce, which was thick, flavorful, and slightly spicy with small flecks of oregano. Michael's was very generous with the cheese, even after we had asked for light cheese - so if you like lots of cheese on your pizza, you will love Michael's!

We also tried an order of Provolone Sticks with a small container of their excellent sauce for dipping - the cheese sticks were cooked perfectly and had a nice flavor.

Unfortunately, we forgot to pick up a menu and to ask pertinent questions about sauce, crust and preparation. It was half time and we were hurrying to get back before the 3rd quarter started and simply forgot.

This week's celebrity pizza taster, Dave, posed several interesting questions that we all considered while we ate: If we changed the amount of amount of cheese on the pizza, would the texture of the crust also change since the required cooking time might be different? What type of oven do they use to cook the pizza? What type of cheese do they use? Why did Jeff Reid miss not one, but two, field goals in Chicago? All good questions.

We will have to go back to Michael's and see what we can find out. I think next time we will sit down in the very pleasant restaurant area and enjoy the pizza, fresh from the oven.

P.S. The 50% off coupon in the Enjoy book made this pizza a real bargain, too!

Anthony's Pizza - Carrick

1820 Brownsville Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15210
412-885-0866
(closed Sundays)

Anthony's is famous for two things - their very good pizza bagels and their excellent homemade iced tea. We used to get Anthony's pizza bagels often and recently realized that we had never tried their pizza!

Anthony's has been in business at the same location since 1969. The small restaurant is like a fun trip to the past, with comfortable booths that are equipped with jukebox music selectors.

Their pizza is made the old-fashioned way, too - they make the dough and sauce fresh daily, and hand toss the pizza dough to order. The sauce is made fresh on site each morning. They also freshly grate the cheese for the topping and even the ground sausage is fresh. The traditional style pizza we tried had a thin, chewy and easily foldable crust that had a good flavor. The sauce was mild - suitable for those who don't enjoy tangy foods - and the cheese was plentiful.

In addition to the traditional crust that we tried, Anthony's also offers a thick crust for an extra charge. They have plenty of toppings available: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, anchovies, meatballs, bacon, green peppers, extra cheese (not necessary!!!), black olives, onions, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, and ham capicolla. They also make ten varieties of hoagies, including a very tasty Italian hoagie, roast beef and cheese, vegetarian, and hot sausage, among others. Anthony's makes three varieties of calzones, and four types of salad (and have their own special house dressing that is very good). Appetizers include soup, homemade chili, garlic toast, soft pretzels, nachos, french fries and pizza boats.

A nice touch are the old fashioned desserts - pie, ice cream, Italian ice and Klondikes.

The next time we try Anthony's pizza, we plan to eat in the restaurant. Although we enjoyed our pizza, it did not travel well - mostly our fault, since we took longer than expected to pick it up after ordering. And besides, eating in the restaurant means we can play some tunes and split a Klondike for dessert!

P.S. The 50% off coupon in the Enjoy book made this pizza a real bargain!