The best pizza in Dayton?

[poltr1]

Ealier this week, I talked about the sub shops in town. Now, my attention goes to pizza.

I came from a town that had lots of mom-and-pop pizza shops, many excellent local chains, and a few national chains. Here in southwest Ohio, were there aren't a lot of people of Italian descent, the national chains appear to dominate, but a few local chains and some standlone places stand out.

For the national chains, we have Pizza Hut, Domino's, and a couple of Little Caesar's.

Some of the local and regional chains here, in alphabetical order:

Cassano's. A local family-owned chain, which used to be called "Pizza King" before I moved here in '89. They're one of two places in town that cut their pizzas into tiny 1" or 2" squares. That alone was culture shock to me. I was used to wedge-shaped slices. One of the locals told me, "I can hold my pizza with one hand and my beer in the other."

Cousin Vinny's. I suspect the name was insired by the movie "My Cousin Vinny". I've yet to try their pizza.

Donato's. This chain, based in Columbus, has a tasty thin crust pizza, and tangy sauce.

The Flying Pizza. Some of their pizza chefs will toss the dough in the air and spin it, hence the name. Decent New York style pizza. And New York style service, too.

LaRosa's. This chain, based in Cincinnati, also serves up spaghetti and dinners at their locations. Personally, I think they put a little too much sugar in their sauce.

Marion's Piazza. The local favorite. On the walls are photos of famous actors who dined here while part of the summer "Kenley Players" troupe. I love their "super cheese", which is a deluze pizza with extra cheese. And they cut their pizzas into tiny squares as well. And note: they're cash only.

Marco's. The new kid on the block. Don't think I've had their pizza yet.

Noble Roman's. It's been several years since I've had their pizza. There just isn't one that's convenient to me.

Papa Murphy's. They make it, you bake it. This results in a slightly less expensive pizza. But I like it. And there's on e close to me.

But since I often eat pizza alone, I look for places that sell by the slice. My current local favorite pizza joint does just that. Johnny's, A Slice Of New York, in "downtown" Centerville. The owner, Johnny, is from New York City, and is very personable.

Comments

[zorya-thinks.livejournal.com]

We discovered Jett's Pizza down here in Nashville and I think it's the best I've eaten. There is a store in Kettering (5843 Far Hills, just off of Whipp) and another store planned for Beavercreek (2418 Esquire Dr, just past the Fairfield Commons mall). If you have a chance give them a try.

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

The Spousal Unit had some Jet's Pizza that was being proffered in the Con Fusion consuite, and liked it so much that when we got back to Dublin, OH, we ordered it. We got it from the Hilliard store, since the one moving in down the street from us isn't open yet. It was very good.

[poltr1]

Yes there is. I think I may be outside of Jet's delivery range, though.

There is a closer pizzeria that's about a block from me that delivers: Centerville Pizza. It used to be a Hungry Howie's. This comes in handy when The Daughter wants pizza and doesn't want to leave the house.

And today I had lunch at Dewey's Pizza, near UD.