We’ve been trying to check out ZAZA for quite some time now. Since meandering through the doors of the yet-to-open restaurant back in May, we’ve stopped by only to be turned elsewhere by huge crowds, long waits, and the will of the famed Pizza Tour fedora. But at long last, we finally found the time to venture over to the former home of 122 Pizza Bistro for one of Stamford’s newest (at least relatively speaking) pies.

Establishment. ZAZA never struck us as a traditional pizzeria, mostly because it isn’t one. It’s a “gastrobar” by name, with all that it entails: a mozzarella tasting menu, Italian tapas, a huge wine bar, trendy clientele, and a lot of dark paint and red leather.

While a little off-putting and distinctly not our speed at first, ZAZA drew us in with super comfortable seating (save for the table sharing thing, which is weird), decent service, and an inviting—albeit a little vampirey—atmosphere that we really warmed up to. It didn’t hurt, of course, that their menu was anchored by a very familiar menu centerpiece—brick oven pizza.

Pizza. Typical Pizza Tour fashion, we ordered a plain napoletana pie and one with sausage in the name of science and consistency (don’t call it boring).

What was immediately striking were the vibrant colors and strong aromas of this pizza’s fresh components. On top of an expertly cooked, golden brown crust was a fresh, tangy, chunky tomato sauce; smooth, delicious mozzarella (also browned to perfection); and just enough fresh basil to give the pie a very bright flavor profile. The sauce was almost too subtle, however, as most of us felt that it was a bit under-seasoned.

The sausage pizza left a little to be desired, as our favorite topping was pretty stingily and inconsistently sprinkled across the pie (which is unfortunate because its saltiness really highlighted the subtleties we missed on the plain pie), but most of the high spots from the napoletana pizza carried over to this one. A minor knock on both pies is that their delicately thin, airy crust cools really fast—not a huge problem seeing as the three of us wolfed down these 12” personal pies in about 6 minutes, but still worth mentioning.

Also worth mentioning is ZAZA’s unusual subversion of our stupid square slices pet peeve in which a square pizza is cut into wedges, as one would expect a round pizza to be served. Mind-blowing, we know. Fortunately, the inverse of this Greek abomination of a cutting technique is hardly offensive at all and didn’t stand in the way of the top-notch flavors and textures of a really good pizza.

Bottom line. ZAZA is packed to the rafters on the weekends and it’s pretty obvious why: an inherent trendiness gets people in the door once, but dedication to clean, fresh flavors across the menu (but most importantly with pizza, of course) forces them to return.

Establishment: 22/30
Pizza: 22/30
Hits the Spot: 7.3/10 
Large cheese: $10.50 (12")

Every year around this time, the Stamford Pizza Tour wakes from its slumber to give you its take on a few new pizzerias in our fair City that Works. Of course, this year (technically last year) will be no different. We give you, a mere two months after its doors opened, La Bellezza Pizza Restaurant.

Allow us to take you back to a kinder, gentler time: a few weeks ago, when the holiday spirit still carried some weight, strangers spouted “Merry Christmas” at passers-by, and the lighting in a certain pizzeria made all of our pictures completely unusable, save for this next shot of an elaborate cave manger scene outside the front door.

Establishment. With deep roots in the New York pizza scene, La Bellezza takes its act from the streets of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn (home of some of the best pies on the face of the earth) to its new location on Atlantic Street in Stamford. La Bellezza struck us as a charming little place with a handful of tables, a welcoming staff, and rich, wooden furniture that would make Ron Burgundy blush.

Between the brick, the chalkboard menu, and the bright, open, counter service kitchen, this was as New York a pizzeria as they come—save for the whole “being in Connecticut” thing. The service was prompt, courteous, and extra attentive being as we were the only party in the restaurant at the time. That said, their menu was complete with what one would expect of a pizzeria and then some, including dinners, sandwiches, a surprising wine selection, and of course, pizza.

Pizza. As usual, our two pizzas were a plain cheese, and one with sausage. The pies came to the table steaming hot and were doled out by the slice to each undercover judge by our waiter, fully unaware that he was about to pose his pie in one of the less flattering food shots we’ve ever published.

Abysmal washout and color temperatures aside, this was actually a pretty good pie. The pizza’s thin crust held up reasonably well to a healthy amount of creamy, stringy cheese with its dense, yeasty bite; at the end of the day it wasn’t all that easy to keep this one from slip sliding away, though. The quality and quantity of La Bellezza’s cheese—while sacrificing something by way of texture—kept this pizza steaming hot until we had demolished the whole thing (we’ll be the first to tell you that there’s nothing more taxing than trying to finish a pizza that’s devolved into a gob of cooled cheese).

Cheese points notwithstanding, the sauce didn’t blow us away. Its subtleties were a bit too subtle, and there was really nothing there—good or bad—to go by. Fortunately, both their topping selection and specialty pizza offerings were quite good, making up for lost ground on La Bellezza’s shortcomings.

Bottom line. La Bellezza is a friendly, personable place to grab a pretty decent pie in an unfortunate area that doesn’t get a ton of foot traffic; welcome these guys to town, they’ll be happy to serve you.

Establishment: 21/30
Pizza: 20/30
Hits the Spot: 7.8/10 
Large cheese: $12.00

Located on the dense pizzeria stronghold of Stamford’s Broad Street is Morelli Pizza Café. Around the corner from Remo’s and a few doors down from the to-be-reviewed ZAZA Italian Gastrobar, Morelli faces stiff competition from the get-go as a uniquely themed newcomer with deep Stamford roots.

Establishment. Claiming a 30 year influence on Stamford’s pizza scene, Morelli Pizza Café exists as the reborn phoenix of the defunct Café Morelli that was once located in the purportedly cursed 269 Bedford property down the street. Creative renaming aside, the new pizzeria presents a smaller, more counter service-oriented atmosphere than the original. Resembling a clean, modernized bakery/café complete with trendy wall lettering straight out of Restaurant:Impossible, Morelli’s comes across as a place to grab a slice while passing by—not necessarily as a destination.

As we’ve mentioned, counter service is Morelli’s MO, and as such, makes the few interactions with the staff all the more important. Having said this, we were totally put off by the lackadaisical “help” we received, the awkward glares that were shot our way through the duration of our meal, and by the ill-fated attempts made to charge us for tap water. Service has a tendency to set the scene.

Pizza. We visited Morelli’s months ago. Literally months. The fact that it’s taken so long to scrap together some semblance of a review for this boring, run-of-the-mill pie should speak for itself. But it doesn’t, so here’s some more words.

In typical Pizza Tour fashion, we ordered a large, half-plain, half-topping measuring stick pizza. The crust was a big, chewy, bready number with no shortage of air bubbles and all the flavor to match. The cheese was slightly less offensive in the flavor department with a short-lived creaminess that became gummy and hard as the once scorching hot pie cooled rapidly, and turned it into a slippery sheet that slid clean off the crust. The high spot (if you could really call it that) was the sauce, which lent the pizza just about all of its flavor. While bold and tangy, this sauce was super heavy and helped make a cumbersome pizza borderline unbearable. It should be no surprise to you at this point to find out that the meatball topping we ordered was likewise devoid of an important attribute that we call “flavor.”

Bottom line. If you’re in the neighborhood, Morelli Pizza Café might be worth a visit for its vast menu of burgers, dogs, quesadillas, and soup, but better pizza and better service is no more than a 3 minute walk away.

Establishment: 15/30
Pizza: 17/30
Hits the Spot: 5.7/10 
Large cheese: $11.00

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sure it has. The Stamford Pizza Tour awoke from its slumber over the holiday weekend, and now that the hustle and bustle is dead and the freshly fallen snow has got us avalanched indoors, we’re sounding off on Stamford’s latest pizza purveyor, Tappo.

Establishment. Tappo is located on Bank Street, nestled amongst ritzy eateries and men’s hair salons alike, and boy does it look the part. Between the dim-to-dark dining area, white tablecloths, and a fully stocked bar with a top shelf so high that no one can reach it—physically or fiscally—we couldn’t help but feel underdressed (nothing new, but still) in this modern establishment. Tappos’ smallish footprint is maximized with a good deal of small party seating and plenty of room to move around without feeling too cramped (a party of six might have been different, though).

The service was super friendly albeit a bit overbearing, as our water glasses never went more than three sips without being refilled. This is not to a fault, though, as we found ourselves to be very comfortable, especially relative to the sometimes abrasive, always greasy environments that pizza establishments often harbor. In the same vein, the menu is admittedly less pizza-centric than other places, but it includes all sorts of true-to-form Italian favorites as well as some more adventurous offerings in addition to their pizza.

Pizza. As much as Tappo is not your run-of-the-mill establishment, it’s also not your run-of-the-mill pizza, unless of course you frequent the Cappriccio’s of the world. Our benchmark pies of choice were the standby margherita pie and an adventurous Guanciale, Patate e Olio Tartufato (bacon, potatoes, and truffle oil) number.

The margherita pie was everything we’d expect of a traditional Neapolitan pie. The sauce was naturally sweet and tangy, with a fresh, well-seasoned profile that cut through the acidity of the fresh tomato. The cheese was top-notch buffalo mozzarella, lending a deeper flavor than the regular stuff as well as a stringier texture and a nice, satisfying snap. The crust was rather tasty, but the texture was somewhat of a letdown. Fooled by the beautiful blistering on the pizza, we were expecting more of a bite and chew than we got with this light, bready crust that held up more like a wet pita than anything else. The whole was far less than the sum of its parts.

The specialty pie built upon that disappointment with a much more significant one. Had we known from the onset that guanciale was essentially jowl bacon, we might not have been so quick to order this potato-laced, expensive oil-covered abortion. Everything from the fried fingerlings, to the white, chewy, pig face bacon, to the incredibly rich and pricey fungus oil resulted in an unpleasant, umami overload that literally and figuratively left a bad taste in our mouths.

Bottom line. Tappo outclasses many of its pizzeria peers with a charming, cozy establishment but is hampered in the pizza department by a reliance on great parts rather than a coherent final product that had us licking our chops for some of the other, non-pizza entrees at surrounding tables.

Establishment: 22/30
Pizza: 17/30
Hits the Spot: 5.3/10 
Large cheese: $12.00 (12")

Located just outside the heart of Stamford's downtown, 122 Pizza Bistro bills itself as a "hot spot" and pushes its "nuovo" martini bar and wine list a lot harder than it does its pizza. Regardless, 122 Pizza Bistro stands out with an alluring presence in an otherwise dead stretch of town.

Establishment. 122 Pizza Bistro has all the makings of a trendy contemporary pizzeria except for the requisite hipster/foodie following (or any real following, for that matter) and the lack of decimal places on the menu. We walked into a low lit dining room to find ample, comfortable, (and in places, velveteen) seating separated quite effectively from Bistro's full bar. Dotted with eclectic fixtures, decor, and unidentifiable breadlike appetizers, this incredibly glorified pizzeria feels very lively and modern, especially given its location on a rather dull stretch of Broad St. The service here was insanely quick, but rather brusque and businesslike as, evidently, a trade-off. 122 Pizza Bistro offers a relatively broad menu including dressed up iterations of traditional Italian appetizers, salads, pastas, and gourmet entrees as well as a unique selection of specialty pizzas including the likes of "California Club" and "Tri-Color Salad" variations in addition to traditional offerings.

Pizza. Despite Bistro's gussied-up-pizzeria-of-the-new-millennium facade, they too serve a bar pie (but it comes on a fancy wooden peel). The crust was moderately flavorful despite being very thin, but it was spongy and less crisp than we would have preferred. The sauce was extremely flavorful, so much that that it overwhelmed the rest of the pie with a veritable spice rack of bold spices and seasonings. However, the overall pie managed to break through this flavor avalanche with a delicious, equally bold medley of Italian cheeses complemented very well by our topping of choice, sweet Italian sausage. The wooden peel, while extremely gimmicky, insulated the super thin pizza very nicely, keeping it piping hot for as long as we needed to eat it. All in all, this pizza was extraordinarily flavorful, but its boldness was divisive amongst our judges, coming across too strong for some and just plain weird to others (not at all helped by its lackluster texture). It was a unique, moderately good bar pie with some strong flavors that not everyone will love.

The bottom line. 122 Pizza Bistro is a intimate, trendy restaurant on the cusp of downtown that serves an alright bar pie with a very unique taste.

Establishment: 23/30
Pizza: 19/30
Hits the Spot: 7.3/10
Large Cheese: $9.45 (12")

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Best Seat

Owned by famed baseball player, manager, self-proclaimed creator of the wrap sandwich, and Stamford's own Bobby Valentine, Bobby V's has been located down the street from Pappa's in the heart of downtown since 1980.

Establishment. Operating primarily as a sports bar, Bobby V's is covered from wall to wall in baseball memorabilia highlighting the success of amateur, professional, and international ball clubs as well as the borderline mediocrity of the New York Mess Mets. Bobby's can sit large parties with ease at its priceless baseball card encrusted tables, but the shear mass of televisions and the constant streaming of sporting events can tend to draw large crowds and cramp up even the most comfortable of sports bars. The service is usually hit-or-miss, but on our visit it was both personable and prompt, making us feel more at home in a loud, rowdy bar than we've felt at some restaurants (you know who you are). The menu is very diverse and includes standard pub fare, sandwiches, wrap sandwiches, Mexican-inspired specials, pastas, and full-on dinner entrees in addition to pizza.

Pizza. Bobby V's is the smallest pizza we've seen yet, but it's certainly packed with flavors, namely that of salt. This little greaseball pie is founded on a airy, breadlike crust, shining with butter and oil that would be insubstantial if not for density of cholesterol therein. Not to be outdone, the perfectly browned cheese adds its share of lipids to the mix while carrying a unique salty flavor and oozy consistency with a tendency of slipping off the pizza altogether. The sauce was a bit underwhelming, tasting chiefly of crushed tomato with little seasoning and being rather conservatively underproportioned. Unfortunately, the sausage topping of choice amplified the greasy, salty nature of this tiny pie but was rather flavorful nonetheless. Regardless, we couldn't get past the overwhelming urge to pop a Lipitor or three after consuming this mediocre-at-best, cookie-cutter bar pie.

The bottom line. While Bobby V's inviting atmosphere is as good as the 1986 Mets, our experience with the pizza was as hilariously disappointing as the 2007 team. Order wings.

Establishment: 20/30
Pizza: 16/30
Hits the Spot: 5.0/10
Large Cheese: $7.25 (10")

Located downtown within spitting distance of Remo's and Capriccio, Bradford's Grill & Tavern doesn't exactly draw from their clientele as it's primarily a bar. Bradford's also happens to serve pizza after 5:00 PM on weekdays and all day on Saturday, so at times, they meet all the qualifications to be a part of the Tour.

Establishment. Bradford's is a bar. It has beer, liquor, darts, and TVs; as far as bars go, it's pretty well equipped. However, as a restaurant, Bradford's shows slightly less promise than The Cleveland Show. Typically, a bar atmosphere does not make for good seating or table service and Bradford's is no exception. After waiting at a "please wait to be seated" sign for long enough to know that we weren't going to be seated, we wandered into the dining "room," which is actually more of a raised platform with a few tables of assorted sizes ranging from cramped to laughably small. The service was slow and inattentive, and given the situation, that's the best it'll ever be. Bradford's menu consists of ordinary pub food including happy hour specials every day from 4-8 PM and a moderate pizza selection (as long as its after 5 PM...).

Pizza. Bradford's offers a full 16" pizza (fraudulently billed as an 18" pizza) in addition to a traditional bar pie. The crust was surprisingly exceptional, with a yeasty flavor and an elusive chewy-but-crisp consistency. The sauce didn't surprise us at all as it was every bit as bland as we feared it would be, tasting of canned tomato and little else. Alternatively, the cheese was straight-up horrible, seemingly flavored with copious handfuls of salt and grease with the texture of vulcanized rubber despite the pie coming to the table freakishly hot. Our topping, sausage, was above average quality and rather tasty, but its excess oil compromised the pie's texture a bit. Overall, the schizophrenic nature of this pizza and hit-or-miss quality of each ingredient translated to a less than mediocre product. Maybe after a few beers this pie would have been passable, but without help, it was well below average.

The bottom line. Bradford's is a bar with a big, boring pizza that should probably be ordered in conjunction with drinks, if at all.

Establishment: 16/30
Pizza: 17/30
Hits the Spot: 6.0/10
Large Cheese: $12.00

Located on Bedford Street, Capriccio Cafe has made a considerable impact on the downtown landscape in its few years of existence. Expanding from its humble beginnings onto the sidewalk and (almost unforgivably) into the hull of what was once Pat's, Capriccio is easily one of the trendiest eateries around, billing itself as "Stamford's Italian cafe that speaks European."

Establishment. Capriccio is so European, it hurts. Its dining rooms are decked out with bright colors, tiled bars (fully stocked), shiny plastic furniture, contemporary lighting, and kitchen utensils bolted to the walls. Not a stranger to huge crowds, this establishment is well equipped to serve hoards of trendy young locals with indoor and outdoor seating, a full bar, expensive imported water, and the worst music you'll ever hear. This atmosphere is rather divisive at times, as it's either hopelessly charming or really freaking annoying. A ciascuno il suo. Regardless, Capriccio's menu is an exhaustive selection of countless Italian specialties ranging from light appetizers and salads to an arsenal of paninis, piadines, and toasts, as well as heavier pastas, traditional entrees, and a mouthwatering laundry list of desserts. Also, pizza.

Pizza. Capriccio's pizza is pretty good, but it's not what we were expecting. The crust was extraordinarily thin and crispy with not much substance or flavor to speak of, acting solely as a crunchy vehicle for cheese and sauce. The cheese was very fresh and not too greasy, but was also rather underwhelming in the flavor department as a result. However, Capriccio's sauce was tremendously flavorful and well seasoned, but it was much heavier than we'd expected, especially given the air of the restaurant itself. Coupled with the very thin crust and relatively neutral cheese, this sauce became an overwhelming centerpiece to a good, but rather one-dimensional pie. Fortunately, our "topping" of choice, sopressada, was safely nestled beneath the cheese and supplemented the pizza very, very well, adding some complexity to the overall product. Still, we weren't blown away by this pie and were left feeling as if pizza isn't necessarily what Capriccio does best.

The bottom line. Capriccio is a unique Italian cafe with a comprehensive, enticing menu, and good pizza that is probably the least of what they have to offer.

Establishment: 19/30
Pizza: 19/30
Hits the Spot: 6.7/10
Large Cheese: $7.00 (12")

Located rather unsurprisingly on Summer St., Summer Street Deli & Pizza seems to be open exclusively for breakfast and lunch (and presumably brunch) despite claims of being open until 8 pm. Its proximity to Planet Pizza may draw comparisons, but Summer Street offers a very different Greek style pizza (to Planet's New York/Neapolitan pie) and doesn't lie, straight-faced, about their abysmal parking situation.

Establishment. While near impossible to find open for dinner, Summer Street Deli & Pizza is surprisingly comfortable, larger than one would think from the outside, and a decent lunch option if you're in the area. We walked into a moderately sized dining room adjacent to a considerably large dining room, both of which smelled absolutely extraordinary. Unfortunately, these big, comfortable rooms were filled with tables as steady as Dane Cook is funny. Boasting family ownership since 1984, Summer Street's diverse menu consists of deli sandwiches, hot wedges, pasta dishes, Greek specials, and of course, pizza.

Pizza. Summer Street's pizza conforms to the traditional Greek pan mold with an airy, buttery crust that was cooked to perfection. The cheese and sauce were collectively average: both moderately flavorful and very complementary to the crust, but nothing extraordinary. The sausage, our topping of choice, was spastically strewn across the pizza and was also of average quality at best. As with most Greek pies, Summer Street's product tended to stew in its grease over the course of the meal, becoming less enticing with each additional (infuriatingly square) slice; this pie was considerably greasier than the rest, so this effect was noticeably amplified. That said, the last slice still wasn't terrible and managed to "hit the spot" quite effectively.

The bottom line. If you happen upon Summer Street Deli & Pizza and it's open, their pizza is worth trying, but don't expect to be blown away...expect to be full.

Establishment: 17/30
Pizza: 19/30
Hits the Spot: 7/10
Large Cheese: $12.00

Located in downtown Stamford, SBC Restaurant & Brewery is exactly what it sounds like it is. Operating primarily as a bar in several locations in Connecticut, SBC specializes in microbrews and admittedly upscale bar food including but certainly not limited to brick oven pizza.

Establishment. SBC is a brewpub in downtown Stamford equipped with all sorts of copper brewing tanks and a full bar, which is cool in its own right and certainly adds to the uniqueness factor. However, the atmosphere from the bar side tends to trickle over into the otherwise large, comfortable restaurant side, ushering in crappy music, bar service (read: slow, inattentive, terse), and drunk people. The brewery element does not go without notice either, as the restaurant carries a diverse selection of microbrews and has an industrial air that feels surprisingly genuine and necessary. SBC also has a full menu including hamburgers, steaks, salads, and other traditional bar fare in addition to pizza.

Pizza. SBC boasts a brick oven pizza with a tasty cracker-like crust and such an abundance of char that it might as well have been burnt. While just the right amount of cheese topped our pie (a welcome change to the cheese mountains we've been subjected to as of late), it left something to be desired in the flavor department as well. However, SBC's phenomenal sauce managed to carry this pizza through the flavor doldrums, adding a perfectly seasoned, perfectly proportioned element to an otherwise average pie. Possibly aware of its latent boringness, SBC manages to deliver a super thin New York style crust, cut Greek style (read: asinine square slices), on a large cookie sheet that makes the product pretty cumbersome to eat (also difficult to swallow was the astronomical $15 price tag). Idiosyncrasies aside, SBC puts together an above average pizza that's likely one of the better pies you'll find at a bar, but certainly not the highlight of their menu.

The bottom line. SBC is a brew pub that's clearly focused on things that aren't pizza; considering this, they make a fairly good product.

Establishment: 21/30
Pizza: 20/30
Hits the Spot: 8/10
Large Cheese: $15.00

Established in 2006, Remo's has quickly made a name for itself in a city where many pizzerias boast a 40+ year history. They offer a casual sit-down dining experience in the heart of downtown Stamford with the unique distinction of having been in a DeNiro film.

Establishment. Remo's boasts a beautiful interior with ample seating, tin ceilings, and an overall warm atmosphere approved by Robert DeNiro (eat your heart out, Joey Styles). Unfortunately, the restaurant can be a pain to get into sometimes, as free parking in the area is scarce and on busy nights, so is paid parking. Service was friendly, prompt, and came complete with crusty Italian bread and extra virgin olive oil. The lack of a pepper boy was rather conspicuous but otherwise, we were duly satisfied. Remo's menu is as comprehensive as they come, complete with traditional Italian appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and pastas as well as both New York and Neapolitan style pies. All else aside, Remo's is one pizza place you can confidently bring your date.

Pizza. Cooked in a wonderful brick oven, Remo's pizza is nothing short of excellent. Founded on a perfectly executed and delectible thin crust with just the right amount of char, Remo's pizza incorporates very fresh ingredients to achieve incredible flavors. Remo offers both traditional grated mozzarella (on their New York pie) and fresh sliced mozzarella (on their Neapolitan pie) of pretty high quality. Their sauce is just short of perfect, combining the slight sweetness of fresh crushed tomatoes and robust (but not overpowering) seasoning to make one of the best sauces we've had yet. Their topping selection is endless, including unique choices of artichokes and prosciutto di parma. We did however question, and get a good laugh out of, their rather arrogant classification of chicken as a "fancy topping." Our topping, roasted eggplant, was a relative weakness as was the temperature retention of such a thin crust pie. That said, Remo's has put together one of the tastiest pizzas we've come across so far on the Pizza Tour.

The bottom line. A relative newcomer to Stamford's pizza landscape, Remo's provides an inviting, comfortable atmosphere as well as one of the best, most flavorful pizzas in town.

Establishment: 25/30
Pizza: 24/30
Hits the Spot: 7.8/10
Large Cheese: $12.95

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Best of Downtown

2009 – Tournament Finalist (2nd place)

The Original Pappas Pizza (not to be confused with Pappas Pizzeria) is located in the heart of Stamford downtown. Known for its signature 10" personal pies, its perpetual buy five, get one free promotion, and its offering of half cooked pies for your home baking enjoyment, The Original Pappas is quick to distance itself from "its imitator's recipes and/or practices." Pappas claims to be "The ORIGINAL AND BEST," and as a public service, we're determined to verify at least the latter of those claims.

Establishment. Pappas boasts a diverse menu with pasta dishes, wedges, and appetizers in addition to its signature pizzas. Incidentally, they also boast a hallway-sized dining room with cramped tables that can barely handle a large pizza, let alone a party of three or more. Cleanliness is questionable as Pappas relies on its loyal patrons to bus their own tables and doesn't put on a big fuss if they do a mediocre job (how nice of them). On the way to the restroom, situated in a remote back corridor, one might notice a conspicuous shower curtain obscuring what looks to be cleaning equipment, but may easily be an organ trafficker waiting to hack you to death and harvest your kidneys. But seriously, try the pizza.

Pizza. Pappas' pizza is pretty good. The pan crust is buttery and golden brown while the sauce is very flavorful and perfectly portioned. The cheese is average, but it cools far earlier than the rest of the pizza (notably the painfully hot sauce) and thus lends itself to one of the many texture issues that plagues this pie. This pizza was also overwhelmingly greasy to the point where the second slice was noticeably less crispy than the first because it became so soaked with oil (if that's your thing, that's not necessarily bad). These issues might be avoided by ordering two or three of Pappas' small (10") pies, which are admittedly better. The meatball topping was obviously once a meatball, as it carried the unique flavor that one cannot get out of ground beef and was rather tasty. Hot out of the oven, Pappas' pizza is respectable, but as it loses temperature and starts stewing in its own grease, weird things may happen.

The bottom line. Pappas has pretty good pizza if you eat it quickly, and—as the less than inviting atmosphere suggests—you will.

Establishment: 12/30
Pizza: 18/30
Hits the Spot: 6/10
Large Cheese: $10.75

Planet Pizza is a smallish pizza chain with six other locations outside of Stamford. They offer online ordering, pizza by-the-slice, and are within walking distance of many office complexes in town. Not to be confused with Michelina's mythical 18" pie, Planet's pizza actually measures 18" in diameter and as it turns out, that's the only unique thing about it.

Establishment. We'd be hard pressed to say that the Planet Pizza experience doesn't feel like a manufactured one. Aside from the sub-par (read: slow, very slow) counter service, Planet Pizza offers a relatively delightful atmosphere with large, spotless tables, booths that can easily fit three to a side, and outdoor seating. Everything is arranged very methodically and as such, the restaurant can probably fit many, many more people than it's two stall parking lot allows for. That said, this antiseptic dining room has very little character and all the markings of a chain.

Pizza. Manufactured or not, Planet Pizza offers a pretty decent product. With a sizable, breadlike New York style crust, a generous sprinkling of slightly above average cheese, and moderately tasty sauce, Planet's product is good, hot out of the oven. Just good. Time is not kind to any of the parties involved, as everything loses too much of its zing once the behemoth pie begins to cool, including the topping of choice (sausage) which did not impress from the beginning.

The bottom line. Planet Pizza offers a big, average pizza and big, clean tables at which to eat it.

Establishment: 21/30
Pizza: 18/30
Hits the Spot: 7/10
Large Cheese: $13.99 (18")

This place looks like death from the outside. Tucked away behind a Dunkin' Donuts and the hilariously named For Your Convenience convenience store, the half burnt out sign atop John's Pizza screams, "we'd probably fail our health inspection." But never fear, just beyond its doors is a downright respectable pizza restaurant.

Establishment. Beyond the hideous exterior is a bright, clean, spacious pizza parlor with a diverse menu and loud, boisterous counter service. Unfortunately, John's only takes cash which is a practice that we believe should be reserved for drug dealers, hookers, and Slovenians. Also, one kind of has to navigate through the kitchen to get to the bathrooms, but beggars can't be choosers, yes?

Pizza. Here's where the place takes off. John's Pizza is excellent. The dough is made in-house daily, the cheese is great, the pie would have stayed piping hot for 3 days straight had we not finished it in 6 minutes, and while the sauce isn't perfect, it's worlds better than some of the flavorless garbage we've been subjected to thus far. Everything falls into place to yield a superb product save for the less-than-stellar toppings (meatball, read: crumbled ground beef). Had it not been for John's unfortunate use of the dreaded cut-the-round-pizza-into-square-pieces-leaving-four-crustless-and-undesirable-center-slices technique, we might be willing to just give them the trophy now.

The bottom line. Uninviting and brown from the outside, John's offers an excellent, delicious product to those brave enough to delve into its guts: the kiwi of Stamford pizza restaurants.

Establishment: 17/30
Pizza: 23/30
Hits the Spot: 9/10
Large Cheese: $11.75

Atlantic Pizza was once a takeout-only pizzeria located in the heart of downtown Stamford. Fortunately, their brand new dining room was more than hospitable to our large party of five.

Establishment. The beautiful new dining area was spacious and accommodating, but if Michael's parking was nothing short of abysmal, Atlantic's parking was simply nonexistent. Otherwise, Atlantic Pizza is a fine establishment with good service, ample seating, and a phenomenal menu. However, the restaurant atmosphere seemed a bit manufactured and antiseptic, without the soul of a true small town pizzeria.

Pizza. We all agree that Atlantic Pizza House has a good product. Unfortunately, there was no clear consensus on what made it good. Crust, cheese, and sauce received good to excellent marks across the board while texture was almost unanimously derided. We'd venture to say that this may have something to do with the asinine practice of cutting a circular pizza pie into squares rather than conventional slices (like, you know, a pie), but the jury's still out. This haphazard cutting technique has a tendency to provoke considerable ingredient slip as well, so yeah...don't do that.

The bottom line. Atlantic Pizza is a Stamford mainstay, but meddling little details get in the way of what is an otherwise good product.

Establishment: 20/30
Pizza: 21/30
Hits the Spot: 5/10
Large Cheese: $10.75