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")

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")

A few months ago, self-proclaimed “fancy metrosexual” and friend of the Tour, JR from Streets of Stamford brought to our attention this Alan Richman (GQ) article detailing “the 25 best pizzas you’ll ever eat.” Among the pies in the surrounding areas are Pepe’s and Sally’s in New Haven, as well as Iron Chef (and documented blogger hater) Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s newly acquired (and 100+ year old) Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, NY.

Establishment. Tarry Lodge is as white tablecloth a restaurant as they come, all the way down to the white tablecloths. A unique, rustic labyrinth of eating nooks, finished wood, and water closets, Tarry Lodge balances elegance and comfort with warm decor in its saloon-style bar, tucked away dining rooms, and private party rooms. Our waiters (we had about seven of them) were extremely attentive, personable, and quick, especially considering our meal consisted of little more than free focaccia and water (with innumerable refills) and a few personal pizzas off of an otherwise well-rounded and complete menu. Tarry Lodge offers elegant, modern, mouthwatering twists on classic Italian fare and a seemingly endless wine list in addition to some rather unique pizzas.

Pizza. Richman’s article talks up Tarry Lodge’s sauceless white clam pie (pictured right), so we were eager to try it in addition to their traditional margherita pizza as well as a more modern meatball and jalapeño concoction. Each pie sat atop a light but dense, chewy crust and was absolutely scorched to a crisp in their wonderful wood-burning oven, giving the crust a unique texture, a muted smokiness, and a metric ton of slightly bitter char. The sauce (where applicable) was fresh-tasting and bright, albeit a bit watery and thin for our tastes, both in terms of flavor and texture. Tarry Lodge uses incredibly flavorful, creamy, and delicious cheeses on their pies. That being said, it’s less of a letdown when the thin, personal pie cools and the cheese congeals rather quickly. A letdown, yes, just less of one.The marghertia pie (pictured above) was as expected, highlighting quality staple ingredients and the clean flavors of garlic and basil by allowing them to play off one another and remaining simple but delicious.

Conversely, the meatball and jalapeño (and tomato and fontina) pizza (pictured below) combined two very different flavors in a rather haphazard fashion. While the meatballs were plump, tender, and extremely well-seasoned, the addition of jalapeño peppers detracted from the pie as a whole and overpowered the subtleties of the fresh tomato and fontina cheese.The white clam pie was unlike anything we’ve ever tried (even Pepe’s white clam pie), featuring fresh, salty in-the-shell clams and healthy amounts of garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes in a buttery, briny explosion of flavor. After removing each tiny, delicious clam from its shell and assembling a slice, the first bite is nothing short of mind-blowing in all of its spicy/clammy/salty/garlicky glory. Unfortunately, once that clam was gone, there was little to the pizza itself and the dry, chewy crust and the numbing jaw soreness that would ensue really drove that point home.

The pizza at Tarry Lodge was not bad by any means, but for all the pageantry surrounding it—a wood-burning oven, world-renowned owners and chefs, a menu without decimal places—we somehow were expecting more.

The bottom line. Tarry Lodge does not make the best pizza we’ve ever had, but it’s far from the worst if you can somehow convince yourself not to order pasta or an entree.

Establishment: 26/30
Pizza: 19/30
Hits the Spot: 5.7/10
Large Cheese: $10.00 (12")

Located on Wall St. in Norwalk, Fat Cat Pie Co. is a newcomer to Norwalk’s anemic pizza scene with a bit of a following. Priding itself on an extensive wine list, a vast artisanal cheese selection, and super thin crust pizzas incorporating fresh organic ingredients, Fat Cat Pizza Co. is certainly different from many, if not all, of the pizzerias we’ve reviewed until now.

Establishment. We were met at Fat Cat Pie Co. by sprawling, minimalist bar and dining areas, decked out with hardwood floors, dark painted ceilings, IKEA-esque furnishings and extremely dim lighting bordering on uncomfortable darkness. The decor is rather stark and generally nonexistent, giving the restaurant a very clean, antiseptic feel and the look of an expensive loft of someone without the time to unpack. Needless to say, there’s a lot of wall for all sorts of dining sounds to bounce off of, and while even we were having some trouble hearing our otherwise attentive and helpful waiter on a not-so-crowded evening, we can only imagine how impossible conversation is when the place is hopping on a Friday night. Fat Cat’s menu was predictably bare (we’re sensing a theme here), consisting of pizzas and salads as well as cheese plate appetizers, mildly enticing deserts (like cookies with whipped cream; exorbitantly priced, but probably still delicious), and a reasonably priced, very unique beer and wine selection.

Pizza. Our pizzas of choice were a plain cheese pie (don’t do this), one topped with house-made sausage, and one with eggplant and fresh, chopped red onions. It’s rather interesting that this restaurant calls itself Fat Cat, as this was the thinnest freaking pizza we’ve ever eaten with a crust no thicker than a Mission tortilla and barely half the flavor. Cooked to a crisp, cracker-like consistency, Fat Cat’s crust is laughingly brittle and would easily shatter if dropped. The sauce—likely a conservative splash of crushed organic tomatoes and not much else—was about as bland as the decor, with little to no distinguishable taste and barely enough of it on any given pie to even lend itself to the overall texture. Fortunately, the cheese was a more-than-passable fresh, organic mozzarella with a satisfying snap and almost smoky notes that was disappointingly underportioned on two of our pizzas (one of them being the plain cheese pie).

However, Fat Cat Pie Co. really came through on the topping front, as both the house-made (!) sausage and eggplant toppings added much-needed flavors to pizzas that were essentially built as vehicles for these additions (as such, the plain cheese pie was an abomination). Also worth mentioning are the spice caddies that follow each pie to the table, complete with the basics (black pepper, red pepper, chili powder) and some less traditional toppers (Turkish and Bangkok seasonings) that, while unique, only hammers home the point that Fat Cat is more about gimmicky toppings and spices than a quality by-the-book pizza.

The bottom line. Fat Cat Pie Co. makes a super-thin, underflavored, overpriced, gimmicky edible plate of a pizza that is only as good as the toppings offered and made us stare longingly at the conversely huge salads (which doesn’t ever happen).

Establishment: 22/30
Pizza: 14/30
Hits the Spot: 3/10
Large Cheese: $9.00 (13")

A relative newcomer to the Stamford bar scene, Tracks is located on Hope Street, filling some of the void that the defunct Fireside Restaurant left behind as both a bar and restaurant.

Establishment. Tracks Bar & Restaurant is, by and large, the friendliest bar we've been to on the Tour. We were welcomed, as if to a home, by everyone working there at some point throughout the evening, including a playful, profanity-laced conversation with Tracks' Irish-brogued owner, Jimmy. The establishment is clearly split into bar and restaurant sections, with a fully stocked bar and well-dressed dining area signifying each, respectively, all appearing relatively clean (especially considering the number that the Stamford High softball team did on the dining room before we got there). As we've mentioned, the service was overwhelmingly personable and attentive, going so far as to adjust the air conditioner return that was blowing in our faces. Tracks' lunch/dinner menu consists of Italian-style appetizers and entrees, soups, salads, and of course, pizza with some select items available on a bar-style menu (including some Irish fare) at all times.

Pizza. Tracks' pizza is a step above the average bar pie, competing with traditional pizzerias in terms of both size and taste. The crust, made in house, is thin and crunchy with a slightly darker-than-golden "shell" (quite honestly bordering on overcooked) and delicious, chewy innards. The cheese was exceptional with a delightfully gooey texture, fresh tasting (albeit somewhat muted and bland) flavors, and the temperature retention of a cast iron skillet. However, Tracks' sauce is what really brought their pie together with an immense amount of flavor caked on rather thick. While borderline overpowering, this homemade sauce elevated a cookie-cutter bar pie through our often held glass ceiling of bar pies, shattering any preconceptions we may have had. The sausage, our topping of choice, was very light in color and carried a unique, much appreciated flavor while giving the pie further dimension despite its striking resemblance to deer turds. As we've mentioned, this bar pizza remained white hot throughout our meal, framing a surprisingly good pizza experience.

The bottom line. Tracks is a charming Irish pub worth visiting if only for its delightfully plucky and friendly staff; they also put together a solid, restaurant-style bar pie that isn't the best in town, but certainly won't disappoint.

Establishment: 23/30
Pizza: 21/30
Hits the Spot: 7.0/10
Large Cheese: $9.99 (14")

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Best Mother@#$%ing Waitstaff

Located dockside at Stamford Landing Marina, Paradise Bar & Grille is traditionally a summer destination because of its ambiance, happy hour, and relative seclusion on the waterfront. While specializing primarily in overpriced seafood and bar fare, they also have pizza.

Establishment. Paradise Bar & Grille is a beautiful, spacious, reasonably clean establishment that truly lives up to it's name with a unique, open air dining room overlooking the Sound marina and the fleet of private boats docked within. The breeze off the water is conveniently squelched by strategically placed propane heaters, making for a very comfortable outdoor dining experience regardless of the weather. Paradise makes up for lost patio space in the wintertime with a large, indoor fireplace, although waterside dining is far less charming when it's 17 degrees outside. In any event, the service was quick and relatively personable, but inattentive and more characteristic of the restaurant's full bar than of a table service restaurant. Paradise's (exceedingly pricey) menu consists primarily of seafood with some salad and sandwich options as well as a comparatively limited selection of specialty and traditional pizzas.

Pizza. The pizza at Paradise Bar & Grille didn't really wow us, but it still wasn't half bad. The crust was rather tasty, with a hearty, yeasty bite, but really disappointed in the texture department as it was lifelessly devoid of crispness and felt undercooked. However, the cheese seemed to be cooked to perfection with a wonderful golden brown color and above average flavor. We were less than enthusiastic about this pie's sauce as it was about average quality with an interestingly tangy, well-seasoned flavor, but appeared in such excess on the pizza that it was overwhelming. This mass of sauce made for a pie that fell apart quite easily, the cheese sliding clear off the crust at every opportunity. Our topping of choice, sausage, was also interesting and rather divisive amongst our judges, with some of us deeming it weird and borderline inedible due to the overpowering taste of fennel seeds, and some of us appreciating its uniqueness. Overall, this pizza was about on par with the bar pies we've had with some extra touches that could go either way as a matter of preference.

The bottom line. Paradise Bar & Grill is a great place to eat out if you've got some money to burn, especially during the summer, but its pizza is just about average at best, albeit interesting and somewhat unique.

Establishment: 25/30
Pizza: 18/30
Hits the Spot: 6.0/10
Large Cheese: $9.95 (12")

Located in Stamford's East Side on West Main Street, Antonio's Restaurant was a late entry on the Pizza Tour and unlike the other late entries, is an actual pizza restaurant. Considering the torrent of bar pies we've experienced lately, we were excited to take the Tour back to a true pizzeria for a change.

Establishment. Antonio's is exactly what you'd expect of a sit-down pizzeria with a few extra quirks that make it unique. After scoring a parking spot that wasn't chained up by the adjacent dry cleaner, we walked into the restaurant through a lattice tunnel reminiscent of the queuing area at It's a Small World to an instrumental rendition of The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin." When we weren't preoccupied playing Name that Tune with the ever changing pan flute Muzak offerings, we were very relaxed in a low-lit, clean, and comfortable dining room, eating basket upon basket of warm, free bread. An interesting, mysterious back room (party room?) also exists at Antonio's with fewer tables, plastic tablecloths, and what appears to be a dance floor accessible through a side door labeled "Steak Mix" (your guess is as good as ours). In any event, Antonio's menu consists of both Italian and Mexican specialties, thus providing a unique opportunity to order tacos with your pizza.

Pizza. Antonio's pizza is pretty good. The crust is relatively thick and very crunchy with a strong, yeasty flavor and a unique, slightly overpowering bite. The cheese was delightfully stringy in contrast with the crust's bold textures and was moderately flavorful without being very greasy at all as well. Unfortunately, the sauce did not complement the rest of the pie at all, as it was underflavored, underproportioned, and to be blunt, boring. Regardless, this scorching hot pie stayed as such throughout the meal and was rather filling (both clearly the results of the thick, crunchy crust slab). Our topping of choice, skimpily distributed sausage, was not one of the better ones we've had, exuding a considerable amount of grease and oil with very little flavor payoff. Overall, Antonio's pizza was rather good with some unique, not necessarily complementary texture components and a traditional flavor we haven't seen in a while.

The bottom line. Antonio's is a nice place to eat with a slightly quirky ambiance echoed by the mostly traditional but still unique pizza.

Establishment: 21/30
Pizza: 20/30
Hits the Spot: 6.5/10
Large Cheese: $9.95

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

Located at E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course, Zody's 19th Hole has lineage dating back to the original 19th Hole, which closed in 2004, reopened with new owners after a city-mandated $1.3 million renovation as the pluckily named Fore Seasons, later changed names to Fore, then again to the Clubhouse Grill, before fizzling, dying, and rising from its own ashes as the aforementioned Zody's. After a five-year sabbatical, the original owners have returned triumphantly to their loyal fans as well as tired, sweaty golfers.

Establishment. Catering to a unique demographic, Zody's is accommodating to just about everyone with its separate dining room and lounge areas, outdoor seating, and full bar, thus drawing far more business than the abysmally designed parking lot can handle. The dining room is spacious and offers excellent views of the course while the lounge has more of a bar feel as it's a bit more cramped, often loud and rambunctious, and always crowded. While we can't speak for the service in the dining room, the lounge service was very quick, but not very personable or attentive. Zody's offers a diverse menu including pastas, sandwiches (as well as their Italian counterpart, the panini), wraps, salads, mouthwatering entrees, and of course, pizza.

Pizza. Zody's offers a 12" bar pie, which is convenient because anything larger wouldn't have fit on our tiny table in the lounge. Nevertheless, the crust was exceptionally good, being crispy, slightly chewy, and very flavorful with the perfect amount of char. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the sauce and cheese, as they fall rather disappointingly into the bar pie mold. The sauce was rather bland and in short supply atop this pizza, while the cheese, although somewhat flavorful, was nothing to write home about. However, this pie came to the table screaming hot and stayed as such through most of the meal while remaining perfectly intact, thus enabling us to suck it down in under 10 minutes, so there's something to be said about that. Our topping of choice, grilled chicken, added an interesting complementary texture (especially given the perfectly cooked and charred crust) but little flavor (it is chicken, after all). Overall, Zody's fits the mold of a bar pie and will satisfy an appetite, but it certainly doesn't stand out in a city so full of them.

The bottom line. Zody's is a very nice establishment with a respectable bar pie and a diverse, tempting menu that will almost certainly convince you to order something else.

Establishment: 21/30
Pizza: 19/30
Hits the Spot: 5.8/10
Large Cheese: $9.99 (12")

Located in Shippan, Brennan's is nestled away in an otherwise quiet, residential neighborhood. With a block party mentality, Brennan's has become an iconic hangout after Fourth of July fireworks (save for 2007) and truly embraces a small town relationship with The City that Works year round.

Establishment. Brennan's has all the makings of a neighborhood bar, from its secluded location to its old-fashioned charm and welcoming atmosphere equipped with TVs, darts, and plenty of regulars. Brennan's normally offers both indoor and outdoor seating, however, the smallish dining room was far from sufficient for our large party of six and while the patio was very comfortable, it still felt like an afterthought, furnished with cheap nesting PVC tables and chairs. Nonetheless, the service was as personable as one would expect of such an intimate locale, albeit a bit on the inattentive side at times. Brennan's menu is severely limited to regular bar fare including wings, burgers, salads, sandwiches, personal pizzas and little else.

Pizza. Having sampled many bar pies by now, we found this pizza particularly refreshing as it actually tasted good and might be the first grilled pie we've tried. Brennan's crust was thin and chewy, with a uniquely strong flavor imparted by the grill. This paired very, very well with the cheese, which was phenomenally gooey and absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the sauce, which was proportioned so sparingly that we could barely taste it, let alone rate it. The grill also afforded this pizza a unique consistency: charred and cracker-like on the bottom with an otherwise light, airy consistency throughout. Unique wasn't necessarily better, as it seemed to detract from the overall quality of this pie. Our toppings of "choice," bacon and hamburger, weren't bad, but they certainly weren't anything special (Brennan's ran out of our actual choice toppings, sausage and pepperoni). Overall, we were impressed with this pizza despite its shortcomings and damning "bar pie" identity.

The bottom line. While not the easiest restaurant to find, Brennan's is a homey (albeit cramped) neighborhood pub with one of the best bar pies in town.

Establishment: 18/30
Pizza: 20/30
Hits the Spot: 7.8/10
Large Cheese: $6.00 (10")

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Surprisingly Good

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 closer to the New York state line than to the heart of Stamford and specializing in pub food and fancy entrees on menus without decimal places, you might wonder how Long Ridge Tavern ended up on the Stamford Pizza Tour. Here's why: they serve pizza and they're not Domino's (but they might as well be).

Establishment. Long Ridge Tavern is not a pizzeria by any stretch of the imagination, it's a pub and restaurant that happens to serve pizza. We entered Long Ridge Tavern's authentically old-timey, rustic establishment through a quaint garden walkway and into the intoxicating aroma of a wood burning stove. Dark and intimately lit, the Tavern is tastefully decorated with local antiques and tools that may or may not have been used to shoe horses in the 1700s. However, the service and management were hardly reflective of the restaurant's inherent charm, as our waiter was rather cold, inattentive, and borderline rude. The menu also leaves something to be desired, as it consists of no more than a page of overpriced entrees, pub fare, and an infuriating $2 tax on shared items that smacks of smug, North Stamford arrogance. Of course, this menu also includes a $12 dollar personal pizza.

Pizza. Long Ridge Tavern's pizza is just plain forgettable. The crust was bland and tasteless with the bready consistency of a Domino's pie and barely half the flavor. The cheese was of very high quality and nearly greaseless, but it was flavorless just the same. Long Ridge Tavern's sauce showed a glint of hope, as it was fresh, light, and sparingly seasoned, but there was hardly any of it on our pie so its quality was almost irrelevant. Both the lack of sauce and the aforementioned airy crust contributed negatively to the overall texture of the pie and made it feel pretty unsubstantial. However, this cheese bread hit the table smoking hot and stayed as such for the duration of our meal, so there's something. Our hoity-toity topping of choice, fried calamari, was also very good, but not so much a choice, as this particular pizza was more or less a special at the time and we had very few options otherwise. When we left the restaurant, we forgot the slices we had wrapped up to-go on the table. Enough said.

The bottom line. If you like the smell of burning wood, being treated like dirt, have money to burn, and don't necessarily want pizza, go here (or to Cracker Barrel).

Establishment: 24/30
Pizza: 19/30
Hits the Spot: 5.3/10
Large Cheese: $12.00 (12")

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Closest to Teitelbaum

When we first started the Pizza Tour, many of this restaurant's rabid, obnoxious fans assured us that Colony Grill was the uncrowned champion and that we were wasting our time searching for Stamford's second-best. We've been told for months that we were unfit to judge any places in Stamford without having been to this cathedral of hot oil and cold beer, for Colony is the measuring stick with which to judge not only pizza, but ethics, morals, and the sins of man. While that's all up for question, there's no denying that Colony Grill is a veritable icon of Stamford, CT, and we're here to find out why.

Establishment. Colony Grill is a glorified dive bar and anyone who tells you different is an outright liar. In its heyday, Colony forced its patrons to stakeout their would-be tables in a cutthroat war for the next available booth, refused to distribute restaurant necessities such as menus and plates, proudly let the phone ring when they were just too damn busy to bother answering it, and took no less than 45 minutes to complete an order, no matter how big or small it was. They did all of this with the warmth and friendliness of Timothy McVeigh. While Colony has evolved ever so slightly from its bizarre, unfriendly (and oddly charming) beginnings, they're more or less the same. Sure, the renovated bathroom/waiting room area no longer resembles something out of Saw IV, and sure, their new waiting list no longer perpetuates the free-for-all sprint for a table, and sure, menus (if you can call a list of toppings and a bunch of drinks a menu) are now generously located at all of the tables, but Colony still screams, "dive!" Now, this can all be either interpreted as fascinating local charm or as repulsive, off-putting, local dickery. We are inclined to think the latter of Colony Grill.

Pizza. Fortunately for Colony, this is where they get away with being as annoying and unbecoming a "restaurant" as they are. The pizza's good. Colony's crust is so thin that you'll be baffled as to why it takes so damn long to hit the table. Regardless, this crust is dense, chewy, crispy (try and explain those last two), and the main contributor to the unique Colony flavor that you have to taste to understand. However, Colony's sauce and cheese are nothing short of boring. While cooked to perfection and very well proportioned, the cheese is largely flavorless, as is the sauce. However, no self-respecting Stamforder (Stamfordian? Stamfordite?) will ever recommend a plain pizza from Colony, as their toppings truly stand out. Our toppings of choice were Colony's famed hot oil and sausage and while there were only but six hearty chunks of local Deyulio's sausage topping a pie pockmarked with hot oil bubbles boiling up through the cheese, they absolutely made this pie. This should be no surprise, but Colony's ultra thin pizza loses its magic when it cools down and being as thin as it is, it sure cools fast and really caters to voracious thin crust lovers that can house a pie in ten minutes or so. If you're one of those people, Colony won't disappoint.

The bottom line. For thin crust bar pies, Colony is the place to go despite having a less than welcoming environment and literally nothing else to offer. However, there are better pizzas in Stamford.

Establishment: 18/30
Pizza: 21/30
Hits the Spot: 8.3/10
Large Cheese: $8.00

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Tournament Finalist (6th place)

Located in Glenbrook, Nick's Pizza has a quiet but loyal following and reputation as a quality family restaurant with great value. Touting a "long tradition of Italian cooking" and origins in "a small town near Naples in Southern Italy, where pizza first originated" Nick's sets the bar high from the get go.

Establishment. Nick's Pizza seems, quite honestly, to have somewhat of an identity crisis. We walked into what looked like the classic model of a counter service pizzeria. Upon surveying all of the tables in the main dining area and finding none that weren't taken or consumed by large puddles of water, we ventured into the back room to find a touch of class that we never would have expected. Nick's small, low lit auxiliary dining room with a full bar, large, comfortable hardwood booths and dinner rolls (glorious, glorious dinner rolls) welcomed us in from the laminated pressboard jungle we'd left. The service was nothing short of excellent as our waitress was very attentive, personable, and lightning quick. Not surprisingly, the menu was laden with Italian specialties and pizzas with numerous topping options and specialty pies.

Pizza. For as extraordinary as Nick's establishment is, their pizza is twice as underwhelming. While the crust was phenomenally flavorful and yeasty, it was easily the strongest aspect of this pie, hearkening back recent memories of the aforementioned glorious dinner rolls. Nick's sauce was conservative and underseasoned, bordering on bland and the cheese was average at best. The texture of this pie caused the bulk of its score to melt away, as it seemed undercooked and uncharacteristically floppy. Surprisingly enough, the pizza came to the table piping hot and remained as such throughout the bulk of the meal, so go figure. The slices of meatball that topped our pie were a bit on the bland side as well (see a pattern?) but they were perfectly tender albeit so sparsely distributed that we kind of wanted more. Such was the theme of this pizza: decidedly mediocre for many little reasons rather than a huge, glaring one.

The bottom line. Nick's Pizza is an interesting establishment with two considerably different restaurant atmospheres, both of which make a very average pizza at best.

Establishment: 24/30
Pizza: 16/30
Hits the Spot: 5/10
Large Cheese: $12.25

Located in the Cove, Fiddler's Green faces pretty stiff local competition from many local pizzerias nearby. That said, they offer quite a different product from the average restaurant as well as a pub atmosphere serving pizza and similar bar foods up until last call.

Establishment. Fiddler's is a bar and a pretty well kept bar at that. Comfortable (albeit somewhat limited) seating in Fiddler's dining room and bar frames exactly what one would expect from a bustling pub atmosphere: a place to drink. Pool tables, dart boards, wall-mounted televisions, and various arcade cabinets employing trackballs provide more than enough activities for the average drunkard, and the place is pretty clean for the more discriminating sober folk that may somehow find their way in here. The service is more than hospitable (and pretty quick for a bar) and the decor is both charming and overwhelmingly Irish. Fiddler's menu consists of the usual pub fare (sandwiches, burgers, salads) as well as Irish specials and personal 12" bar pies.

Pizza. The thing about bar pizzas is that they're made under the impression that the eventual consumer will probably be on their way to a drunken stupor. That said, Fiddler's pie is about on par with the other bar pizzas we've had and certainly isn't terrible. This pizza's crust is thin, crispy, and surprisingly flavorful with a generous amount of char. The cheese is considerably less so, with the consistency and blandness of any inexpensive bagged cheese you'd buy at the Grade-A (which is rather conspicuously located right across the street...). The sauce on this pizza, however, tasted fresh and relatively well-seasoned. The pie's texture left something to be desired, as it was cooked to a cracker like consistency and often detracted from both the overall flavor and the pizza's ability to stay intact. Our topping, Irish sausage, tasted like what we'd assume is a traditional Irish banger with the snap of a natural casing and the taste of a meat we'd prefer not to guess on seasoned with whatever the hell constitutes Irish seasoning, winning points for originality and uniqueness if nothing else. As a bar snack, Fiddler's Green serves an about average pie that would Irish jig itself into a less savory realm at any other location.

The bottom line. If you're going out for drinks and little pizzas, Fiddler's is the a place to go.

Establishment: 20/30
Pizza: 17/30
Hits the Spot: 5/10
Large Cheese: $8.00 (12")

Family owned and operated since 1947, Pellicci's has developed quite a following in Stamford since its inception over 60 years ago. Located amidst no-name liquor stores, a golden boxer statue and Lucy's Pizzeria, Pellicci's is clearly the diamond in the rough of Stamford's West Side.

Establishment. Pellicci's old world decor and spacious, low lit dining rooms set the precedent for a superb Italian restaurant. With plucky Italian music and checkered tablecloths abound, Pellicci's delivers an air of class in an otherwise dingy part of town with traditional ambiance, full table service (however slow), and the personal flair that only a family business can deliver. Equipped with a virtual arsenal of Italian specialties, this restaurant can cater to anyone in the mood for steaks, seafood, chicken, veal (all served as platters or family style), and of course, pizza.

Pizza. This pizza clearly combines good quality ingredients and homemade, tried and true recipes to make a stellar product. Pellicci's Neapolitan crust is perfectly cooked with just the right amount of char and crispiness, pairing well with perfectly portioned, delicious, stringy cheese (albeit a tad bland). Pellicci's truly shines with its sauce, quite obviously homemade and perfected as a pasta sauce over the course of the establishment's 60+ year run. While flavorful, the sauce is also very heavy and concentrated, overpowering the rest of the pie at times. Another highlight of this pizza was the meatball topping: an incredibly flavorful and blatantly handmade ingredient that scored perfectly across all of our judges. Despite the inherent quality of each ingredient, these flavors married in a lackluster fashion. However, this shortcoming was hardly enough to tarnish such a delicious pizza.

The bottom line. Pellicci's is an inviting Italian restaurant and while we're positive they have much more to offer than pizza, their pizza is still very, very good.

Establishment: 26/30
Pizza: 23/30
Hits the Spot: 7/10
Large Cheese: $11.95

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

The self-proclaimed "authority on fine dining," Spazzio Restaurant & Pizza is (quite unsurprisingly) a restaurant first and a pizzeria second. Offering an exquisite dine-in experience as well as fast, high quality dine-out options, Spazzio clearly specializes in the customer service and detail that one would expect of a fine Italian restaurant. They also make a pretty good pizza.

Establishment. Spazzio has a large, extravagant dining room (by Pizza Tour standards, at least) with friendly service, complementary dinner rolls, and cloth napkins; the three pillars of class. This restaurant really stands out as one of the nicest establishments we've been to yet, providing all sorts of unnecessary amenities that one could not possibly expect of a pizzeria including a pepper mill boy, a cheese grater guy, and a fully stocked bar. That said, Spazzio also offers traditional Italian fare on a menu that goes far beyond pizza.

Pizza. Spazzio's pizza was very good, but still left something to be desired. The crust was very flavorful and uniquely yeasty, the cheese was of very high quality, and the sauce was perfectly seasoned. In fact, the flavor of the pie was unbelievable, however the texture was like that of a basset hound's ear. This pizza crust was perfectly thin but so far from crisp that it almost felt undercooked, behaving more like dough than a true crust. Coupled with its extremely hot temperature, Spazzio's floppy pizza proved rather difficult to eat. Save for a single shortcoming however, this pie was excellent and flavorful with ingredients of the highest quality.

The bottom line. Spazzio is a fine Italian restaurant that serves a less-than-crisp but otherwise very good, extremely flavorful pizza.

Establishment: 27/30
Pizza: 22/30
Hits the Spot: 8/10
Large Cheese: $12.00

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Best Establishment

This place is very fun. Vinny's Backyard Restaurant has a lot of character and offers a unique product at the very least. Located off the beaten path in Springdale amidst embroidery and custom signs shops, Vinny's offers the best of both worlds with a full, spacious bar equipped with TVs in the round as well as a conventional sit-down area with table service.

Establishment. Vinny's has a playful atmosphere unlike anything we've seen thus far, resembling (unsurprisingly) a backyard barbecue. Never to be shorted on wall trinkets, both the bar and dining room are loaded to the ceiling with a collection that would put the Applebee's to shame. The menu is very diverse, offering 12" bar pizzas, wings, ribs in the style of the defunct Fireside Restaurant, and daily specials. The wait staff was quick and attentive (also quick to charge for refills and not so quick to deliver the check...I had to slip that in) and tables were bussed at a lightning quick pace. We weren't too happy with the proximity of tables to one another or to entering customers but all in all, Vinny's establishment has been far and away our favorite.

Pizza. To be blunt, Vinny's isn't going to win any awards for their pizza. The crust is extremely thin and crackeresque and serves only as a vehicle for cheese and sauce, neither of which is anything to write home about. If a cracker crust is what you're looking for, you've come to the right place, otherwise, you'll be disappointed with the texture as well. It came as no surprise to us when our paper thin pizza cooled to room temperature on its tumultuous journey from the oven to the table. On the upside, this made for a very high resistance to the dreaded ingredient slip.

The bottom line. Vinny's is an excellent bar and grill with a bold, local flair and and an unparalleled dining room experience (also, they happen to serve pizza).

Establishment: 26/30
Pizza: 17/30
Hits the Spot: 7/10
Large Cheese: $8.00 (12")

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Most Fun