Earlier today James Swann shared an article from The Arizona Republic on Facebook. It was a list of the top 10 pizza joints in the Valley. Dominic Armato wrote it. I did a little research on Dominic. He is a food blogger that recently joined The Arizona Republic and is well known for his insight on food in the Valley. I consider myself a foodie, so maybe Dominic and I should hang out! Let me start by sharing his list.
- La Grande Orange Grocery
- The Parlor
- Cibo
- Craft 64
- La Piazza Al Forno
- Il Bosco Pizza
- Forno Fabbri
- Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana
- Lamp Wood Oven Pizzeria
- Pizzeria Bianco
It seems that most if not all of these pizzas are thin crust. That’s not a bad thing… As with craft beer, craft pizzas are all the rage right now. The focus of these pizzas are the toppings and the ingredients used in the crust. I, however, prefer thicker pizzas, like the deep dish at Oregano’s Pizza Bistro, over these thin almost flatbread style pizzas. Hang on… Before you hang me for my comments on thin crust, I am starting to appreciate this style of pizza more and more. I just would rather order one of these type of pizzas as an appetizer and not a meal. Also, these aren’t really pizzas you can have delivered.
A few weeks ago I was actually at Craft 64 and got the chance to talk to James about their pizzas. They use fresh ingredients from Arizona, their toppings are out of this world, and the flavors are truly unforgettable. Fate Brewing Co. makes a similar style of pizza… I’m surprised they didn’t make Dominic’s list.
As with craft beer, it doesn’t matter what style of pizza you like or what toppings you like, your palate is the deciding factor. If you like a thin crust chese pizza, that is great. I prefer a thick stuffed pizza filled with a wide variety of ingredients. What Dominic’s article did, besides inspire this blog post, was encourage me to visit some of these pizza joints. I mean, until reading this, I had never heard of The Parlor or La Piazza Al Forno. Next weekend when Sheryl and I are trying to decide where to eat, we will more than likely end up at one of these pizza places. Dominc, thank you for writing this and for encouraging me to eat more pizza. Salute!
