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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Pizzas in The Villages no match for Pennsylvania Pizza

Barry Evans
Barry Evans

While it is not my intent to create what might be an intensive discussion, my own observation of human nature indicates that one may follow. That is, I am going to discuss my impression of pizza in this area. In short, I do not think highly of it. It seems to me that most pizza sellers around here concentrate on the thickness of the pizza with little thought given to what I consider the best part – the sauce.  I must admit that as to thickness, I prefer pizza with a crust of a decent thickness.

Some of the pizza I have had here has a crust so thin that I am not so certain that there is any.

I did not have my first taste of pizza until I was in college. However, that was so long ago that it was called pizza pie. The pie part was dropped pretty early on, but even years later there were places in New Jersey that still called it “Pizza Pie.” In fact, there was one place in Asbury Park that had a sign for years in its window that indicated that they had tomato pie! Pizza as you may recall used to be really cheap. Way back in 1961 when I was laboring in Elizabethtown, Pa. which is in Amish country, a pizza restaurant arrived.  They charged ten cents for a very large slice of pizza. It wasn’t the greatest tasting pizza, but it wasn’t bad – and it was obviously cheap.

Lots of folks rave about Chicago pizza which they vow is the best around. Others go for New York style. Still others go for various types including some that have apparently sprouted in Florida – unfortunately from my point of view.  I will now speak up for Pennsylvania pizza. I touched on the main reason in the first paragraph – the sauce.  I am used to the sauce taking over the pizza. It seems like here that the sauce is an afterthought. When we lived in Lower Bucks County near Philadelphia for example, there was the best produced pizza I have ever had.

It was prepared by a restaurant called Alvinos. When you ate his pizza, it was delicious due to the sauce. The sauce was potent, but you didn’t realize it until you suddenly noted you were sweating. Alvinos had a great spaghetti sauce as well so that his meatball sandwiches were to die for!

There was also another pizza parlor near Alvinos.  It was called Gourmet Pizza and it was run by two Greek gentlemen.  While their sauce was not quite up to Alvinos, it was tasty. Most of the pizza I had in Pennsylvania, including my first slices in western Pennsylvania had great sauces. Now I realize that many folks around here will say that the pizza in The Villages is great. I have no problem with that as long as it is realized that it is not Pennsylvania Pizza with a sauce that is incredible.  While I may feel personally sorry for those who have not partaken of such a pizza, I do understand that there are those whose taste buds have been robbed of the best savory taste in the pizza world.  I will tag on one complaint in dealing with pizza in this area. I do eat it, but I would hope that if we ever are able to have meetings in the recreation centers again that those in charge of meetings keep one thing in mind.  That is, when they have pizza at a meeting, it is to be hoped that after it is delivered that the person in charge does not talk for fifteen or minutes while the pizza gets cold. Next to a great sauce a hot pizza is really needed.

Now those who feel that their choice of pizza has been insulted, feel free to rant. I am prepared as I will leave the review of such rants to The Blonde in the House.

Barry Evans writes about Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com.

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