Pizza Review
Garlic crust is big time. Probably best neighborhood slice.
Pizza Review
From 1954 to 1990, Beatto’s Sandwich Shop stood at this location in the Fairmont section of Philly, with Angelino’s taking over in 2006 & re-opening in 2019 under new management, keeping that old school feel. This pie is Philly football pizza with a little twist. While they advertise it as “thin crust pizza,” the actual crust is quite thick & doughy; however, the rest of the dough is surprisingly thinnish for football pizza. Firm & relatively crispy with a crunchy undercarriage & minimal char, the dough is tasty with terrific texture. A unique & delicious feature of this pie is their signature garlic crust, which appears to be a combination of garlic powder & butter brushed on the fantastically tasty & crunchy crust. With a distinctly different aroma, the shredded mozzarella cheese blend appears to incorporate other cheeses, possibly pecorino or provolone mixed in, but they definitely use a dusting of grated Parmesan, adding overpowering flavor that intrudes upon the taste of the shredded mozz just a bit. I can see how that smell might be unpleasant to those who do not like the taste of Parmesan. Even though they don’t overdue the amount, the Parmesan should be a side option like garlic powder or crushed red pepper, used at the discretion of the customer. The sauce is a fairly simple housemade blend, somewhat sweet, slightly savory, with a touch of tang & not a lot of seasoning. Much of the sweetness is neutralized by the sprinkle of Parmesan; but the flavor of the sauce is enhanced by the garlic coated crust, accentuating some of the other spices. Overall, this is a deceptively complex football pizza with unique components & taste. The various layers all work together to make a pretty delicious pie. One of the better football pizzas in Philly for sure, however, it’s not quite travel-worthy. In New York, this is low-to-mid 7s football pizza; in Philly it’s mid-to-high 7s, just missing the cut for destination pizza.
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