Arcuri's Pizza & Salad

Open for over 30 years at this current Cos Cob location, they claim to have been in the pizza business for over 45 years total. I got a very traditional, standard-looking football pizza. With no real flop, the dough is firmer and crispier than I had anticipated. Along with a decent undercarriage and good char, the dough is of quality texture and surprisingly tasty. The real problem here is the amount of grease, drenching the pie on the surface and within the cheese. The heavy oil flow invades the cheese with a salty flavor that similarly neutralizes the taste of the sauce. Seemingly of cheap quality, the cheese blend is generic with random mozzarella blotches that aren’t quite fully melted. Numbed by the excess oil, the flavor of the sauce is just barely detectable. With minimal tang and virtually no sweetness, the sauce is dulled by a smattering of oregano and saltiness from the gush of grease. Despite the efforts of a smidge of spice in the sauce to break through with a little kick, the taste is mostly consumed by the vat of oil. While the ingredients aren’t spectacular, there’s just enough value to work with here. Unfortunately, the engulfing grease really impedes the overall score. Get the oil flow under control and there’s some potential for mid-to-high 7s based on the better than average texture and taste.