Just by look alone, I knew this was gonna at *least* be a 8.0+ pizza from pictures online. What I saw in the countertop box in person just raised expectations. Every slice looked great.
Well done? Check. Crispy, airy but not a chewy, crunchy crust? Check. Quality ingredients? Check. Finished with basil, hard cheese, and/or olive oil? Check. Great sauce to cheese ratio? Check.
I've yet to give out a 9. It's intimidating and practically reserved for world class pizzerias. It's also a rookie score your average person might throw out to rate their very average local slice joint.
It was my birthday yesterday and I knew I had to hit up 2-3 spots I've never been to that seemed great: Pizza Fenice was at the top of that list. Now at 100 reviews and a pizza maker myself, I have much more refined opinions.
This pizza is very reminiscent of Pizzeria Baci's (Montrose) by me, up county. I'd say the main differences is the large is slightly bigger here, he sells slices, and he uses Mutti tomatoes instead of Alta Cucina, which are sweeter. Turns out the guy who runs Pizza Fenice, John Gristina, and Chris Weissman (Pizzeria Baci) used to work together.
I've waited a couple days to write a review to really think about what distinguishes the two places. I would say Baci's is like DiFara but more artisan crafted, where Pizza Fenice is trying to evolve on the New York slice joint. Both are really up my alley in what I like in where pizza's going *today*.
He's using Partanna Sicilian olive oil, King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour, Grande mozzerella, and a grated hard cheese, likely a parmigiana or grana padano. I'm sure his dough process is spot on with it's recipe and baking dough at it's peak fermentation time. He has a good crust that caramelizes well.
I think my only little critique—and this is something I fail at myself—is some slices tip were floppy. And Mutti's are a more neutral tasting tomato (neither too acidic or sweet) compared to Alta Cucina's but also good.
You can get most pies either as a round or a square and he also sells a Detriot. Every slice in that countertop box looked excellent.
And I will definitely be back to try each. Do yourself a favor and order a fresh pie.
I may be too scared to give a place a 9 and I probably could score Baci's a 2-3 decimal points higher than I did. But I've got to get to some more world class places first.
I'll go 8.8 on the margherita I had. This kind of pizza makes me question where I could go with my own pizza to be more unique. I make stuff really similar.
