Pizza Review
Some say cheese doesn’t belong near fish, but in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly Pizza Shackamaxon flourishes. It’s a small shop, but it’s packed with both flavor and character. One wall is alive with pizza characters enacting scenes from a universe where wedges reign supreme. Indeed, Shackamaxon intends to make wedge supremacy a reality with slices that make you check to see if there’s any affordable real estate on their street. I tried four different slices on my visit: a plain, a pepperoni, a white, and a cheese-less red square. The first three were wedges with crust on the thinner side, but was still veryyy tasty. There were no leftover scraps of crust. It was well charred without any bitter-burnt notes distracting from the crumb. The cheese also stood out as incredibly fresh and incredibly punchy. There was evidence of post-oven cheese grated on top - always a good sign. The quality of the cheese was particularly evident on the white slice. Too often are white slices heavy and greasy and simply leave you feeling laden. Not this slice - it was light and ethereal. More white slices need to take note and aspire to this ideal (side note: this white slice also didn’t have ricotta, but it was so tasty in its own right you’d hardly notice). For me, the white stole the show - however the square was a star in its own right. It’s adorned with a thick marinara-esque sauce that while possessing a dominant flavor still doesn’t overwhelm the thick crust underneath. It was the only slice served room-temp (still not sure if this is by design), but it was eaten so quickly that the temp was clearly not a deterrent. I only spent a few minutes in Fishtown and didn’t see much more of it other than the few blocks around Shackamaxon, but this place has got the stuff to be a cornerstone neighborhood slice joint. It’s on the smaller size, but they slung the slices quickly when I was there. And more importantly, even if there is a wait it’s well worth it.

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Pizza Review
🚨KILLER CRISP ALERT🚨 In keeping with Philly’s difficult pizza ordering processes, this joint doesn’t have a phone and you can’t place orders online; it’s walk-up window only if you want to get your hands on one of these pies. Even though it’s not the fastest operation, this pizza is well worth the wait. I was blown away by the crispness of the dough and the outrageously crispy & crunchy crust. This is well done pizza to the max with a mega char producing a crunchy & crispy explosion. The dough is top tier, delightfully delicious; brushed with olive oil for extra butter-like flavor, enhancing the crispness of the pie. This is about as firm and crispy as dough gets without being burnt or stale. Some of the crust is a tad over-charred but still incredibly tasty. The only real complaint is the thickness of the crust; I’d prefer if it were slightly thinner, but it’s fairly phenomenal as is. The overall taste and texture of the dough is unique and distinctive. Not to be outdone, the creamy cheese blend of mozzarella and fontina melts and melds marvelously, accentuated by the shaved pecorino Romano in a symphony of flavors, complimenting the dough beautifully. The sauce is made with First Field crushed New Jersey tomatoes, which are top quality. Not a particularly sweet blend, the sauce is rather understated; it doesn’t quite push past the formidable flavor of the cheese. A little more spice and oomph could certainly help the sauce shine; but it’s not bad by any means. Overall, this is a delightfully delicious pie, somewhat atypical of Philly pizza, bucking the trend of average pies stuck in the shadows of legendary New York pizzas. A slightly thinner crust & a little more pizzazz from the sauce and we’d be looking at Hall of Fame pizza in the 9s. Nonetheless, I found this pie to be extremely enjoyable; just a notch below Circles + Squares as my favorite pizza in Philly. If you’re a fan of terrifically tasty and uber crispy pizza, this is right up your alley. Even though the texture slightly edges out the taste, both are fantastic. This is travel-worthy pizza that won’t disappoint if killer crisp is your thing.
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