Jake’s Pizza is bold, if nothing else. They named their website bestpizzainphilly.com. So Chill Rob A and I decided to head to 201 North Broad Street and give it a shot. The place itself is pretty damn impressive. An incredible mural of Philadelphia is on the wall. Next to that is a really strange painting of a Mummer on fire. They have outdoor seating, a big plus. The staff is friendly and attentive. In fact, the only thing not perfect about the place is the pizza. It’s not that it’s bad. It’s quite serviceable. But it’s not perfect. Here was Rob’s take:
To be honest, you have to wonder about a place I have worked about four blocks from for 2 years, and yet have never been. First, the good stuff: I liked the overall lived-in quality of the place. It seems like the kind of place firefighters, hospital orderlies and nurses from Hahnemann, located just down the street, would frequent. If the people that keep you alive for a living like a place, it must be a-ok, right? Uh…
The murals are fantastic: Boathouse Row, check; Fairmount Water Works, check; Museum of Art, check; City Hall, check; Mummer on Fire, check and double check. In fact, I would suggest going here just to check out the mural arts program inside. Not to mention the not to be missed Russian child paper plate collection, tacked to the walls with thoughtless abandon. Perhaps to ward off the dreaded Mummer on Fire who storms the place every New Year’s? Dunno.
The staff was nice and there seemed to be a nice strange mix of regulars milling around during the just-post lunch rush. People watching with pizza a plus–this place is good for it.
So far, so good….then I ate the pizza.
The first slice was ‘roni. I had to give it the five deep dabs with the napkin in order to remove the grease. After that, it wasn’t half bad, very thin crust. An average slice made more enjoyable with flaming Mummers in the background and the outdoor seating I was enjoying on this beautiful Spring day. Oh yeah, and they actually HAD fountain soda. Always a plus. The second slice was the Supreme. Not bad. Thick crust, good veggies and good roni. The third slice was cheese. I could not eat it, not for lack of hunger but because it tasted awful. It actually did not taste like pizza. Overall rating (with one extra ‘roni for “Mummer on Fire”)–2 roni.
Damn, yo. 2 ronis is a little harsh. The murals and friendly service make it better than two by themselves. The pizza was so-so, but not bad. Except for Rob’s cheese slice. I had a sausage slice, which was decent, and a tomato pie with a bit mozzarella on top that was pretty good. My score is 3 ronis. We’ll compromise and give it a 2 1/2.
