The whole time I’ve been on this pizza quest, people have been asking me, “Have you been to Tacconelli’s yet? Have you been to Taconnelli’s yet?” The hype for this place is enormous, and in reading other online reviews, Tacconelli’s always scores high. Then, on top of that, they make you order your dough ahead of time, making dinner an event, not just a meal. So it was with enormous expectations that I entered this unassuming restaurant on 2604 East Somerset with Trivia Art, Mary Anne, and Ginger. Seriously, it was Mary Anne and Ginger. The people I brought along were kind of excited, so there reviews are a little wordy. Let’s start with Triva Art:
Sometimes you worry when things get too hyped. Whether they be thoroughbred horses, pitchers named Cole, or science quizzo, it’s tough to live up to the hype. And that’s the spot Tacconelli’s was in. Could a Port Richmond pizza
spot possibly live up to the pressure placed on it by all the people out there hyping it? Well that was the question Tacconelli’s had to answer. Earlier that day I had been surfing around the Internets and read some playa
hatin reviews of the place. Oh boy, had they slipped, rested on their laurels? There was definitely some trepidation as I walked into the Somerset St storefront shortly after seven last Sunday night. The ambiance didn’t
bolster my confidence. Picture your grade school lunch room with booths. Add to that the silence of a broken jukebox and I thought, uh oh. But then I reconsidered, b/c Goodtimes would only wind up playing some Johnny Cash anyway. Goodtimes thinks it’s a law that every juke box must be played, and Johnny Cash must be among the songs selected. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, grade school gym. Freaking nuns. No wait, oh yeah,Tacconelli’s. We ordered two pies, one white, half sweet peppers, and a regular, half pepperoni, half prosciutto.

The white pie arrived first, topped with ample garlic and olive oil it was a lovely pizza, with a thin crisp crust supporting the toppings. It was a perfect blend, the salt and pepper really bringing out the flavors. It was
going to be a tough pizza to beat. Next arrived the red pie. Pepperoni crisped, just the way I like it. The
pepperoni had a nice spice, the cheese, played the Pippen role to the sauce’s Jordan. Supporting the star, but in no way overpowering it. After the peperoni slice I sampled the prosciutto. The prosciutto, crust, sauce, and cheese combination wowed me. This is what the pizza hunt was about. That perfect bite. And I had found it, in a little
storefront in Port Richmond. Four and a half stars, might even get five if you get your prosciutto pizza to go.

Wow, so Art loved the place. What would Ginger and I think? Read on after the jump..

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Me and my man Scott headed out to East Falls to a place called Slices on Ridge Avenue. The place is pretty unassuming, and the slices are cheap. I got my first slice, but the garlic salt is in a container with giant holes in the top, so that when i tried to sprinkle it on my pie it came gushing out, rendering my slice inedible. No problem, the guys behind the coutner replaced it for me free of charge. So my slice was perfectly good, though not great. The highlight of the trip, however, was when I noticed the following words at the bottom of a nearby dry erase board:

Now, I have never been at a restaurant that thought to advertise all of the excitement that comes with the prospect of fountain soda. “Hey guys, what should we do for dinner?” “I dunno, if Slices has fountain soda, we should go there. They said it was coming soon.” Here was Scott’s take:
A decent little neighborhood joint that serves a solid, no-frills piece of pie. It’s not too greasy, the crust is thin and tasty, and the soda was really wet. The price is right ($2.00 for any slice, any topping is pretty good, even though your choice of topping seems limited to cheese, pepperoni and hamburger.) In short, I’ve occasionally had better pizza, but Slices gets the job done just fine. Three pepperonis from me.
Yeah, Slices gets three pepperonis. But I’ll be back…to try the fountain soda.

Palestra Jon and I headed over to the King of Pizza in New Jersey last week. I’ll let him do his write up first:
The Famous King of Pizza is part of Jersey roadside legend, having been once part of a row that included Garden State racetrack, farmstands and a miniature golf course. Over the years, everything that once surrounded it is gone with the exception of the dinosaur from the miniature golf course, a lonely relic surrounded now by strip
malls and big box stores. Still, the King remains supreme. This is one of my favorite local places, with good cheesy pizza and great crust. I was somewhat limited by JGT’s menu selection. Although I recommended the very good white veggie or spinach pizzas, I had to struggle to keep him away from the Hawaiian Pineapple (ugh) pie. Finally, I reluctantly agreed to a half-chicken cheesesteak, half pepperoni pizza. The chicken cheesesteak pizza was very good, with a good cheese to steak ratio and the usual great crust. The pepperoni was a little disappointing in
my view, with the grease so overwhelming that you couldn’t taste anything but pepperoni fat. Overall, I would normally give the King a solid 4 star rating, but I have to take a star away due to the pizza choice. I still love this place, though.
Jon must have been muttering under his breath whe said the white and spinach pizza’s ’cause I never heard him. Regardless, the pizza we got was decent, but nothing special. The place had little in the way of ambiance, though the sign out front was pretty cool. Apparently the original place burned down a few years ago, and the owners went with a more modern (aka boring) look. Jon can blame me if wants to, but I didn’t make this so-so pizza. Correct me if I’m wrong Jon, but I don’t think the chicken steak came with peppers or onions. We agree on one thing: this place gets 3 pepperonis.

Piestengel is a German slang word for what?