Atlanta Pizza Wars Part Two

I had a blast touring pizzeria’s for Atlanta Pizza Wars in an earlier blog and thought I would have some more fun.

First up is Antico Pizza Napoletana located at 1093 Hemphill Ave NW, Atlanta,GA 30318 in an old bakery a block from 14th Street and Northside Drive.With the media frenzy over Antico Pizza I thought I would have some fun and go off my diet for another round. I think Antico Pizza has had more buzz then any new place I can ever remember save maybe Luna Si and Flip Burger Boutique. All I can say is if I could bottle the passion and excitement that they dish out at Antico Pizza I could retire tomorrow. How can you not get excited over this place when you walk in and there are people lined up everywhere and everyone is drooling waiting to try their first bite. That is how I felt when I arrived. It really was exciting. Walking into the kitchen and watching the pie production unfold in front of your eyes is cool. Our pie was delivered piping hot on a mini sheet pan served seconds after it was taken out of one of several very large custom wood burning ovens that generate incredible heat that cooks the pies in just minutes. I loved the hot Italian peppers provided on communal tables and finished the meal off with an delicious Italian desert constructed out of puff pastry and filled with a thickened pastry cream and dusted with powdered sugar. Antico’s pizza is first class using specially imported flour from Italy and nothing but the best Italian cheeses and Marzano tomato’s. Their pie is made in the Neapolitan style that is thicker and cooked quicker then a NY pie. Antico’s pies makes a very bold statement and looks like a culinary painting.

Next up is Romeo’s New York Pizza located at 9700 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek, Duluth, GA 30097 in a Regal Cinema anchored center across from Stoney River Grill at States Bridge Road. Romeo’s turns out a true NYC Pie. Well actually the Owner Gene Romeo is a real Italian from Jersey who has been making pies his whole life with the help of Mom who is a master in the kitchen. This is a pie I grew up with on the Jersey Shore. This pie is awesome and comes out burning hot and stays hot until the last bight. The dough like Antico is made fresh daily and is thrown out at closing. The pie is cooked in a special brick oven. There is no media buzz surrounding Romeo’s but they always have lines out the door every week. Their devotees come in for a slice or a pie and can custom order each single slice or pie with any combinations of ingredients imaginable. My personal favorite is a pie covered with tons of spinach, fried eggplant, sun-dried tomato and fresh garlic. Romeo’s only buys top notch ingredients from Italian food distributors and you can taste the difference. This is also one of the cleanest restaurants I have ever eaten in. You can actually see almost the whole production area from the counter including floors and counters clean enough to eat off of. Again no hype or media frenzy at Romeo’s but an excellent, burn the roof of your mouth hot and a consistently delicious pie that will make you homesick if your from the North. Don’t forget to finish with home made cannoli’s filled with cannoli cream from Ferrari’s of Little Italy in NYC.

So who wins Atlanta Pizza Wars Part Two, “Yeah Right-fugetaboutit”. If you have not tried either you will be in for a treat!

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