Seven pizzerias. Two hours. Nothing stopped The Daily Tar Heel’s resident pizza experts.
Followed by a three-person camera crew, Enterprise Editor Aidan Lockhart and Assistant Sports Editor Brian D’Aguanno dissected the Chapel Hill-Carrboro pizza scene, one pie at a time.
Stars were born. A series created. But most importantly, pizza was tasted.
For your reading pleasure, we present the ultimate (maybe) guide to Chapel Hill and Carrboro pizza.
Magone Italian Grill & Pizza
Brian: We got off to a late start thanks to Aidan’s yapping in the office, so my amazingly-timed pizza ordering skills were neutralized ever so slightly. The pizza was waiting for us right when we walked in, but I have no idea how long it was sitting there. Thanks again, Aidan.
The slice itself was solid. The dynamic between the cheese and sauce was pretty off — tensions must have been high between the two that day. But the solid crunch and undercarriage of the pizza as well, so overall a good slice of pizza. Score: 6.4
Aidan: Magone provided a wonderfully OK slice to kick off our pizzeria crawl. Although this pizza had a solid crust and cheese showing, the sauce didn’t come into play very much at all, leaving me wanting more. Thankfully, we still had six pizzerias to go. Score: 6.0
Alpha Pie
Brian: It was dogshit. Terrible. Not enough bad words to describe it.
I’m only half kidding. I would take bad pizza over every other food in the world. So yes, while I would still choose to eat Alpha Pie’s notoriously big slice over most foods, it did not do it for me. Too much bread and not enough cheese and sauce. The crust was burnt, too. Truly a Gio Lopez-esque performance. Score: 4.7
Aidan: Although I feel that, generally, size doesn’t matter, all preconceived notions went out the window when I took a bite of that foot-and-a-half slice. I know the size is a gimmick, but Alpha Pie’s pizza had the taste to back it up. The crust was crunchy and the cheese did all it needed to do. My favorite pie of this batch by a wide margin.
I’m sure Brian’s rating has nothing to do with the fact that he vomited Alpha Pie pizza at 8 a.m. a few weeks ago. Score: 8.2
Amante Gourmet Pizza
Brian: The world tried to throw me off my game for this one. But like all great athletes, my mental fortitude proved no match. The pizza reminded me of the small personal pizza I got in the hospital when I broke my arm in second grade — at least, I think. I don’t really remember. But the slice was smaller, with a big, fluffy crust. The cheese and sauce were good, but the bread overpowered both. No crunch in sight. It was an okay slice that didn’t exactly match my preferences. Score: 5.8
Aidan: A crispless, soft slice — not that there is anything wrong with that. Amante Gourmet Pizza had exceptional customer service and cheesy, doughy pizza. While it was far from my favorite pizza of the day, I’d still eat an entire pie, and I will be using the coupons they gave us. Score: 6.0
Anna Maria’s
Brian: The hard-to-find website should have been a dead giveaway to how good the pizza would be. When I first walked in, I thought to myself, as an Italian, this is where I belong at this given moment. All it took was one bite for me to know this was the best pizza. Reminiscent of New Jersey’s famous pizza, the right blend of cheese and sauce with a perfect balance of a doughy and firm undercarriage separated this slice from the rest. I’m never wrong besides the times I’m not right, so believe me when I say this, Anna Maria’s blew the other pies out of the water. Score: 7.6
Aidan: This hole-in-the-wall pizzeria had an authentic feel to it, and the pizza certainly lived up to the atmosphere. Anna Maria’s inspiring combination of sauce, cheese and crust left me in awe. Although it wasn’t my number one pizza of the day, it was certainly a delicious second. Score: 7.8
Pop’s Pizzeria
Brian: Going into this one I was sweating. Nervous. Game seven jitters. I got an email on the way saying my order was canceled so we had to do a quick order-by-the-slice maneuver. A truly exceptional audible by me. As for the pizza, the slice was huge but still retained a solid crunch and firmness, which made it stand out. The cheese and sauce made for a solid duo, but still left a little to be desired. Overall, the ability to make such a big slice with elite crunch impressed me, so I had to pay my respects. Score: 6.7
Aidan: A crunchy, flavorful slice with great size. Oftentimes, sauce and cheese aren’t able to shine on a slice with this much crunch, but Pop’s Pizzeria manages to blend all these flavors and textures beautifully. Score: 7.0
I Love New York Pizza
Brian: Coming in, I had some doubts. No way a place in the middle of North Carolina could replicate the great Northeast pizza that I grew up with. And I was right — kind of. It’s true no place in the South will ever truly replicate the best pizza in the country, but I will commend for a solid attempted effort. The firmness and crunch on the slice were solid and the crust was very good. There wasn’t enough cheese for my liking, though, which bumped the score down. Score: 6.1
Aidan: While I have my reservations about this pizzeria riding the coattails of much more talented establishments in New York, I did enjoy this slice. Situated in the heart of Franklin Street, this place is a late-night Chapel Hill staple for a reason. Although I really don’t know what Brian is talking about cheese-wise; I found this slice to be the cheesiest of the day. Score: 6.4
Italian Pizzeria III (IP3)
Brian: The last spot. Approaching the three-hour mark. Most people might quit, but not me. Aidan unfortunately had to go to his meeting so, like many times in my life, I put the operation on my back. While it took four months — at least in my mind — for the pizza to come out, I was not disappointed. The slice was right out of the oven, and the melted cheese with the crunchy undercarriage made for a great combination. I really enjoyed the consistency and was thoroughly impressed, leading me to give it my second highest score. Score: 6.8
Dining and Cooking