My trip to Philly and West Chester summed up:

Great pizza

Good music

Pretty scenery

Fun Bike Riding

Shitty Cheese Steaks

Yeah, the cheese steak from Pat’s sucked and I don’t care what anyone says, I ain’t eating fucking Cheese Wiz.  I’m 25 years old for christ’s sake and I want a bangin cheese steak with melted provolone.  I’ll get a greasy, cheesy steak from Dog n’ Burger in Norfolk any day.

But whatever, my obligations towards this site require me to snuff out good pizza all over the country and Andy directed me towards Pizzeria Stella on south 2nd street.

I’m always skeptical when entering a “fancy” pizza place.  Too often the owners place more emphasis on the decor than the food.  Building a pretty “brick” oven in plain view of the dining area doesn’t fool me.  I don’t really care about that stuff, if the pizza is good it should speak for itself.  We ordered a red pizza with spinach, fresh tomatoes and mozz.

This stuff is incredible.  Everything was cooked to perfection, or at least what I consider perfection.  Delicious mozz, a tangy and slightly chunky tomato sauce that stuck to everything it touched and spinach with a hint of lemon, all of this sitting on top of a perfectly baked crust from tip to end.  You could hold the slices up without the lip drooping and none of the toppings slid off the edge.  Even after I downed that shitty cheese steak I made plenty of room to destroy every slice of this that I could.

After a day and night in Philly we made sure to drive through West Chester on the way back to check out Fairman’s skate shop and see some stuff that I’d seen in some low budget films and CKY videos.  Being sort of a small college town (West Chester U and U of Delaware nearby) I figured there would be no shortage of crappy, late-night pizza joints a-la Assante’s and I was right.  In the small quarter-mile circle around the town center that I hung out in I saw no fewer than six pizza places.  They were everywhere.  Benny’s Pizza happened to be the lucky one.

For around six bucks we got a 14″ half pepperoni pie.  This stuff was pretty damn good and I imagine they do great business, especially with a Lethal Enforcers arcade cabinet in the back.  The pie was typical of a cheap ass pizza but better than what I’m used to here in Richmond.  The crust was a lot thinner all the way around but still kind of cheap and sweet.  They don’t go as heavy on the sauce which is great because the sauce is some cheap shit anyway, and the cheese was forgettable.  But for the price, you really can’t beat this stuff.  I wonder how Benny’s stacks up to the other dozen or so pizza joints in West Chester?  I didn’t see any upper class, rich white folk pizzerias while I was in town which I can appreciate.  Just budget pies for the college kids.  Fuck ya, West Chester,

I plan on going back for a bike race in June and I’ll definitely be stuffing more Chester pies in my face.

Well I’m off to the 6th most populated city in the US tomorrow to catch a show at the Electric Factory.  Of course, I will be continuing my quest for awesome pizza in the city of Boyz II Men, Fresh Prince and brotherly love, although no love will be shared by me as I’m headed to enemy territory (Flyers and Devils hate eachother).

:)

I have no idea what Illadelphia has to offer in terms of pizza but hopefully it is ill, but won’t make me as such.  I will now take suggestions.  Where the hell should I eat first?  Well, second.  First I’m going to Pat’s to get a cheese steak.  Provolone with.

eat over 350 slices of pizza per second.

thats not enough

Last Sunday wasn’t only filled with garbage pizza at Pie, rather some of the best shit I’ve tasted in a long time.  No surprise it came from 8 1/2.

I had the pleasure of spending some time with the head chef at 8 1/2 over the weekend at a cook-out and he suggested I try the pepperoni and anchovies pizza at his place.  I followed his orders the next day.

The little bits of anchovy lay almost invisible under the cheese and sauce.  You never know exactly when to expect a blast of salty, fishiness in your bite but when it happens, it is so subtle and delicious.  They really don’t overdo it here man, it’s a touch of anchovy in severe moderation.  Not to mention the pizza was cooked perfectly in true 8.5 form.  Mr. Head Chef told us that he orders some pretty serious anchovies from Italy that taste so f***ing good he enjoys them right out of the can.

The other pizza I tried was olive and mushroom, two toppings which I don’t hold in high regard as pizza toppings but if those sound like your two cups of tea, you’ll probably love it.

I am still amazed to hear some of my friends have yet to try anything at 8 1/2.  Get your asses to Strawberry St. and drop some dough, you’re in for a snack lover’s dream.

While my original assessment of the pie at Pie was generally favorable, the nature of pizza making calls for updates from time to time.  Dough changes, chefs change, ingredients change and pizza changes.

Last Sunday I went with a few bros to Pie for a pint and a slice and would have rather chugged my PBR and thrown the slice to a Bum in the alley than suffered through the unnecessary caloric gorge.

I don’t have pictures, but this is what the slices used to look like.

Yesterday, the slice was thicker.  The tomatoes were gone, replaced with some drab, boring tomato sauce underneath some really boring mozzarella.  Previously, I wrote how the pizza could benefit from a better crust and how  it lacked flavor and moisture.  Now, the crust is even drier and more void of flavor.

The $3 pint and slice deal is no longer worth it.

For a place that pretty much only serves pizza, there is no way this place is gonna stay open for much longer regardless of how large of a bank account the owner is sitting on top of.

I consistently get asked, ‘what’s a good pizza to get late?’ It really is a tough question because most of the time you can’t answer it. There really is a lack of GOOD pizza late at night. Most people are alseep after midnight. Of course you have your chain places delivering to college grubbers who are drunk, high, pregnant or all of the above. But sometimes a huge pizza for $5 is too much food and not enough satisfaction.

Twice now I have had the pleasure of a late night snack at Valentinos. Most of the time reheated, but if I didn’t see them throw the slice in, I would have never known. Piping hot, great portions and tons of legit flavor, this stuff definitely hits the pizza spot without making you feel like Kirstie Alley.

Check this place out next time its 1am and you are craving. Just watch out for the tranny hookers.

killer pizza box too