Submitted by thereandfatagain t3_zwhbxl in pittsburgh
I know we talk about pizza a lot but what your favorite unique spots? I have always admired the variety we have here.
To start: Sir Pizza
Sir Pizza is a weird chain started in the Midwest by a Pittsburgher who brought several locations back home to PA. It is also weird and not necessarily good pizza very reminiscent of Elio’s from the grocery store.
Vinnie and Shelly Pies definitely come to mind for me too!
Shellie makes some WILD pies (Not in a good way)
I have never had a Shelly Pie! Tell me more!
They are in Turtle Crick. Big sloppy pies. Love ‘em!
It’s great if you like your pizza raw in the middle half the time.
I find that Shelley Pie is surprisingly less consistent than a Vinnie Pie. But both strike me as the 'pittsburgh' pizza
It’s not the same without the cigarette ash
IYKYK.
Vincent's pies are geologic in scale.
When did Vinny pies return??
Like, a decade ago. They were only closed for like a year or so.
Franks Buffalo Chicken pizza from Millvale location (other locations inconsistent). Pierogi pizza from the other place in greentree/Scott
It is good but gawd damn fuck their prices.
A 12in 8-cut is $14 bucks. It's been $14 bucks since I was ordering it in high-school 20 years ago. What are you talking about?
For comparison, from Caliente:
Sm: 18.99 Med: 20.99 Pan: 24.99 Lg: 24.99 X-Lg: 26.99
In the late 1900s there was a pizza joint called the Unique Pizza Factory on Grant Ave in Millvale. I don’t know if it was truly unique or not but god damn if I didn’t love their mashed potato pizza on visitation weekends with my dad.
>In the late 1900s
Is this how we're referring to the 1990s? Because I'm all for it.
There are kids on TikTok referring to it as that, and I almost had a stroke the first time I heard it
Ok boomer
I like it. It has a certain je ne sais quoi.
This was a chain btw. I recall one in the south side and I think one maybe in bloomfield
There was one in Beechview too.
I remember the Southside one too. In particular, I remember it because the building looked like it was originally an ice cream stand and I thought that might be why they called it Unique. I had no idea it was actually a chain.
It was definitely a small local chain of some sort but not a national franchise or anything. The mashed potato pizza was so fucking good
I feel hurt Rick Sebak never taught me about this place.
The one in Bloomfield had the best pierogi pizza!
From Italy is our go to for pierogie pizza.
edit Order extra onions!
I missed out on this but what was or is on a mashed potato pizza (other than mashed potatoes). Was it a traditional pizza but had mashed potatoes? Trying to wrap my mind around what was on it
It was deep dish crust with a very light, fluffy mashed potato filling. Cheddar cheese and bacon melted on top. Also a sprinkling of green onions for garnish. I believe it came with sour cream on the side but I never used it.
There was 1 in beechview too. Sadly the storefront/signage is still there like 16 years later.
Fiori’s used to be my go to until I tried Jioio’s. Well worth the drive out to Greensburg.
Jioio’s is unique pizza for sure!! I love their throne monument to their old owner!
S A M E. Love the crust and sweetness of Jioio’s.
I grew up 5 min away from the one in Carbon. It is my heroin.
Ugh, I went to a baby shower at Joio’s. It was like eating a pizza cookie. Not for me.
San Diago…
I love it and my husband hates it. Try it with sausage and banana pepper. Sweet and spicy!
Beto's Pizza in Beechview, its different but still great. They bake the crust and then put the sauce and cheese on afterwards to let it melt.
I was surprised at how much I liked it
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Police Station Pizza in Ambridge. A little outside of the city but definitely great pizza. Also Franks, also in ambridge
I heard Police Station was back! I hate the name but love those Ohio Valley pies.
Otherwise known as Pizzahouse, if you prefer.
Sir Pizza blew my mind when I was a kid. I used to love going with my grandma, playing arcade games and eating strange crustless pizza.
It always reminded me of the $1 frozen "party pizza" from the dollar store lol.
Every time I go home, I make sure I get sir pizza for one meal. Their sausage is my favorite
Jioios pizza in Greensburg. Sweet crust and sweet sauce. People either love or hate it, but it’s by far my favorite pizza and worth the drive!!!!
Def unique. A bit too sweet at times for pizza but if you're in the area or friends want you to try it it's worth it.
In South Greensburg there is a pizza place called Falbo's - it's maybe 5 minutes further from Pittsburgh than Jioio's down 30. If you don't like the sweetness of Jioio's, Falbo's would be a great spot to try! Same crust, same texture, just less sweetness both in the sauce and in the crust.
Love Falbo’s
If Abby & Bimbos is still around they have great food. Their Stromboli is amazing.
Vincent's Pizza
A buddy of mine DESPISES Vincents. I've never had it. I've heard people here talk about it like it's the best pizza ever but I can only think of him ranting about how bad he thinks it is.
It’s 10x over the greasiest pizza I ever ate
Yeah that's what he always says lol
lol I also have a buddy that HATES that place. I wonder if we have the same buddy 😂
If you're looking for a style that's unique to the area, you could try Beto's or Iron Born, but they're not "Pittsburgh" pizzas.
Betos is Ohio River Valley style, so close to Pittsburgh. Iron Born is Detroit style pizza. There is a Pittsburgh pizza style, it's heavy on sauce and on cheese, a la Mineos, Vinnies, or Fioris
And under done crusts, no char. Sauce tends toward sweeter.
When I think of Pittsburgh pizza, I think sweet sauce and provolone cheese, round but with a thick crust. And I don’t like it.
Just tried iron born this weekend. Was so bomb!!
I thought the Ohio valley style was the closest to our own version?
I honestly feel the Ohio Valley style is unique to this area. I think there's more of those style pizza places around here than in actual Ohio Valley (WV/OH). I don't think I even tried a traditional round pizza until I was almost a teenager.
Same, I grew up eating Buzzys every night... lol
Unique to Pittsburgh? I dunno. Fiori's is probably my favorite "only in Pittsburgh" pie.
Mercurio's is certainly the best pie in the burgh though.
I would consider those both to be classic kind of places of different styles of pizza. Unique to me starts with Sir Pizza and Beto’s type offerings.
I just learned this year that Beto's is "ohio valley style" pizza. It's from Steubenville and apparently a bunch of places in make it over there, and Beto's is the easternmost one.
I think it's great. I'm from Eastern PA where tomato pie (cold cheese-less Sicilian pizza) is popular. I always describe it as a toasted tomato pie with stuff dumped on it.
Tomato pie is the truth. I could crush a tray of Le Donne’s right now RIP
Yeah, not a fan of beto's lol. I guess I'm too much of a traditionalist.
If you are in the mood for pizza, you never go to Betos. You go to Betos when you're craving the need for Betos
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Spak bros
Love Sir Pizza
Osso's down in Washington. Cash only cheap and served fresh (implication being that if you call in advance and order some it is almost never ready to simply buy and take away when you get there but that's probably for the best). thin crispy square slices, they cook it in giant sheets with just the sauce on it but I think that helps caramelize some of the sugars in the tomato sauce so when they throw the cheese and pepperoni on it all melts into a nice little thing. It's a childhood pizza for me so I'm biased.
Sir Pizza is an anomaly. It's really nothing special, but there is something special about it.
Out of town would be Bobs Pizza in Indiana PA.
Also, I am glad noone is saying Betos, that stuff is gross. Put it back in the oven
I like both Sirs and Betos, but you can ask for it be fully cooked at Betos.
Good call on Bob's Pizza, had it a lot growing up with grandparents in the Homer City area.
Haven't had Bob's since I moved from Indiana a year and half ago and I need it so bad
A coworker I have is from Indiana and his parents are still there. I routinely pay him to bring back Bob's everytime he takes his kids to visit.
Conforti's in Irwin.
Cinforti's is awesome, but I think it's run by former staff members of Vinnie. I think it was even called Vincent's before it changed names.
As far as I know you are correct. But where Vinnie's has slipped, Conforti's has maintained that unique, hand tossed, every pie is different and great level. We drive 70 minutes for it.
How long has it been there? I always remember a Vinnie being in that spot. Haven't lived there in a while though.
20 years ish.
Lol, guess I've paid no attention the times I've driven through.
Idk if this is true but I think that pizza place is run by someone on the Vincent’s family, a brother and it USED to be a Vincent’s but they were sued over the name and became the restaurant we know today
I took my sister to Sir Pizza a few weeks ago and we each devoured a small pie. We both like the fact that they grind the toppings. And everyone is guaranteed to get a piece. They cut their pizzas into a bunch of little pieces, love that.
I always tell people it's like pizza appetizers
I’ll throw my goto local place… della salas pizza - Verona
If you don’t mind the outside, the pizzas good. Took a girl there once and she refused to eat it because it looks like a garage
Double hot sausage. It’s literally the best hot sausage I’ve ever had. Get it half baked and finish at home… or freeze it and bake it when you’d like..
Fucking love that place but thought it was penn hills not Verona
Looks like a garage? I’m pretty sure it is a garage.
Yeah, it is. I just go thru Verona to get there But I guess rosedale is the cut off or whatever
Don’s Pizza in Imperial is an excellent thin crust pizza. They are famous for “Pizza in a Bag”. Their cold Italian hoagies are also very good.
Fun fact, "Don" is from Don Campetti. Who started the same pizza place in Dormont. He hooked up the guy who started Don's in Imperial.
Any recommendations near Neville Island? I’m there this week for a tournament.
Zuko’s
Not pizza but there is a Big Shot Bobs wing place right near the RMU complex. Very good wings in hundreds of flavors.
I personally don’t think it’s worth it anymore. $10 for 6 wings or $20 for 13 wings just isn’t worth it.
I was at Caliente yesterday and their wings are “market price” , akin to lobster.
Pizza: I would like to try Anthony’s Italiano in Donora but never have
20 bux get yourself a next steak from the store !!
That’s a fair opinion to hold. Honestly I haven’t been to a BSB in over a year but I do know their prices were rising last time I was there.
It's way too expensive but sometimes I just need some pigeon wings.
Not positive how they compare in price to Sidelines in Millvale (though being familiar with BSB I gotta think they're less expensive) but they have amazing wings.
While I lived for wing nights years ago it's getting to be a bit ridiculous these days. I've opted for either making my own at home or when I don't want to bother with frying, I just cut chicken breasts up into little chunks and toss them in oil, a bit of seasoning and bake them in the oven on one of those crisper trays. It's just an elevated grate on top of a sheet tray. Toss or dip them in whatever sauces you want and it's a wonderful substitute. Probably a bit healthier too. No bones, no fucking around trying to suck the meat off the bones. Just shovel em in!
Primantis has 79cent wings every Sunday and a local bar to me does 69cent wing night. That’s pretty much the only time I ever get wings anymore. It sucks because I used to love ordering wings and trying different sauces but it’s just not worth it anymore
If you're in the gibsonia area Messina's Pizza on middle road has reasonably priced wings and they are good. Although a few years ago they were one of the last places that sold whole wings as "a wing" meaning you used to get 2 dozen (wing + drum + tip) per each.
My go to now has been my turkey fryer or I just bake hunks of breast meat at home and sauce em up. It's obviously more work than going out or ordering in but at these prices it's just not worth the cost of paying what is creeping into steak prices. I'm not paying $20/lb for chicken scraps.
Juliano's Pizza isn't too far from Neville Island. Right off of I-79 south from there about 10 minutes.
Not pizza but Carmody's Grille (which is like 2 min away on Neville) has a good fish sandwich. Their other sandwiches/burgers are pretty good as well.
Anthony Jr.s in Coraopolis….very good pizza and a great menu for other Italian meals.
Try La Vostra in Stowe twp. Very good.
A Slice of New York in Manor. 100% authentic New York pizza. Not New York "style". It's legit. Only the very best yet simple ingredients. They only make so many pies a day. They sell out every day. It can be a challenge to get one but SO VERY WORTH IT. Follow them on Facebook.
I’ve been meaning to check this place out cause I hear good stuff but the pictures of the pizza doesn’t look as good as rockaway so I just go to rockaway.
It’s a simple recipe and doesn’t look exciting. It’s all about the taste.
Lelulos is plum has a great sweet sauce and a hell of a deep dish !!!!
My second favorite pizza!
It’s a hike from the city but Phillippi’s in Natrona Heights is the best and most unique pizza I’ve ever had.
When I was in high school, my friends introduced me to P&M in Arnold. Definitely a bar at the time. Definitely let us all in and served us lots of pizzas. Haha. They closed a bunch of years ago, then reopened later under new ownership. They still make a P&M style pizza. The “Birdville Pie” at Phillipi’s is supposedly the original P&M recipe. The two are similar, but have some minor profile differences.
A P&M style pizza is definitely unique, and not something I’ve experienced elsewhere. The sauce and cheese are some melty amalgamation, famous for burning the roof of your mouth if consumed straight on delivery to the table. However, one must not let the pizza sit for too long, or it just gets weird. There’s a short window of consumability where the pizza is awesome. It is not a pie that survives to leftovers well. Plan to eat the whole thing. This isn’t hard to do, as the crust is super thin. Ordering in (at either place) is recommended for the best experience. It is acceptable to get it to go for locals, but more than maybe 15 minutes in a car and it will start to fade.
I worked down the street from P&M I never understood why people loved it so much.
Username checks out! Sad that place closed up, too. P&M was and is definitely unique. Not my favorite, but every once in a while, I’ll get one for the nostalgia. :)
Yep worked their 17 years on and off
Ephesus and Efe’s both have a mangal soujock pizza that is magical. I’m probably spelling it wrong.
This is the right answer
Badamos on the North Side, Genoa's Downtown and Slice of New York in Manor.
What unique pizzas do they have?
Black lotus pizza is on my list to try. Scratch dough. Heard good things!
Yellow Bridge Brewing in Delmont. The pizza is fantastic. The beer is ok and the building is meh but the pizza makes up for it!
Aiello’s
Fiorii’s
DiSalla’s (Junction)
Vincent’s
Driftwood sourdough pizza. Not a unique concept (especially being from the Bay Area) but the execution and toppings they offer sure are.
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It’s very clean? Never crossed my mind being in there that it had a sanitation problem
some of the pizza places OP talks bout going to in here and he calls out Driftwood as dirty lol
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The only thing weird is claiming “driftwood is dirty!” and saying rats are in most kitchens in the same breath because you certainly singled them out. Who hurt you
Sorry I heard stuff! I would call out another pizza place to make you feel better but I don’t want this going off the rails.
I take it back. There are no rats in kitchens in Pittsburgh…especially in the Strip…
I worked bars and restaurants in NYC, I know that rats will do rat things. I’m not denying that. You can literally see the kitchen at driftwood and it looks very clean. That’s all I’m saying. It’s fine.
Ok. You win!
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Black Lotus Pizza on Penn Ave was the most surprising pizza I've had in Pittsburgh recently. A bready crust piled high with lots of sauce and unique toppings—highly recommend!
Black Lotus has carved out a great spot for themselves already! I had a lackluster pie when they opened but it is hard starting out.
Antonio's in Brookline has a kind of typical Pittsburgh-type pizza but the difference is they run some wild specials. They had a Thanksgiving one that was like the pizza equivalent of the Gobblerito. I saw they posted a crab Rangoon pizza a bit ago. Oh and there was one with bratwurst, mustard, and sauerkraut for Oktoberfest. I remember Unique Pizza and I feel like Antonio's kind of carries the mantle now for unusual pizza topping combinations.
They also have lots of vegan options.
Blinkys bar has a pizza called Scott’s pie. A white pizza with plenty of jalapeños. There’s nothing executed great on it but for some reason I crave it often.
When I was in HS in the 90's. We were told one of our math teachers owned Sir. Pizza. I never realized it was a franchise.
Black Lotus pizza near childrens hospital and is friggin delicious, and a cool place to have and play games. Pokemon, magic, rpg, board etc with lots of free games on the shelves.
Can agree - it is weird. Can agree it's "not necessarily good" when compared directly to some other delivery places for the money. That said, it's consistent, even through the worst of the pandemic, and their sandwiches aren't bad.
Kids love it especially.
Popular as heck in Ross Township and Franklin Park/McCandless area.
Alta Via Pizzeria has the best vegan pizza I've ever had. If you're vegan/vegetarian, it's worth the visit.
Nashville Hot Chicken from Iron Born Pizza (Smallman Galley/Millville) Pretty good chips as well.
Betos hands down. We went there for my wife's birthday and my brother goes "if the pizza lunchable was actually good"🤣
Philippe’s Pizza in the Natrona Heights. Especially their “birdville pie”. It’s a thin and extremely crispy crust with very little sauce and an almost cheddar cheese (reminds me of velvetta) on top
Driftwood Pizza is great
Their red pie is ok, but I do think they have the best white pizza in Pittsburgh.
Frank's Buffalo Chicken pizza gets my vote. It's not necessarily a unique idea, most places have it. But they absolutely knock it out of the park. It's also relatively cheap considering most place's Buffalo Chicken pizza falls into their "Gourmet Pizza" bucket, which usually means $25 for an 8-cut pie. Also worth noting that the rest of Frank's menu is pretty blah, but if you're looking for a life-changing Buff Chix this is definitely it.
Second in my mind is Monte Cello's Steak Onion Ranch pizza. These are easily the last 2 pizzas I'd want to eat if the world was coming to an end.
Della Sala's in Verona is a unique shop as well. When I was in college in Greensburg a friend worked there on the weekends. Friday or Saturday night she'd often come back with pizza when we were partying/hanging out.
If I remember correctly, when sold the crust is par-baked and the toppings you choose along with the cheese is added fresh. Sicilian style rectangle cuts, you just throw it in the oven for 8-10 min and it's ready to go.
Not everyone's cup of tea but it's a great option if you're trying to plan ahead and want something hot out of the oven without having to coordinate delivery/pick up times so it arrives hot & ready. Plus you can always choose to make some of it the day of and keep the rest in the fridge for tomorrow.
Fiori’s.
Cheese on top.
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Mineos!
The most unique spot would be a location that actually served great pizza. Downvotes commence.
Have you had Mercurio's???
Man you love Mercurios.
I sure do. Seriously among the best I've had.
Nah I’ll stand up next to you yelling “no I am Spartacus”, bro.
It’s pizza. It shouldn’t be that hard. Yet in this town…it seems like it’s hard more often than not.
ANTHONYS COAL FIRED PIZZA
thecrowfly t1_j1uonnb wrote
I think the answer to this is a Vinnie Pie from "Vincent's Pizza Park".