All Over Albany

Doesn't surprise me to see Giuseppe's come in with an insurmountable percentage lead. They make world class food, and the votes show this clear as day

... said buckpasser on Sep 13, 2010 at 4:19 PM | link

Eh, can't judge the other towns but the two best pizza places in Saratoga by far are Caputo's and Pizza on Broadway. People stay loyal to Pope's beause it's been around forever but its pizza is pretty low rent - Chef Boyardee sauce and cardboard crust covered in a layer of grease. In a word, gross.

... said Karen on Sep 13, 2010 at 4:19 PM | link

Oh, what the hell? DeFazio's rocks my face off. I am sooooo over this tourney of pizza. Screw you guys, I'm going home.

... said Kim M. on Sep 13, 2010 at 10:23 PM | link

Meh. Hasn't the Times Union taught us yet that voting on restaurants gives us the least offensive, least interesting choices?

And, again, my own personal ax to grind: Albany has never had a nominee east of Lake Avenue.

... said Ed on Sep 13, 2010 at 10:36 PM | link

Congrats to Pop's Pizza! They just opened a couple months back and the turnout shows they already have a great following! Personally, our family has ordered from them a bunch of times and b/c of all the unique menu options, think they are the best pizza place in Cohoes...hopefully the brackets take them a little further!

... said JD on Sep 14, 2010 at 12:04 PM | link

I hate to quibble about geography (bald face lie), but considering that the "Albany" bracket covers more of the county in general as opposed to just the city, having nothing East of Lake Ave. doesn't really omit much turf. Besides, what are there but a couple handfuls of pizza offering in that direction anyways, most of them of the pizza and fried chicken variety anyway.

... said Jackers on Sep 14, 2010 at 2:19 PM | link

Last Friday Pop's had their Grand Opening. I called in an order and was told it would be an hour and a half - they were offering 50% off on ALL pizzas. Instead I just went in and bought a couple of slices. They were packed and everyone seemed thrilled with the prospect of being in the TOP. Glad they made it; Cohoes needs a boost after losing Bread and Jam.

... said BobF on Sep 14, 2010 at 2:35 PM | link

Yum. I can't wait.

... said Kristi Gustafson on Sep 15, 2010 at 12:19 PM | link

Downtown Albany isn't "much turf" if you're counting square miles, but Lark Street and Pearl Street are two of the area's most significant nightlife districts.

A lot of pizza gets consumed in this small area. I'm sure a number of the patrons have had a drink too many to tell whether they're getting a good pie, but that just makes it all the more important that these places get independently judged for their quality so that we can separate the good from the bad.

I did post a downtown-themed set of nominations when we were asked. They were: SoHo and JG's on Lark, and Sapienza on South Pearl. I can't remember now which ones, if any, went up for the vote; the survey widget just says it's closed.

One could do an entire 4-shop bracket just to find out who's got the best pizza on Lark Street. Pit SoHo against Dino's and JG's against Romeo's, with the winners advancing.

Or the same thing on Pearl Street, pitting Sapienza against Jack's Pizza across the street and Jonathan's against Pizzeria 54.

Obviously that's not going to happen when we have to compete against the other cities and count the suburbs as part of Albany, but I'm just saying it as an example of how much could be done down here, as opposed to, um, literally nothing.

I'm sure some of the places I just named would lose, and in miserable fashion. But don't we already know that The Fountain will lose too? Not that there's anything wrong with that place, but we've already learned from reading two years worth of results that pub-style pizza fares poorly in this tournament format. They got knocked out in the first round last year. And yet we just voted them in so that they can get knocked out again this year? What were we thinking? What a waste of a precious slot.

Put the Townsend Park Bakery Cafe (another great spot east of Lake Ave) in instead. We don't know whether that style of woodfired pizza would hold up better and possibly win some rounds. I would much rather find that out.

... said Ed on Sep 19, 2010 at 10:47 PM | link

I've had a significant amount of mediocre pizza in Albany, so I'm not surprised that the majority of establishments are left off the list. Besides, this is supposed to be a search for the highest quality pizza (or however else you define "best"), not a comprehensive inventory of every pizzeria.

And I have to say that while I enjoy woodfired pizza and appreciate the *idea* of Townsend Park, they really skimp on the cheese.

... said meierrain on Sep 20, 2010 at 10:37 AM | link

I have eaten pizza all around this town. Without question Marisa's Place on 155 between Western and Washington is the best the capital region has to offer. Awesome NYC style pizza not this knock off i love pizza garbage. Number two has to be Village Pizza on route 22 in Middle Grove NY worth the drive for a thick crust style.

@Kim Defazios is pretty sweet

... said pizza freak on Sep 30, 2010 at 11:21 PM | link