The Best Pizza Joint in Every P5 College Town

[RandomGuy]

Does anyone smoke(then fry) their wings at home? Your best tips welcome.

As far as pizza, my best is always cooked between 2 stones, as close to 900 degrees as possible. Cooked directly on the stone, done in about 2 minutes. Definitely recommend if you can cook that hot.

 

[chugg21]

Does anyone smoke(then fry) their wings at home? Your best tips welcome.

As far as pizza, my best is always cooked between 2 stones, as close to 900 degrees as possible. Cooked directly on the stone, done in about 2 minutes. Definitely recommend if you can cook that hot.

I've tried smoking/grilling, smoking/frying, frying/grilling, baked/frying, double frying, air fryer. Basically tried everything to make good ones at home once I left Buffalo and realized good wings should not be taken for granted. Nothing I tried really ever came close to what I could get by just dropping them into an industrial fryer at my uncles pizzeria back in the day.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Varsity is better.

Only if you've never had pizza in metro NYC.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Pavones, Mario and Salvos superior (east side represent)

Pavones is good. Haven't tried the others.

 

[IthacaMatt]

varsity owns acropolis

Varsity is like halfway deep-dish. Any pizza that isn't taken out of a baking pan is not really a pizza to me.

 

[Alsacs]

Only if you've never had pizza in metro NYC.

John’s of Blecker Street best pizza in NYC.

I love Modern in New Haven best I ever had.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Cosmos was ten times better than Varsity. Fight me! Varsity's crust is like cardboard. I go there for the atmosphere, certainly not the food.

I like their Reubens and their subs, and of course cheap pitchers of beer.

 

[IthacaMatt]

John’s of Blecker Street best pizza in NYC.

I love Modern in New Haven best I ever had.

John's was great. I haven't been there in 20 years though, so who knows if it's still any good.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We had 2 a month ago and it wasn't to their great standards. One has been on point every time I've gone their.

Blind taste test is needed from you this weekend! I'll send some doge over to cover the 2nd pie. Going to need your significant other to grab the pizzas so no shenanigans are afoot.

Score as follows, 1 worst - 5 best
Appearance
Sauce
Crust
Overall satisfaction

By the way, my top 5 standard pizzas in the Cuse area:

Pavones downtown
Mario and salvos
Twin trees 1
Paladinos
Fratellis on Tipp (closed years ago but in the hall of fame)

These are the only possible answers to best regular pizza in Cuse, accept no others and if your list is different you're wrong.

Pavone's downtown is like the best New Jersey style slice.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My favorite pizza-related story. It's the summer of 1983. Three friends and I walk into St. Mark's Pizza at the corner of 8th St. and 3rd Ave in the Village. They used to have BIG slices with lots of topping on them. One slice would be a meal. So went there a lot.

So, we get our slices, after drinking or partying someplace. It's fairly late at night. We walk in and sit down at a table, and Billy Joel is sitting at the table next to us, with a couple people.

This was the summer that Uptown Girl was a hit. We all thought it was a shtt song, so we all looked at each other, to silently say "That's Billy Joel, right?", but none of us said hello or acknowledged him because we all hated that song. LOL

 

[RandomGuy]

I've tried smoking/grilling, smoking/frying, frying/grilling, baked/frying, double frying, air fryer. Basically tried everything to make good ones at home once I left Buffalo and realized good wings should not be taken for granted. Nothing I tried really ever came close to what I could get by just dropping them into an industrial fryer at my uncles pizzeria back in the day.

Bahh. Must be the better temp regulation. Wife would kill me if I bought a bigger fryer. Only time I get the evil eye in the kitchen is when the fryer comes out. Cant blame her.. Inevitably, it means donuts, fried clams, fries, chimichamgas, fries, etc... its coming out in a couple weeks, regardless, for some Belgian Fries and Mussels, because I haven't eaten with my family in over a year...

My kid hasn't found a single pizza place in Cuse he thought was any good... Is that just because he sticks to stuff close to campus?

 

[Trueblue25]

Bahh. Must be the better temp regulation. Wife would kill me if I bought a bigger fryer. Only time I get the evil eye in the kitchen is when the fryer comes out. Cant blame her.. Inevitably, it means donuts, fried clams, fries, chimichamgas, fries, etc... its coming out in a couple weeks, regardless, for some Belgian Fries and Mussels, because I haven't eaten with my family in over a year...

My kid hasn't found a single pizza place in Cuse he thought was any good... Is that just because he sticks to stuff close to campus?

Probably yes. Mario and Salvo’s is very good imo. Ive had plenty of downstate pizza too.

 

[shandeezy7]

Hike Zoar. Drive to East Aurora. Bar Bill. Smack 20 wings. Stop next door, grab a 12er of Ruby Red. Take a stroll through the beautiful town of EA, while enjoying their open container laws. Call it a day. Anyone looking for a full day in WNY. Screen shot the response. Thank me later.

Does East Aurora really not have open container laws? My wife and I went to 42 North over the holiday break in December when we had serious cabin fever. Sat outside in their patio. Freezing out but alcohol helped with that. One of the first restaurants I went to after the shutdown last year when outdoor dining was allowed to resume was The Roycroft. Can't visit East Aurora without stopping by Vidler's either.

 

[UpstateSM]

Everything I've had at Varsity is very good except for the pizza.

The pizza is mediocre at best.

 

[shandeezy7]

Probably yes. Mario and Salvo’s is very good imo. Ive had plenty of downstate pizza too.

I typically refuse to get pizza from anywhere else when I'm in Cuse (especially now that Johnny's is closed, although OIP is solid). When I was a kid, we always got pizza from Little Mac's on Robinson Street off of Teall. Really good NY-style pies and the wings were great. There's a Little Mac's on Grant Blvd. now but I'm not sure of its relation.

 

[shandeezy7]

Btw this is a really cool retro T:

Johnny's Pizza

From 1971 to 2015, Johnny's Pizza was a heavyweight presence in Syracuse. Beloved by students and locals alike. Opened by Rosario "Junior" Pace and his wife Kathy, the small spot at 104 Julian Place stood for decades as a family-run, independent pizza and sub shop.Junior opened Johnny's after...

longlosttees.com

 

[sutomcat]

Bahh. Must be the better temp regulation. Wife would kill me if I bought a bigger fryer. Only time I get the evil eye in the kitchen is when the fryer comes out. Cant blame her.. Inevitably, it means donuts, fried clams, fries, chimichamgas, fries, etc... its coming out in a couple weeks, regardless, for some Belgian Fries and Mussels, because I haven't eaten with my family in over a year...

My kid hasn't found a single pizza place in Cuse he thought was any good... Is that just because he sticks to stuff close to campus?

Yes. There is no good pizza close to campus.

If he lives thin crust, Pavone's, Mario and Salvos and Paladinos are good choices. They are all within 10 minutes or so of campus. OIP has locations all over and it is similar to these...maybe just a tad thicker crust (but bigger slices). All are good choices IMHO.

If he likes a little thicker crust, I recommend one of the Twin Twins restaurants. I believe they make their own sauce and use high quality ingredients. They slice their pizzas weird though. They are my personal favorite. If your son likes buffalo chicken and ranch...stuff like that, they are good at that.

If he likes Chicago deep dish pizza style, he might want to try Tangy Tomato. It is still pretty new and I haven't checked it out personally but I have heard good things about it.

Tangy Tomato - Syracuse - Menu & Hours - Order Delivery (5% off)

Get 5% off your pizza delivery order - View the menu, hours, address, and photos for Tangy Tomato in Syracuse, NY. Order online for delivery or pickup on Slicelife.com

www.tangytomatopizza.com

 

[RandomGuy]

Varsity is like halfway deep-dish. Any pizza that isn't taken out of a baking pan is not really a pizza to me.

Isn't a pizza if its not taken out of a pan? YUCK! LOL. Some Italian pizza commission in Italy has defined any pizza taken out of a pan a casserole... not a pizza. Lol. To each his own, of course. My preference is definitely the neopolitan variety. I tend to pass if its cooked on any type of pan, or in a conveyor belt.

 

[chugg21]

Bahh. Must be the better temp regulation. Wife would kill me if I bought a bigger fryer. Only time I get the evil eye in the kitchen is when the fryer comes out. Cant blame her.. Inevitably, it means donuts, fried clams, fries, chimichamgas, fries, etc... its coming out in a couple weeks, regardless, for some Belgian Fries and Mussels, because I haven't eaten with my family in over a year...

My kid hasn't found a single pizza place in Cuse he thought was any good... Is that just because he sticks to stuff close to campus?

It's a really bizarre thing. Every craphole corner bar in Buffalo produces above average wings and I've struggled to find anything even reaching that level anywhere I've lived since. There were 0 in Monterey or San Diego. 1 real good spot in Tampa. 0 in College Station and 1 that I'm still on the fence about in VA.

I know that exact look that you are talking about. When I take out the airfryer to do wings I get the same look from my wife. I have to clean it out because the fat that melts off is pretty gross and I need to do whatever to make the house not smell gross for hours afterwards.

 

[djorange1989]

Isn't a pizza if its not taken out of a pan? YUCK! LOL. Some Italian pizza commission in Italy has defined any pizza taken out of a pan a casserole... not a pizza. Lol. To each his own, of course. My preference is definitely the neopolitan variety. I tend to pass if its cooked on any type of pan, or in a conveyor belt.

As a born and raised New Yorker and a Chicagoan for the past 22 years I declare the deep dish to be pretty good but not even remotely close to the greatness of NY pizza

 

[AZOrange]

This list is disgusting. It makes me sad. Giordanos is like the only real pizza place on the list

 

[rrlbees]

Bahh. Must be the better temp regulation. Wife would kill me if I bought a bigger fryer. Only time I get the evil eye in the kitchen is when the fryer comes out. Cant blame her.. Inevitably, it means donuts, fried clams, fries, chimichamgas, fries, etc... its coming out in a couple weeks, regardless, for some Belgian Fries and Mussels, because I haven't eaten with my family in over a year...

My kid hasn't found a single pizza place in Cuse he thought was any good... Is that just because he sticks to stuff close to campus?

He doesn’t like OIP? That IMO is the best in the general SU area.

 

[RandomGuy]

Yes. There is no good pizza close to campus.

If he lives thin crust, Pavone's, Mario and Salvos and Paladinos are good choices. They are all within 10 minutes or so of campus. OIP has locations all over and it is similar to these...maybe just a tad below.

If he likes a little thicker crust, I recommend one of the Twin Twins restaurants. I believe they make their own sauce and use high quality ingredients. They slice their pizzas weird though.

If he likes Chicago deep dish pizza style, he might want to try Tangy Tomato. It is still pretty new and I haven't checked it out personally but I have heard good things about it.

Tangy Tomato - Syracuse - Menu & Hours - Order Delivery (5% off)

Get 5% off your pizza delivery order - View the menu, hours, address, and photos for Tangy Tomato in Syracuse, NY. Order online for delivery or pickup on Slicelife.com

www.tangytomatopizza.com

Good to know that its just close to campus. I figured there were plenty of decent choices outside. I know he likes Dibellas subs, but that might be because they are properly large(15 inches?)... lol

Nahh. Doesnt like OIP. Didnt mind Toss N Fire(prefers wood/brick as well). Anything closer to campus?

 

[RandomGuy]

It's a really bizarre thing. Every craphole corner bar in Buffalo produces above average wings and I've struggled to find anything even reaching that level anywhere I've lived since. There were 0 in Monterey or San Diego. 1 real good spot in Tampa. 0 in College Station and 1 that I'm still on the fence about in VA.

I know that exact look that you are talking about. When I take out the airfryer to do wings I get the same look from my wife. I have to clean it out because the fat that melts off is pretty gross and I need to do whatever to make the house not smell gross for hours afterwards.

I blame my kids...lol. They literally start frying everything. Donuts, pickles, oreo's, whoopie pies, moon pies(OMG had some at a BBQ joint in South Carolina). When I bring out the fryer, everyone's life expectancy goes down about 6 months, so I try to keep it on the shelf..lol

 

[Hoo's That]

Isn't a pizza if its not taken out of a pan? YUCK! LOL. Some Italian pizza commission in Italy has defined any pizza taken out of a pan a casserole... not a pizza. Lol. To each his own, of course. My preference is definitely the neopolitan variety. I tend to pass if its cooked on any type of pan, or in a conveyor belt.

This sums it up best.