Pizza in Tucson

Best Healthy Pizza and Best Gluten-Free
Eclectic Pizza
7065 E. Tanque Verde (at Sabino Canyon)
886-0484
www.eclecticpizza.com

When Renée and Steve Kreager came up with the idea of opening a pizza shop next to the Eclectic Café, they knew they were a match made in pizza heaven. Steven worked for years in the pizza business and Renée had gleaned much customer service and management knowledge as a server at Eclectic Café.
The walls of the restaurant are painted tomato sauce red, though Renée assured me that she showed the painter a piece of salmon sashimi and not pizza sauce to indicate her color preference. The room has comfortable table and chair seating and a few see-and-be-seen tables.
As for the food, their mission was one of excellence and “green” practices, so they wash dishes by hand and use biodegradable “to-go” containers. In the kitchen, they use fresh and organic to their best effort and never trans-fats, MSG or hydrogenated oil. You’ll find everything from locally grown tomatoes to Arbuckle’s Organic Fair Trade Coffee. You can even find organic beer and wine on this eclectic menu. In a word, the pizza is outstanding and I was impressed to see a gluten-free version on the menu.
Eclectic’s thin, crisp crusts are still substantial enough to stand up to their hearty, abundant toppings. I encourage you to try their Old Town, made with tomato and basil. I loved it!
The Mediterranean offers hummus in lieu of pizza sauce and is topped with a salad of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives. The latest addition to their ever-evolving pizza menu pairs red potatoes with rosemary.
Check out the giant cookies at the counter. I’ll bet you find them hard to resist.

Best New York-style Pizza
Grimaldi’s
446 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 100 (Sam Hughes Place on 5th St.)
882-6100
www.grimaldispizzeria.com

Grimaldi’s is part of a family-run business that began on Fulton Street under the Brooklyn Bridge in the 1930s. Founder Patsy Grimaldi learned the trade from his uncle, who had been under the tutelage of the Lombardi family, credited with introducing pizza to New York at the turn of the 20th century. Patsy Grimaldi insisted on a coal-fired oven for creating the best crust, though the tradition is fading in today’s world of conveyor belt pizza production and cities such as New York prohibit the use of coal.
Grimaldi’s is located at the southeast corner of 5th Street and Campbell Avenue in Sam Hughes Place, which offers valet parking. The restaurant is filled with photos and an architectural recreation of the famous archway of the Brooklyn Bridge. In addition, you’ll see a photo of the “Chairman of the Board” Frank Sinatra, who is rumored to have ordered Grimaldi’s pizza when in the Hoboken, New Jersey, area. Grimaldi’s also holds the distinction of being listed in the Zagat Survey as the Best of New York pizza for several years in a row.
Here in Tucson, the highest quality of anthracite coal is used in the pizza oven, burning a blue flame that does not release coal odor or vapors. Grimaldi’s also insists on pure water in the kitchen — à la New York City, which is known for clear, flavor-free water from upstate New York — and uses an expensive H20 filtering system to ensure a perfect pizza.
The cheese is mozzarella — made from free-range cattle in New Jersey — and imported Romano-Pecorino cheese – made with sheep’s milk, which adds a sharp, tangy flavor. They use imported canned Italian tomatoes and imported olive oil. Speaking with Jamie Culliton, the pizza master, an 11-time-medalist in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, I was amazed at his dexterity with a piece of dough. If there were an Olympic category for pizza tossing, Culliton would have been in Beijing this year. As it is, he is part of Team Pizza USA and will be heading for Italy next year for competition in what is considered the home of pizza. Call ahead to be sure he is there on Saturday and witness his “Tour de Force.”
I ordered the pepperoni pizza and it was superb! The salty quality of the sausage paired with the acidic tomatoes all blended with the creamy mozzarella, creating the perfect blend of “tooth,” crispness and flavor.
This pie does Brooklyn and founder Patsy Grimaldi proud. An added bonus: Grimaldi produces its own in-house cheesecake and it is as close to New York as I can get this side of the Hudson River.

Best Use of Fruit on a Pizza
1702
1702 E. Speedway Blvd. (west of Campbell)
325-1702

If you ever wondered what happened to Eric’s Ice Cream on Speedway near The University of Arizona, wonder no more. Eric Lepie and his ice cream are alive and well at 1702. After closing his ice cream business, the store came under the spell of the “Pizza Gods” and Austin Santos.
Santos has been involved with pizza since age 15 and he loves all aspects of the business. He decided to do what he loved, and he loves pizza and beer. This helps explain the 46 tap beers on the wall. The walls of the restaurant are painted a saucy red. The main room offers bar service and high tables and chairs. A side room has traditional tables with untraditional chairs on casters, and a private room — ideal for meetings and groups — sports a graffiti wall awaiting your creative talents.
This is one of the few places offering pizza by the slice; be forewarned that the slices are large. Santos told me each one is 1/6 of a pie. One wonders if the entire pie doubles as a cape! I had the pineapple and ham pizza, which held an abundance of sweet pineapple pieces and salty ham. The crust is great, the sauces well prepared and tasty, a result of years of pizza making and finding the right blend of tomatoes and herbs. The hand tossed thin crust is ideal for folding and eating.
Santos is a pizza chef extraordinaire and will create some of the most imaginative combinations of pizza ever. All you need to do is release your pizza chi so he can release his. A bonus here is the beer-infused ice cream created by Eric, who is known for his eclectic taste and “Tradition be damned, great ice cream ahead” panache. It’s the perfect blend of butterfat and the brew-master craft, along with Eric’s passion for ice cream. I sampled the Gentle Persuasion blend of vanilla ice cream, prunes and oatmeal. I could have that every morning for breakfast. Prunes never tasted so good.
Parking is available just west of 1702 after 5 p.m. or all day east of 1702 in the parking lot next to the coffee shop.

Best Thin Crust with Cheese
Vero Amore
3305 N. Swan Rd. # 105 (Located in the Basha’s Shopping center)
325-4122
www.veroamorepizza.com

This was one of the best crusts I found in town. Vero Amore’s owners, brothers Josh and Aric Mussman, have a simple motto: “Keep it simple, do it well.” They began their pizza career by enrolling at the famous Verace Pizza Napoletana Americas in Marina del Rey, California. The school is sanctioned by the Italian government, ensuring that the finest traditions of Neapolitan pizza are kept alive in a world of fast food.
The Mussmans learned everything from flour to sauce and every step in between. They began their education with an appreciation for the flour needed to create the finest crust. The dough is made simply — from flour, salt and yeast allowed to ferment and then baked in a 1,200-degree oven. The crust is thin yet firm, an exquisitely simple yet toothsome vehicle to hold the ingredients and to achieve a billowing yet crisp crust. The Mussmans import the Cuputo family’s Double 00 flour, considered by many to create the penultimate pizza dough.
Josh uses a “Rosito Bisani” wood-burning oven made with volcanic stone, considered to be the Rolls Royce of pizza ovens. Local pecan wood is burned to create a constant heat and fragrance for the pizza. The San Maranzo tomatoes are grown in Italy, holding the right amount of acidity to host the mozzarella cheese that is produced daily in the kitchen. Toss in Italian olive oil and basil, and there you have it. Add ingredients as you desire.
I chose the Quattro Formaggio, prepared without sauce with the most delightful blend of Gorgonzola, Parmesan, house-made and smoked mozzarella. When the pizza was brought to the table the most fragrant blend of cheese, pizza crust and olive oil rose up to greet my senses. Josh and Aric put tradition aside by cutting pizza. In Italy, it is uncut and served with a knife and fork or torn by hand. Lifting the pizza, I folded it lengthwise, creating the perfect size to enjoy a double bite of cheese and “oh so wonderful” crust. The saltiness of Gorgonzola blended with the mild mozzarella and the addition of smoked cheese enhanced the smoky essence of the crust. My suggestion is to enjoy Vero Amore’s fine pizzas on location, so you can savor the crust at its peak.
The dining room is very attractive with beautiful dark wood tables, and the space is decorated with numerous photographs, some of which are available for sale.

Best Non-Pizza
Terra Cotta
3500 E. Sunrise (east of Campbell)
577-8100
www.dineterracotta.com

Donna Nordin has been watching over the pizza and ingredients at Terra Cotta ever since Terra Cotta was constructed with the additional brick wood-fired pizza oven with the magnificent hand-hammered copper hood. The five pies created by Nordin include a Southwestern inspiration, prepared with chorizo and black beans. I discovered a treasure not found on the regular menu, but located on the bar menu and described as a tart. In fact, it is one of the most creative pizzas I have enjoyed on this quest for the Holy Grail of pies. It is a blend of Gorgonzola cheese, caramelized onions and New York strip steak, drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Executive Chef Tom Mead told me that once a customer ordered the pizza and ate only the cheese, steak and onions, leaving the entire crust untouched; a shame, since the crust is perfectly prepared with the right number of crisp air pockets.

Best Pizza with Fire & Zip!
Piazza Gavi
5415 N. Kolb Road (near Sunrise)
577-1099
www.gavifoods.com

When Piazza Gavi first opened, many people read “piazza” as “pizza.” Now people pay attention to the sign on the door that says it all, La Loconda Degli Amici (“a place for friends”). The restaurant has become a great addition to the Sabino Canyon neighborhood, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Inside, the media area offers a great place to watch sporting events, and enjoy everything from espresso to great Italian dinners, but I was there for the pizza.
Owner Gavi Colaleo suggested I try the Spicy Etna. Mt. Etna is a volcano, and this spicy pizza delivers the heat. This is where Southwestern meets Italian. Many Tucsonans will love this gift of fire, prepared with pepperoni, jalapeño and pepperoncini.
When Gavi began this venture he brought a chef from Italy to ensure that the sauce, dough and toppings were as close to authentic as was possible in Tucson. The original recipes are adhered to and the crust is thin, with just the right crust-to-toppings ratio. Gavi, who has been serving up food to an appreciative audience in town since 1992, knows how to do things right, and he has mastered pizza. The sweet combination at Gavi’s involves evening entertainment, great wine and a place to enjoy friends.

Best Deep Dish Pizza
Oregano’s
4900 E. Speedway (East side of Swan)
327-8955
0reganos.com

Oregano’s has to be one of the busiest eateries in all of Tucson. From opening at 11 a.m. until closing, the place packs customers in. Pizza at Oregano’s is offered in both thin crust and one of the best stuffed pizzas I found in the Old Pueblo. This baby weighs in at a whopping six pounds and contains all the food groups in a single bite. This Pizza de Resistance — the Numero One-O — is stuffed with sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, green bell peppers and cheese covered with a thin sheet of dough to keep everything in place. It is a sight to behold and a spectacular blend of flavor and texture. Each bite is perfectly blended to represent all things that are holy in Italian food.
When you get arrive at the restaurant and are place on the waiting list, that’s the time to order the “belly bomb” pizza, since it takes nearly an hour to cook. The sausage is made to Oregano’s specifications and the tomato sauce is a blend of canned and locally grown tomatoes. The herb blend is exact and kept under lock and key, coming out only when it is time to create the sauce. The cheese is from Wisconsin and is a special recipe known only to the dairy and Oregano’s. It seems as though the pizza cooks would need to enter the Pizza Protection Program if they ever shared any of the company secrets. All kidding aside, this is a fun place to enjoy everything from salads to pasta where the portions are huge and the staff will greet you and say goodbye. Oh, don’t miss dessert. The hubcap-sized pizza cookie dessert is served with three scoops of ice cream.

Best Family Tradition Pizza
Lococo’s
8330 N. Thornydale Road (Cortaro Farms Road)
744-7136

Lococo’s is a family tradition carried on by Darrell and Carrie Blanchard by way of Milwaukee. Darrell’s grandparents ran a pizzeria, named after his grandmother’s maiden name, where pizzas and bomber sandwiches (think subs or hoagies) were their bread and butter. When Darrell found himself in Tucson in search of that same great flavor, he could not find anything even close. When the opportunity arose, he and Carrie opened their own place, complete with family pictures and recipes passed down from his grandmother to his mom, and now to him.
Amazingly, Darrell built the restaurant from the ground up with his own hands and has created a special place for people in the Thornydale and Cortaro area to enjoy amazing pizza and Italian food. The menu is limited, but what he does, he does right. His spicy sausage pizza was outstanding! Darrell has the sausage shipped from Chicago and he blends it himself, with his family’s recipe for herbs and spices. The same care and attention to details is put into the sauce. The dough recipe creates a cracker thin pizza that is superb. Darrell and Carrie’s loyal following appreciate their adherence to family recipes and traditions.

Best Use of Greens on a Pizza
Sauce
5285 E. Broadway Blvd.
514-1122
2990 N. Campbell Ave.
795-0344
7117 N. Oracle Road
297-8575
www.Foxrc.com

When Sauce opened its doors in 2003, no one knew what a hit the contemporary gourmet pizza restaurant would be. Today, this Sam Fox restaurant has eight locations and was named Best Restaurant Concept by a leading restaurant industry magazine. Its interior is inviting, with tomato-sauce-colored walls and a logo on the entry doors that resembles a splash of marinara. Comfortable banquette and table seating, along with a patio for dining al fresco, completes the ambience.
Recipes for the dough, sauce, cheese and olive oil were painstakingly researched by the Fox team to create the best taste, texture and aroma for their wood-fired, brick-oven pizza. The wild mushroom and truffle arugula pizza is one of the best flavor profiles I’ve enjoyed in a long time. The crisp crust provides the perfect edible palate for the wild mushrooms, greens and shaved Parmesan cheese. The salty flavor of the cheese and the slight charring of the crust add to the unique taste.