Pizza pizza. Salem loves it’s pizza pie.
Every once in a while I see something happen in Salem that both puzzles and irks me. The other night I saw such a site. It was about 8pm and I was walking to a local watering hole when it happened. As I turned off Essex I was confronted by a man approximately 5 foot 10, wearing a blue and red jacket, carrying a box. At first I was startled, then a feeling of sadness an pity came over me. Why? When there are so many great local pizza shops that someone actually called Dominos.
In a recent TheSalemInsider.com online poll, you the readers chose DeLeo’s Pizza number one in Salem with The Upper Crust just missing the top spot by one single vote. Engine House rounded out the top three with a good showing for this Salem institution.
People who voted seemed to prefer traditional Italian pizza to Greek-style and price mattered less than perception of quality. Included in the poll were only restaurants that focused on pizza, we did not include those that serve a pizza option as part of a larger menu (Strega, Rockafellas, Cafe Kushco).
Any way you slice it, there’s plenty of quality pie in town and absolutely no need to call Factory Pizza just because they deliver in 20 minutes or less. Most of the local shops deliver in the same time and offer a much better product.
Get familiar with your local pizza parlor.
- DeLeo’s Pizza
28 Norman St
978. 740.2800 - The Upper Crust
118 Washington Street
978.741.2787 - Engine House Pizza
71 Lafayette Street
978.745.1744 - Christina’s Pizza
239 Lafayette St
978.744.0700 - Madee’s Pizza
400 Essex Street
978.745.6400 - Giovanni’s Pizza
44 Jefferson Ave
978.744.9111 - Damatas Pizza
33 Bridge St
978.745.1122 - Omega Pizza
101 Loring Ave
978.740.1000 - Salem House of Pizza
23 Endicott St
978.744.0017
Ahhhh…. so many pizza choices. Here is the breakdown
Engine House? Good pizza.. AWFUL service. Rude. Arrogant. The guy that runs it used to work there, bought it and is running it into the ground,. I know lots of people who have been turned off by the service.
Salem House of Pizza?
GREAT service. Awful pizza.
Upper Crust?
Waaaaaayyyy too pricey. And the food is awful.
That is all. For now
Cuddy,
We have reviewed those pizza parlors and have come to some of the same conclusions.
Thanks for the comment.
Here’s my rundown (and I agree with Cuddy on Engine House):
- DeLeo’s: Nice sauce, but a rubbery crust. Good service and fresh sausage.
- Upper Crust: Psh. Don’t bother. Crust was soggy, grease running out of the toppings, and $28 for a two topping pizza? Outrageous. Service was horrible.
- Engine House: Amazing, truly wonderful pizza, good ambiance, good company. On the downside, ruuuuude service. We asked for some cups of the marinara sauce on the side, to dip the wood. We got raised eyebrows, a sneer from the bleached blonde bimbette running the counter (who was far more interested in flirting with her boyfriend than in giving anyone actual *service*), and a grudging smear of sauce in a salad dressing cup. Next time, we’ll get it to go. Haven’t tried Madee’s or Giovanni’s yet; they’re on the agenda for the next visit, however.
I was pretty surprised that Engine House took the #3 spot in our poll. The pie is great but many people have had similar service issues. Perhaps take out service is much better.
OMG, I moved to the West Coast but I was trying to look up that vegetarian pizza DeLeo’s makes with the spiced slices of potato on it. I want to figure out how to make it. I think it was called Greek something. Also, don’t forget that little place on the curve of the road going out towards the country in Beverly! And Cafe Grazianni (sp?) does an absolutely true Italian pizza like you get in Florence, Italy. Yum.