About
DE Pizza
The DE Pizza Story and Methodology
Simply, we love pizza. And we believe pizza always should be satisfying, fun, mouthwateringly taste-bud-tickling, and evocative of great childhood (and adulthood) memories. Pizza is America's comfort food. It has been a constant in our lives. So, this web site is a tribute to the great pizzeristas who have enriched our lives, fed our bodies and souls, and expanded our girth.
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He (known as "Him" in our reviews) grew up eating pizza all the time in a New York City suburb and during frequent visits to NYC (America's pizza capital). He worked at a neighborhood pizzeria in his teens and pizza was a weekly dinner staple with our kids when She worked at night.
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She (known as "Her" in our reviews) grew up eating pizza in central Pennsylvania at the one great pizza joint in her town. She's also been a longtime home pizza chef to the delight of her family.
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We raised our kids on pizza in New Jersey and mourned the lack of truly great pizza in our adopted home outside Washington, D.C. In New York and New Jersey, the corner pizza joint was reliably good, at least, and sometimes great. Washington? Not so much.
So, we have eaten a lot of pizza in our lives and we know what we like. We thought it might be worthwhile to share our opinions about the pizza restaurants in our second home state of Delaware (more about that another time). Of course, our opinions are just that: opinions. But we hope they will help you navigate the large number of pizza choices in the Delmarva peninsula.
Why We Launched DE Pizza
The DE Pizza "Methodology"
"Him" and "Her" - We decided to mask our identities so the pizza restaurants we review will not know who we are. So, we will identify ourselves only as "Him" and "Her." We don't want any special treatment because we are reviewers. Even free pizza. No, really! Also, in the interest of full disclosure, we use an AI tool to take our dialogues and translate them into easy to read conversation transcripts. But rest assured, there are humans in the loop at both ends: real people (us) have the conversations and real people (Him and Her) review and edit the AI-edited output to make sure it was true to what we said in the conversation.
No Ads from Delmarva Pizza Restaurants - While we may accept advertising, we won't accept any ads from Delmarva pizza restaurants. The money wouldn't influence our reviews, but we don't want there to be any questions in anyone's mind that we are objective.
How We Judge the Pizza - In every case, we order a cheese pizza. That's the truest test of the pizza restaurant's skill. Then, we order a pizza with some toppings, perhaps the restaurant's specialty, if they have one. That's a way to see if they are good at what they highlight.
Scoring - We grade each pizza restaurant on an 8-slice scale (of course, since that's the number of slices in a large pie). A score of 8 slices is perfect. A score of 1 means turn in your pizza ovens and sell pretzels, barbells, or plumbing supplies instead.
Criteria - Broadly speaking, we will consider six criteria: sauce, crust, cheese, toppings, service, and "wild card." The last category captures those intangibles that make pizza or a restaurant (or both) great. Honestly, we don't have a formula. We think these six criteria are the things that matter to a pizza experience.
The Reviews and Scores - We present our reviews as dialogues because that's how we experience food --- we talk about it (maybe a little too much). We will present three scores: Him, Her, and an average of the two scores. Why? Because sometimes we disagree and neither of us is always right. What should you do? After eating at some of the pizza restaurants we have reviewed, you will learn whose taste is most like yours or if we are best when taken together. Also, watch out because we will sometimes include special guests with whom we have split pizzas in our review.
Your Comments - Needless to say, we think our opinions are worth your time. But YOUR opinions matter too. So, please comment on our reviews. Tell us what we got right, what we got wrong and whether our review helped you. Agree or disagree (respectfully) with another commenter. Suggest other pizza places we should review. We will get to as many as we can. We are committed for the long haul. Very important: YOU MUST BE A MEMBER TO COMMENT. So, sign up now.