The Upper Crust: Pizza in The 330
Pizza almost always gets shared amongst friends and family. Watching the game, moving into a new house, hanging out with pals – all happen around a savory pie of tomato sauce, cheese and crust. From an adventurous specialty to a hefty meat-lover’s to a garden-variety veggie, we’ve rounded up all The 330’s best pizza parlors to satisfy every craving.
The Classic
Luigi’s Restaurant | [ 105 N Main St., Akron ] | 330-253-2999
Reports of Luigi’s RESTAURANT’s demise last summer were, as Twain would say, greatly exaggerated. But the impassioned outcry to a social post mistakenly shared by hundreds that Luigi’s was closing (it was actually a post for a restaurant in Scotland) underscored the popularity of the restaurant, where patrons regularly queue out the door for salads piled with mozzarella and made-from-scratch pasta dishes.
Why do customers keep coming back, even if they often have to wait for a table? “Nothing changes,” says Theresa McKoski Wilgus, a 23-year server who started bussing tables in high school.
“It’s the consistency of the food,” adds Vicki Todd, who has been waiting tables at the Italian eatery for 22 years and whose two daughters work there now.
The menu and recipes have stayed the same all these years, giving repeat customers the same quality and taste every time.
One example is the thick pizza crust that is made fresh from scratch every day — from a recipe that is closely guarded.
“I wish I knew the secret,” says McKoski Wilgus.
“I’d make it at home for my kids.”
The Luigi’s tradition is so strong because ownership has stayed in the Ciriello family since it opened in 1949 in Akron’s Northside District. Some servers have remained too. At least eight of the servers have worked at Luigi’s for 25 years or more, and the customers are just as familiar.
“It’s like a second family, [and] I have lots of favorite customers, regulars,” says McKoski Wilgus.
Proof of Luigi’s local legendary status is in their award-winning pizza. Biting into the chewy yet firm crust covered in slightly sweet marinara, gooey cheese and the perfect amount of pepperoni ($13.90 large) takes you back to the days when mom-and-pop restaurants like this one were more common than chains. Bring the kids — and cash, as they don’t take credit cards — for a classic taste of Akron’s heyday.
3 to Try: classics
- + Deluxe on Traditional Crust, Guiseppe’s , Green
- + Double Cheese and Pepperoni, Emidio’s , Akron
- + Provolone and Heirloom Tomatoes, Lucci’s Place , Kent
Veggie Picks
Brimfield Bread Oven | [ 3596 state Route 43, Suite 2, Brimfield ] | 330-474-7800 | brimfieldbreadoven.com
Baguette-loving Francophiles, here’s a pie that will make you go “ooh la la.”
Brimfield Bread Oven’s pizza crust is hand-formed from baguette and French bread dough. The light, crispy, crunchy crust has all the chew and airiness that make French loaves so delightful.
“You see the bubbles throughout the whole slice —not just the edge,” says co-owner Genevieve Smith.
Co-owner Jud Smith says the breadmaking couple gets lots of compliments on the crust that’s made in the Old World tradition. The straightforward process uses only flour, salt, yeast and water, and classic fermentation practices. Like the French, breadmakers here use the finest flour, in this case organic wheat flour.
The brick wood-fired oven that the pizzas bake in is also olden. On pizza nights, Wednesday through Saturday, the baker lights a fire and cooks pizzas while also getting the oven’s masonry warm for breadmaking the next morning.
“Just ash and coal are left over. Heat stays in the bricks and that’s what we use to bake,” says Jud, who some might recognize from Blackbird Baking Co. in Lakewood and Great Lakes Baking Co. in Hudson.
The process results in a tasty blackened crust. “It’s a nice heat that gives the crust that charred, smoky flavor,” Jud says.
The bread oven gives love to France’s Old World neighbor with the classic margherita pizza ($10.50). The pie stays true to Italian tradition with a house-made herby tomato sauce, clean, earthy basil, gooey fresh mozzarella and a rich drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. But the puffy French crust raises the taste to the next level.
“We’ve had a couple of people who lived in Italy say it’s the best pizza they’ve had,” Jud says.
3 to Try: vegetarian
- + Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Ken Stewart’s Tre Belle , Akron
- + Farrouk’s Falafel Pitza, Aladdin’s Eatery , Akron, Cuyahoga Falls,Fairlawn, Hudson and North Canton
- +Pizza Bruschetta, Dontino’s Fine Italian Cuisine , Akron
MORE: THE STORY OF JOJOS & THE 330
White Space
Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria | [ 6738 Center Road, Valley City ] | 330-483-2000 | samoskyspizza.com
Jason Samosky has been in the food industry since he was a kid. When he was just 12, his baker father moved their family from Medina to Florida for a job as a pastry chef at Walt Disney World. Later, his dad became the VIP chef for Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel, and his mom worked banquets.
“
The chefs knew us,” he says. “I used to go hang out and just watch everything.”
Often, Samosky’s dad employed Jason to help brainstorm ideas for special menu items. Little did he know, he was training for his own future as an award-winning pizza creator.
The Spinachi — an innovative spin on the white pizza — was the 2013 first-place winner for best pizza in America at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. For this ($14.49 medium) pizza, Samosky tops a rich garlic butter sauce with sausage, spinach, cranberries, sunflower seeds, Asiago and feta cheese for a complex flavor experience.
The awards began in 2005, shortly after he opened his Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria shop in Valley City. Samosky, who learned home cooking as a child but has no formal training, heard about the Pizza Pizzazz competition in Columbus but hesitated to enter because he felt intimidated by more experienced chefs. Still, he decided to go for it with his customer-favorite Philly cheesesteak pie and was shocked at the results.
“ I freaking won the first competition I entered,” he exclaims. “That changed my life — and the pizzeria’s life.”
Part of his prize was a trip to Parma, Italy, to compete in the World Pizza Championship, and he’s been traveling and competing ever since. His accolades include five U.S. championships, third place in a Chinese contest and eighth in the world at Parma.
“Everywhere I travel, I try to bring one thing back, one idea,” he says.
Those ideas eventually end up as unexpected pizza
innovations, like the seasonal wintry La Pizza Inverno or the California-inspired Heartacado. Who knows what
he’ll think of next.
3 to Try: White
- + White Specialty Pizza, DeCheco’s Pizzeria , Akron
- + Pizza Primavera, Rizzi’s Ristorante & Pizzeria , Copley
- + Pizza Bianco, The Twisted Olive , Green
MORE: PIZZA SIDES AS GOOD AS THE PIE ITSELF
Gluten-Free For All
Dewey’s Pizza | [ 3265 W. Market St., Fairlawn ] | 330-873-4444 | deweyspizza.com
Pizza usually brings families together, but Dewey’s Pizza regional manager David Igel noticed it can separate them, too. He was working at the Lakewood location in 2016 when he saw a frequent customer who has a gluten sensitivity eating a salad. The pizza came out, and the rest of her family dug in.
“She was kind of sitting there watching everybody,” Igel recalls. Afterward, she mentioned it would be great to eat pizza with her kids.
Igel and his team got the message and set out to make her gluten-free dream a reality. Dewey’s makes its own pizza dough, but Igel knew that mixing their own gluten-free dough would run too high a risk of cross-contamination because pizzamakers hand toss their crusts and the high-gluten flour flies all over. That meant Dewey’s needed to bring in a premade dough. Igel tried 10 to 12 different gluten-free pizzas and discovered he didn’t want one with additives such as overpowering spices and cheeses. The winning crust? Senza Glutine’s thin, crispy, slightly sweet version.
“It’s a very nice thin crust that really allows the ingredients to shine,” Igel says.
The gluten-free crust lets diners really taste flavorful pizzas like the Ryan’s Inferno ($18.45), which is Dewey’s take on wing night. The Inferno has fiery Miller Farms Buffalo chicken and fresh-cut red onions that are cooled by tangy Gorgonzola, mozzarella, olive oil, creamy ranch drizzle and crunchy celery.
Since February 2017, all Dewey’s locations offer 12-inch gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and vegan versions of all pizzas.
Dewey’s takes cross-contamination seriously. If a diner lets a server know about an allergy, workers make sure hands are clean, gloves are on, ingredients come from a separate refrigerator, and a clean pizza cutter and different oven are used.
As for that mom, Igel served her the first gluten-free pizza Dewey’s offered. Her review?
“ She was about as excited as she could be,” he says.
3 to Try: Gluten-Free
- + Hawaiian, Dominic’s Italian Restaurant, Medina
- + Build-Your-Own: hummus, vegan mozzarella & veggies, Grazers , Kent
- + Wheat Spinach Souffle, Altieri’s Pizza, Stow
Special delivery
3 to Try: Specialty
- + Duck, Bricco , Various locations in Akron and Kent
- + The Russian with vodka cream sauce, Pavona’s Pizza Joint , Akron
- + Potato Skinless Pie with jojos, Danny Boy’s , Canton
3 to Try: Meat
- + Smoked Salmon, The Clay Oven , Mogadore
- + Polpettina with meatball, 3 Palms Pizzeria & Bakery , Hudson
- + Piggy Pie with barbecue pork, Digsby’s Pizza, Pasta & Pub Grub , Seville