We walked in the front door and were immediately hit by the smell of warm dough, caramelized cheese, and warmed tomato sauce. We stepped up to the counter, ordered our pizza, and went to the table while it was being cooked. A few short minutes later, a hot pizza was placed on our table. We made a quick inspection and dug into the warm pie. This was no ordinary night out to dinner; this was our first stop in our mission to find the best pizza in Holland.

  We had to make sure that we could judge the pizza fairly, so each pizza had to be thin crust with pepperoni and sausage. This was going to make for the fair competition between the restaurants.

Crust 54

  Walking into Crust 54, we were able to seat ourselves immediately. We went to the counter and were greeted by the cashier who was eager to take our order. We put our order in and took our seats. The pizza came out quickly and was neatly sliced into 9 pieces; making our inspection easier. The toppings were very well proportioned, and none overpowered the look of another. The cheese was not droopy whatsoever, and it evenly covered the sauce. We tasted the toppings first before we dug in; both the pepperoni and the sausage were cooked through and seemed to be very fresh. We finally dug in and our first thought was “wow that’s tasty.” The sauce tasted like fresh tomatoes, and all of the flavors were brought together well with none overpowering another. We were not very hungry, so the 12” was perfectly enough to satisfy our needs. All in all, Crust 54 made a very good pizza, it was easy to eat, very well prepared, and an all around good slice of pie.

Sluggo’s

  On a warm almost spring-like day, we strolled into Sluggo’s. We stepped up to the counter, placed our order, and went to sit down. A few short minutes later the pizza came out with steam rising off of it. This pizza looked awesome, so we made our visual judgments quickly so that we could dig in. The pizza had no signs of grease, the cheese looked caramelized and covered up the sauce well, and the toppings looked tasty. Finally, we were able to take our first bite. Our mouths exploded with flavor. The toppings were both cooked through and were delicious. Although, there was a bit more sausage than pepperoni, which caused the sausage to be a bit overpowering. The cheese was wonderful. The proportions worked very well with the other parts of the pizza. It was a great accent piece to the sauce, toppings, and crust. The cheese tasted wonderful as well. It had a beautiful nuttiness and caramelization to it. The sauce was also a wonderful aspect. It molded well with the rest of the ingredients; the real glue for the pizza. Finally the crust. It had a nice crispy outside and a warm soft inside. Some bites of it were a bit too crispy, though. It was a nice thickness and stayed firm when we picked up our pieces. Overall the pizza at Sluggo’s was good and we will definitely be back for more.

     Fricano’s

  Due to our very busy schedules, we were unable to dine in at Fricano’s, so we called in for take-out. When we arrived we were immediately greeted by a hostess who gave us our pizza and we were on our way. Unwrapping Fricano’s pizza from the paper sleeve was like unwrapping a present on Christmas morning as all of the amazing smells emanated from the pie. We quickly made our judgments and came to the conclusion that Fricano’s had the best-looking pizza we had seen so far; everything about it looked delicious. We finished our judgments and dug in. The pizza was phenomenal, the toppings were cooked through perfectly, and neither overpowered another. The cheese and sauce were perfectly placed and prepared. All of the flavors came together to make an amazing pizza. The only fault we could find with Fricano’s pizza was the crust was a little too crispy in some spots, but overall, Fricano’s was great and stacks up well against our other local pizza joints.

Skiles

  Our schedules did not allow us to dine in at the restaurant. We had to pick up the pizza from Skiles. The car ride with the pizza just made us want to eat it right away. Once we finally arrived, we sat down and opened up the box. At first glance the pizza looks pretty basic; as if it could be a frozen Jack’s Pizza. The toppings were spaced out, and there were not very many of each topping. Also, the pizza looked to have a good amount of grease on top of the cheese. After our examination, we were able to take our first bites. The toppings on this pizza were good. Because there were not many of either, the pepperoni or sausage could not overpower the other. Both items were cooked through and tasty. The cheese tasted pretty good, but there was too much of it. When there was a bite with toppings in it, the only taste was the cheese. The cheese also did not allow for the sauce to shine through. When we were able to taste the sauce, we were not overly impressed. The sauce was alright but was quite salty. We were delighted once we bit into the crust. It was a shining element. It was crispy on the outside, and soft and warm on the inside. Overall, the Skiles pizza was good, but definitely not good enough to be our winner.

Village Inn

  We were able to sit down at our final destination. We sat at a comfortable booth, and the waitress took our order immediately. Shortly after, she came out with our pizza; the service was tremendous. We waited a few minutes for our pizza to cool down before we dug. We made our visual representation judgments. The pepperoni and sausage were evenly distributed among each slice, and the pizza looked tasty. We finished our judgments and took our first bite. The sausage was a little overpowering of the pepperoni, but it wasn’t too bad; both toppings were cooked through and were delicious. The cheese was a bit droopy and excessive but at the same time, still fresh and tasty. The sauce tasted like fresh tomatoes and didn’t taste like preservatives whatsoever. Overall, Village Inn had a pretty great pizza, and they made it tough to make a decision on the best pizza in town.

The Decision

  We can definitely say that all the pizza we had was delightful. But the pizza from Fricano’s stood out from the rest. The only fault of the pizza was the crust was too crispy in some areas. The wonderful sausage and pepperoni, the caramelized cheese, and the magnificent look of the pizza are what help Fricano’s earn the title of best local pizza in Holland.

Judging Criteria:

• Crust (/10)
  • Crispy outside and soft inside (5 points)
  • Thickness (5 points)
• Sauce (/10)
  • Amount of sauce, not too much that it’s overpowering, but enough to taste it (5)
  • Taste is fresh like tomatoes (5)
• Cheeses (/10)
  • Amount of cheese is respectable, not too much but enough to cover the sauce well (5)
  • Can taste cheese but is not overpowering, not only thing you can taste when you take a bite (5)
• Toppings (/15)
  • Amount of each topping is plenty of each
  • Taste of pepperoni is good tastes meaty and cooked through, doesn’t overpower the sausage
  • Taste of sausage is good tastes meaty and cooked through, doesn’t overpower the pepperoni
• Visual Rep. (/5)
  • Looks good to the eye, not piles of grease on top or drooping cheese already