Palermo Pizza and Italian Villa of Paisley Florida

Near many sweet camping spots you'll find Palermo Pizza, a shop that fit my exact criteria of 'not tried yet'. Their pizza has a ratio of 1.5cr/1.5ce/1.5ch. You guessed it, despite being in the center of Florida, Palermo aspires to the same thing as every east coast pizza shop.

Their crust gets a 4 out of 5 for me. The flavor's good. Light, sturdy, and chewy. Palermo's sauce gets a 3 out of 5. They use the good canned tomatoes, but the final product was somewhat watery and sweeter than it seemed like it should be.

For style, I'll give Palermo a 4 out of 5. They kept the diet cokes coming and the atmosphere was very cozy. I might be tempted to have a birthday party there, if only they had an arcade game or two. While the pizza itself doesn't stand out at all, I'm using Florida rules. I should probaby add that we got an appetizer of chicken fingers and fries, which consisted of two chicken fingers and some decent crinkle cuts. So it was essentially a kid's meal for $8.

Palermo gets a 4 out of 5 for quality. The pizza was altogether very good, with every element melding together in a way that completely satisfied me. With an overall score of 75%, I'd recommend Palermo Pizza to anyone passing through, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit again.

Angelina's Pizza of Deland Florida

In word-of-mouth, Angelina's is likely the most beloved Pizza in the Deland area. Naturally, they were busy on a Friday night, but not so busy that we couldn't get a seat within five minutes. It is a wonderfully cozy little hallway of a hole in the wall, mostly decorated with things that can be bought on the spot.

Angelina's Pizza has a ratio of 2cr/1ce/2ch*. Their crust gets a 5 out of 5 from me. It has a thin layer of chewiness, with a soft inside and a flavor that's completely on point. Their sauce gets a 3 out of 5. It's too thin for me and lackluster. However, there's nothing wrong with it. If I ran Angelina's, I don't know if I'd change it. I wouldn't mess with a formula with such a draw.

Since I gave Bloomington somewhat of a buff regarding quality, as most places are employed by university students, I'll be extra generous for the Style factor of pizzas in the Deland area. As expected, 95% of the pizzas within an hour of the east coast are going to approximate the New York style. While Angelina's has a Sicilian Pie on offer, I may review that as I make my rounds again. I like a 'Sicilian' pizza, though I know the dough is typically cooked hours before the pizza itself goes into the oven, and let's face it, the Sicilian pie isn't meant to represent the shop at hand.

Enough blather. Angelina's gets a 4 out of 5 for style. As noted, it's extremely cozy. There was nothing on the menu that didn't appeal to me. Every salad comes with a side of amazing bread, and their Corn Munchers were a special treat. Angelina's has it all: slices on the go, stacks of pizza for takeout, outdoor seating, fair prices, private bathrooms, and great service. If I had friends visit, I don't know if I'd take them here. It's a great spot for a date night, but it's less of an anomaly than Mirino's and DoBro's.

For overall quality, I'll give Angelina's a 5 out of 5. There was nothing to complain about regarding the pizza Or the experience of eating it. With a final score of 85%, I would easily recommend Angelina's to anyone new to the area, as what might be the Actual best pizza on local offer.

* Let me explain my ratio system, regarding mass of standard Pizza Elements. Cr=Crust. Ce=Sauce. Ch=Cheese.

For CR (CRust), 1 is the equivalent of a transparent pizza in the New York style, or the rolled-out, crackery Saint Louis style. 3 would be a regular Domino's hand-tossed Pizza. 4 would be like a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza, and 5 would be like a Sicilian Pizza or some varieties of Deep Dish.

For Ce (sauCE), 1 would be a watery sauce with a thin spreading, no clumping and no oozing. In this cause, the sauce is an afterthought, more like oregano than a key ingredient. 3 would be what you'd expect from a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. 5 would require a fork to eat.

For CH (CHeese), 1 would be a transparent layer, mostly existing to assure you that your pizza indeed Does have cheese on it. 3 would be a regular Domino's hand-tossed pizza. 4 would be what you get on a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. And 5 would be what you get in a pizza that requires a fork to eat, like a respectable Deep Dish Pie.

Blue Springs Pizza of Orange City Florida

Blue Springs Pizza. If you live in the area, it's likely you've Always wanted to go there. And it's a nice, somewhat homely spot. I very much appreciated the presence of plastic grapes in the drink station. However, the restaurant was just as warm as the outside (eighty degrees in november), and the dining room smelled more like a public restroom than a restaurant.

We'll expand on that later. The pizza had a Ratio of 1.5cr/1.5ce/1.5ch*, with individual slices for sale Just Like almost every pizza joint east of Atlanta. The dough gets a 3 out of 5. It was acceptable, but somewhat dry and bready. And much of the flour coating failed to burn off. I'd say it was under-kneaded, under-proofed, and cooked at too low of a temperature. Blue Springs Pizza's sauce also gets a 3 out of 5. No complaints, but nothing special.

For style, I give Blue Springs Pizza a 4 out of 5. It's my kind of joint for sure, with great service. However, the pizza doesn't stand out much. Despite my taste in dough, I do give Blue Springs Pizza a 4 out of 5 for quality. The pizza was well put together, and overall very satisfying. With an overall score of 70%, I wouldn't bring my visiting friends to Blue Springs Pizza, but I'd visit again after I've made my rounds.

* Let me explain my ratio system, regarding mass of standard Pizza Elements. Cr=Crust. Ce=Sauce. Ch=Cheese.

For CR (CRust), 1 is the equivalent of a transparent pizza in the New York style, or the rolled-out, crackery Saint Louis style. 3 would be a regular Domino's hand-tossed Pizza. 4 would be like a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza, and 5 would be like a Sicilian Pizza or some varieties of Deep Dish.

For Ce (sauCE), 1 would be a watery sauce with a thin spreading, no clumping and no oozing. In this cause, the sauce is an afterthought, more like oregano than a key ingredient. 3 would be what you'd expect from a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. 5 would require a fork to eat.

For CH (CHeese), 1 would be a transparent layer, mostly existing to assure you that your pizza indeed Does have cheese on it. 3 would be a regular Domino's hand-tossed pizza. 4 would be what you get on a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. And 5 would be what you get in a pizza that requires a fork to eat, like a respectable Deep Dish Pie.

Bronx Pizza of Deland Florida

Typically I don't use delivery to explore new pizzas, but today was a special day for no reason aside from doing this one thing differently. With a ratio of 2cr/1ce/2ch*, Bronx delivers the kind of east coast pie you can expect from any small chain in central Florida. It's not new york, but it's what the people know.

Bronx's dough gets a 3 out of 5 from me. It was crispy on the bottom and somewhat light, though not as airy as what you'd get in the big apple. The flavor was fine. The fact that our pie was delivered made the whole thing more dry than you'd expect from something fresh from the oven, so I did take that into consideration.

For sauce, I'll give Bronx a 4 out of 5. It was rich and full of herbs. While it was closer to spaghetti sauce than I'd prefer, I kept wanting more of it. When it comes to style, I give Bronx a 3 out of 5. Nothing stands out about it at all. And at thirty dollars for a large cheese, delievered, I feel like they don't even want my patronage. But maybe customers are expected to pay for the experience of their glorious restaurant, like at Ruckus. I don't know. I don't feel like I can give a full judgement here because I've never been inside.

For overall quality Bronx gets a 4 out of 5 from me. Mind you, I'm no longer in Bloomington Indiana where I'd give any shop an extra point for employing mostly university kids making their first attempt at holding down some kind of job. I can only assume people who cook professionaly in Deland have almost nothing else going on in their lives because they can't afford to do anything but cook, at their jobs, all the time.

With a final score of 70%, I enjoyed Bronx Pizza enough to give it a follow-up review, with the whole dining experience.

* Let me explain my ratio system, regarding mass of standard Pizza Elements. Cr=Crust. Ce=Sauce. Ch=Cheese.

For CR (CRust), 1 is the equivalent of a transparent pizza in the New York style, or the rolled-out, crackery Saint Louis style. 3 would be a regular Domino's hand-tossed Pizza. 4 would be like a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza, and 5 would be like a Sicilian Pizza or some varieties of Deep Dish.

For Ce (sauCE), 1 would be a watery sauce with a thin spreading, no clumping and no oozing. In this cause, the sauce is an afterthought, more like oregano than a key ingredient. 3 would be what you'd expect from a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. 5 would require a fork to eat.

For CH (CHeese), 1 would be a transparent layer, mostly existing to assure you that your pizza indeed Does have cheese on it. 3 would be a regular Domino's hand-tossed pizza. 4 would be what you get on a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza. And 5 would be what you get in a pizza that requires a fork to eat, like a respectable Deep Dish Pie.

Stavro's Pizza of Orange City Florida

If you're reading this, you're probably aware of my opions on Florida pizza's complacency with delivering little more than a passable approximation to the New York style. At the least, Stavro's gave us something a little different. Their pie had a ratio of 2cr/2ce/3ch*. The dough gets a 3 out of 5. It held itself together without getting too soggy, but it was somewhat bready and lacking in flavor, likely underproofed and underkneaded.

Their sauce also gets a 3 out of 5. It didn't pop the way I might like it to. In fact, it could have easily have come from a huge can that read "Pizza Sauce." There was no tang.

For style, I guess I'll give Stavros another 3 out of 5. It's not same as everywhere else around, and I dug the establishment's aim for coziness without pretention. There are a number of other italian dishes on the menu, which I'd like to try, but I might expect some form of pasta that's been sitting in the cooler for weeks. But you never know until you try. This is just speculation, as Pizza is often the best deal on the menu. We also got the chicken finger appetizer, which had to have come directly from a box in the freezer.

For overall quality, I'll give Stavro's a 4 out of 5. And mind you, this isn't Bloomington Indiana. This is central Florida, where cooking jobs are reserved for grown-ups who need to work. I found nothing wrong with the construction and presentation of our pie. But will I go out of my way to get it again when there are better joints just around the corner? Probably not. With a final score of 65%, I would recommend Stavro's to anyone very hungry within its two mile radius.

Tom's Pizza Shop of Deland, Florida

Let's face, there has to be more than one, unaffiliated Tom's Pizza out there. But that's okay. This is DeLand's Tom's, a real hometown place with local adverts printed directly onto every table top. The whole little league team can enjoy a pizza party on the picnic tables out front while the grown-ups have some draft beer in plastic cups.

The pizza itself has a ratio of 2cr/1ce/1ch*. Their crust gets a 2 out of 5. Cooked on sheet pans, it sounds good on paper. A square box should might as well contain a square pizza. But the end result is much more like a homemade pizza than something from a restaurant. Maybe they don't have a real pizza oven at Tom's. The end result was lacking in chew and rise, likely due to being cooked at too low of a temperature. The dough was probably also underproofed. Though the bottom was somewhat greasey and enjoyable to stuff into my face. The flavor was also present, though somewhat lacking in yeasty sweetness.

Their sauce gets a somewhat generous 3 out of 5. It's somewhat watery and bland, but there's nothing disagreeable about it. For style, I do give Tom's a 5 out of 5. The place has no-frills in a way that's more genuine and cozy than places that are either trying to be hip or just don't have their act together. Instead of plates, diners are presented with a couple sheets of wax paper, which is fine. Better than styrofoam, for sure. Diet cokes are plentiful and everything has its own signature Tom's, non-pretentious style. But why is their ranch dressing pure white? I didn't want to ask.

For overall quality, I'll give Tom's a 4 out of 5. While their pizza recipe and method aren't exactly up to snuff, everything was made with love, by people who seem to care about what their doing. So Tom's final score is 70%. While I don't see myself getting take-out from there due to a craving, I will definitely return to have a chill hang once I have some friends to do so with.

* There is a scale for thickness of crust. 1 is paper thin, usually new york style. 5 is a sicilian or thickly crusted deep dish. Papa John's would get a 3. Pizza Hut pan pizza would get a 4.

There is a scale for the volume of sauce. 1 is a very thin spread. Not enough to make a 1 crust become soggy. 1 sauce with any other type of crust will make the pizza seem like cheesy bread. A 5 for sauce would be a lake between a curved bowl of crust and cheese. Papa John's would get a 3. Pizza Hut would typically get a 2.

There is a scale for the volume of cheese. 1 is a dusting of a finely shredded cheese. The sauce will be visible and there may be holes in the coverage. 5 is a piling that spills across your pan (or box) when a slice is pulled away. Papa John's would get a 3. Pizza Hut would get a 4.

To make it simple, I write these ratios for mass and volume in code. CR means crust. CE means sauce. CH means cheese. And the final reading will look like 2cr/2ce/2ch. Got it?

Anthony's Pizza of Deland Florida

Anthonys Pizza has two locations on the same road in the same town, but this one, the newer one, is said to be better. Cleaner. Like most small Florida chains, Anthony's gives us the taste of New York, or something like it. Their pizza has a ratio of 1cr/1ce/1ch*. That's right. It's that paper thin, easy to eat stuff we all love.

Their crust gets a 4 out of 5. The charred bottom took away most of its sweetness, but that's to be expected. It was crispy, but still foldable. Their sauce gets a 3 out of 5, from what I could tell. There wasn't much of it, and the waitress wouldn't give us a side of pizza sauce, only their chunkier marinara, which was fine. It didn't taste like spaghettii sauce. From what I could tell from what was on the pizza itself, the sauce was too runny. But otherwise there wasn't anything disagreeable about it.

For style, I'll give Anthony's a 3 out of 5. There was nothing special or unique about the pizza itself. In the future, I'd love to try one of their strombolis. The interior was pretty clean, with no frills or gimmicks. Their large pizza wasn't much of a deal, considering how easy it would be to consume the whole thing.

Anthony's gets a 4 out of 5 for overall quality. I had no complains, but I also wasn't overly impressed. With a final score of 70%, I don't see myself coming back here much except to try their stromboli.

* There is a scale for thickness of crust. 1 is paper thin, usually new york style. 5 is a sicilian or thickly crusted deep dish. Papa John's would get a 3. Pizza Hut pan pizza would get a 4.

There is a scale for the volume of sauce. 1 is a very thin spread. Not enough to make a 1 crust become soggy. 1 sauce with any other type of crust will make the pizza seem like cheesy bread. A 5 for sauce would be a lake between a curved bowl of crust and cheese. Papa John's would get a 3. Pizza Hut would typically get a 2.

There is a scale for the volume of cheese. 1 is a dusting of a finely shredded cheese. The sauce will be visible and there may be holes in the coverage. 5 is a piling that spills across your pan (or box) when a slice is pulled away. Papa John's would get a 3. Pizza Hut would get a 4.

To make it simple, I write these ratios for mass and volume in code. CR means crust. CE means sauce. CH means cheese. And the final reading will look like 2cr/2ce/2ch. Got it?

Dobro's Chicago Style Pizza of Deland Florida

Dobro's has long been one of my favorite local joints, serving delicious deep dish pizza in a region I've frequented often, eventually moved to. This last time, I called to order a pizza for pick-up. They said my pie would be ready in thirty minutes, which is pretty quick for a deep dish pizza, but whatever. While a traditional deep dish has a ratio of 5cr/5ce/5ch, this pie from DoBro's had a ratio of 4cr/5ce/3ch.

Their crust gets a 4 out of 5. It doesn't have much of the sweet yeasty flavor and general puffiness I like in a dough, but it's still buttery, crusty, and delicious. Not as fresh as I hoped. Their sauce gets a 5 out of 5. It's thick, rich, and chunky like I want from a deep dish pizza.

For style, I'll give Dobro's a 4 out of 5. It's not a fancy place by any means, though the servers all wear trilby hats. The price is great and the menu has a variety of appealing italian dishes. I wish they'd given me pizza sauce with the bread sticks instead of the spaghetti-type of marinara. Oh well. Next time I'll remember. Mostly I love their willingness to offer the taste of Chicago in central Florida.

Dobro's gets a 3 out of 5 for overall quality. I felt like they were skimping on ingredients and using pre-baked doughs to compensate for a short prep staff. Maybe they were too busy to my pizza with an appropriate quantity of love. Not only was the cheese lacking, it wasn't fully melted. That's an issue, however delicious the pie was. With an overall score of 80%, there's no doubt I'll be coming back for more.

Borillo's Pizza of St. Augustine Florida

For those who don't know, this spot is a local staple, outlasting any other pizza joint (and Dairy Queen) on San Marco Boulevard. Instead of getting a whole pie, I've only ever had their lunch special of two huge slices and a drink for $6.99. In 2008 it was $4.99, but still a great deal. The ratio for their pizza is 1cr/1ce/1ch. It's that New York East Coast crust we all rave about but not as fluffy as New York, something we can attribute to the water. Still, the texture and flavor of Borillo's crust is perfect. It's chard, chewy, and sturdy but foldable.

Their sauce gets a 4 out of 5. It's somewhat bland and runny, but contributes strongly to the slice's ability to goo, making it everything you probably want from a pizza slice. But for style, I'll give Borillo's a 3 out of 5.

The pizza itself doesn't stand out, and I appreciate the shop's no frills approach to dining. But before reaching the counter at this uncomfortably warm establishment, you're greeted by a trash can that doubles as a bussing station and triples as a shelf for self-serve parmesan, herbs, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Customers often elect to clean their own tables before sitting down to eat. As the shop is trying to now call themselves a Pizza and Wine Garden, the dining area is littered with boxes of craft beer and single serving wine bottles. And I couldn't think of a less enticing place to enjoy such a beverage.

For overall quality, I give Borillo's Pizza a 5 out of 5. They really know what they're doing when it comes to making pizza, and I consider it one of the best in St. Augustine. With a final score of 85%, you'd be hard pressed to find an excuse not to try it.

Mirino's Pizza of Deland Florida

For some reason, I feel at home in central Florida, especially the places that haven't been touched by tourism and pretention. Mirino's is such a joint, and a puzzle at that. Why does a pizza shop need to affiliate themselves with Christianity other than the fact that they can do what they want, the American way. At least it was inexpensive, with an 'early bird' 16" pizza at a discount. God bless.

The ratio for our cheese pizza was 1cr/2ce/2ch. The sauce gets a 3 out of 5. It's a bit runny, with a decent flavor. I would have leaned more toward oregano instead of parsley and basil, skipping the onions. The crust gets a 4 out of 5. Texturally, it's a perfect east coast pizza dough, but its flavor was completely masked by cheese, the same cheese that's on just about every pizza. So Mirino's doesn't stand out at all in the flavor department. I guess that's fine. If you don't like it, you probably shouldn't be eating pizza.

For style, I'll give Mirino's a 5 out of 5. It's cheap, served in a comfortable, no-frills atmosphere. They have plenty of other menu options, like subs (with meats ranging from eggplant parmesan to liverwurst), strombolis, lasagna, and chicken fingers. Not only that, but they shred their own cheese. Regardless of your beliefs, one can't help but feel charmed by their painting of Jesus, and box for prayer requests.

Mirino's gets a 4 out of 5 for overall quality. Nothing to write home about, but with an overall score of 80%, I think Mirino's deserves its place on the map.

Mama Mia's Pizzeria of Orlando, FL

I don't know why, but most touristy cities have an aversion to late night food options. Orlando is a little better than most, since it does contain all of the good and bad qualities of a normal big town. After my flight got in, delayed four hours, we found this slice shop that was open until 1am. Besides serving quick slices, Mama Mia's also had cheap, delicious pies, with a ratio of 1.5cr/1ce/2ch, giving a strong nod to the tradition of New York Italian pizza. Their crust gets a 3 out of 5. It had a great texture and was delicious. However, it could have used a little more love and care in the stretching process. The middle of the pie was falling apart due to the cheese grease soaking into the dough. This fact didn't effect my enjoyment of the delicious pizza, however it must be noted. Their sauce gets a 4 out of 5. It had the taste of those good tomatoes, and wasn't as thin as you'd normally expect on a super thin pizza that's sold by the slice. For overall quality, they get a 3 out of 5, mainly because of the messy struggle involved with each slie's first bite. For style, they get a 4 out of 5. Their pizzas are fast and cheap, served late. The interior of the shop isn't fancy or pretentious, letting their delicious food speak for itself. Customers can't get their own drink refills, and only the first refill is free, but that's fine. It's a small place, and not intended for loitering. At least you can get your own parmesan cheese.

Mama Mia's Pizzeria ends with a score of 70%. I hope to return someday, hopefully less hungry than I was the first time.

Hungry Howie's of Lake Butler, FL

I was going to try Pizza Boy Pizza in Lake City, but they're closed on Sundays, which seems ridiculous. Sunday is one of the best days to order pizza.

Either way, for the sake of my readers, I thought it best to put some focus on some pizza joints they might actually go to. Hungry Howie's is a regional chain most famous for pioneering the realm of flavored crust. And they don't use their flavored crust as an excuse to shrink the area of sauce and cheese (like one of their competitors whose name I will not mention).

Hungry Howie's Saint Augustine location was a big hangover spot for me. Less than a mile from my house, it still took a half hour to drive there. The store didn't smell much like pizza, but they had a buffet with a salad bar. The people who ran the place didn't speak much English, and never tried to converse with me. They were Chinese, and didn't try to make eye contact; a huge plus. I could just sit in the air conditioning and guzzle diet cokes, and take my time in eating what I could, without anyone trying to smile at me. I always appreciated Hungry Howie's class-free charm, and took to calling it Howard's. Too commonly would friends turn up their noses to Howard's because it was not truly local, and didn't pretend to be fancy in accordance with the contrived, old timey decorum of its neighbors. The ratio for Hungry Howie's Pizza is 3cr/3ce/3ch. At nine dollars for a fourteen inch cheese pizza, they really don't leave you hanging. Their pizza has a weight and richness that's often lacking in the big chains.

I'll rate their crust a 3 out of 5. The special crust flavors are good, and the crust itself has a good taste. However, it's somewhat dense and rubbery. Their sauce also gets a 3 out of 5. It's good, but unremarkable. For overall quality, I give Howard's a 4 out of 5. As far as I know, no Hungry Howie's has ever made a bad pizza. While we can all agree that pizza isn't fancy, Howard's pizza isn't a far cry from the stuff you'd expect from a gas station. For style, they get a 3 out of 5. Without free refills, this Howard's is not a place where I would want to hang out. I went to this particular store in March 2021, only to discover that people in central Florida don't wear masks. They just don't. Also, Fox News was playing very loudly on the tv, really killing my vibe. Aside from serving a very basic pizza in a typically depressing atmosphere, they get style points for value and honesty. I trust Howard, because he doesn't pretend to be something he isn't.

With that said, Hungry Howie's gets a 65%. They are one of my favorite regional pizza chains. If you ever go to Florida, you might consider checking them out.