Florio's Pizza

Today we went to Florio's at 7701 Broadway. This New York style pizza joint, tucked on the backside of a little strip mall, does a hopping business. Florio's was clean and bright, and the walls were covered with New York posters and memorabilia. There was a checkerboard floor and red with black tables. There was also a nice little area you could sit outside in the cooler months.

Within moments of the doors opening for the day, quite the line had formed as people waited to place their orders. The counter service was prompt and efficient. The cost was comparable to the places we have been visiting.
The pizza came out quickly and was piping hot. Some liked Florio's pizza crust, but this pizza taster thought it was too thin and a bit bland. The cheese and sauce combination was good on each of the pizzas, and the toppings were pretty standard fare, although I found the pepperoni pizza very skimpy on the meat. There were some pieces of the pizza that had little or no pepperoni. The Supreme Pizza  had plenty of toppings, but some of the toppings were a disappointment. Florio's relied too heavily on pre-prepped ingredients. I am not sure if this was for saving time or possibly a bit of money. Whatever the reason...it made the pizza a disappointment, as the veggies had the texture you would expect on a frozen pizza.
 Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed trying out another candidate on our pizza quest. The moms gave Florio's an overall score of 2.3. The kids gave it an overall of 3.4.

Ray's Pizzeria

Another great Friday with friends! On June 14th we went to Ray's Pizzeria on Blanco Rd. What a welcome surprise to go into the old Goomba's location and see the improvements they have made. It is no longer dark and dreary. It has been brightened up and the floors have been redone....a great improvement. The people were very friendly. They even let one of the mamas take photos behind the counter.

We ordered the usual pizzas, cheese, pepperoni, and the House special. The cheese pizza was good. The sauce was a good base. It did not overwhelm any of the pizzas, and was not over the top in its distribution. The cheese blend was very good. It was not one dimensional. The meats on the pizzas were your average pizza joint meats. The Supreme pizza was a miss with all of us. It tasted very canned and generic. That being said.... Ray's makes a mean pizza crust. It was worthy of many ooh's and aah's. It was perfect in every way. The thickness, texture, flavor....all of it! It was the perfect amount of chewy and crusty. Even under all of the ingredients on the Supreme, the bottom was not soggy. It was cooked to perfection. Truly a home run! Ray's is a worthy pizza place to visit with your family. The moms gave Rays an overall rating of 3. The kids gave it an overall rating of 4.

Mona Lisa's Pizzeria

This new to San Antonio pizza joint is a welcome addition to the Rim. The restaurant was clean and bright, with the decor giving it a nice, relaxing atmosphere. The people are friendly and the food is good quality. It is order at the counter service, but this does not mean you are forgotten. The staff came  around and checked on us a good amount.

Mona Lisa's had a great menu, with a broad variety of pizza choices. We however, in order to keep our judging fair, ordered what we do at each place, a cheese and a pepperoni. We also ordered the house special, which was the Mona Lisa. The cost of the pizza seemed to be on par with other pizza places, maybe a little pricier.

The quality of the ingredients was very good. Mona Lisa Pizzeria seems to have the formula down on when not to cut corners. They know where the fresh ingredients really matter...like the fresh basil and tomatoes on the Mona Lisa. These were a great addition to the pie. The meatballs, although not made by Mona Lisa's, did not suffer for it. They were very flavorful. The pepperoni on the pepperoni pizza was very good. It was not the usual chewy, greasy, red circle you get on many pizzas. The cheese on each pizza was not scrimped on and had good flavor, especially the ricotta on the Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa's crust was average. It did not have the nice, chewy texture of a good hand-tossed crust. The crust's thickness would be overwhelmed by a pizza with more ingredients.
Our second group of moms and kids went to Mona Lisa's on June 21st. Their ratings are combined with the first visit.

Overall the kids gave Mona Lisa's a rating of 4. The moms gave it a 3.6 The overall score was 3.8.

The second group of questers tries out Mona Lisa's. 

Miss Ellie's Pizza

What a great start to our Lunch Bunch summer mission of finding the best pizza joint in San Antonio. This past Friday, we visited Miss Ellie's Pizza at 903 E. Bitters Rd. We got there right before the lunch rush started, and boy, do they get a good lunch rush!

We ordered our pizza by the slice this time. The lunch special was a great value. It included two very large, one topping pizza slices and a drink. If you wanted more toppings, it was fifty cents per topping. Most of us ordered a slice of pepperoni, and a slice of cheese to give us a good idea of how they do with the most popular pizza toppings. The crust was very good. It was soft and chewy, but still had a nice crunch to the bottom. The sauce was unremarkable, but the amount on the pizza was good. The pepperoni seemed a bit too greasy, but this could be because we ordered by the slice. One thing I personally liked was the addition of dried herbs Miss Ellie's sprinkles on top of their pizzas prior to baking. It was not overly done. It was just enough for an added layer of flavor.
The Ambiance at Miss Ellie's was very much like going into any pizza joint in New York or New Jersey, except as one of the moms noted...this seemed cleaner.

The overall rating for Miss Ellie's, was 3.6.  We would like to revisit Miss Ellie's later in the summer and order a couple of full pizzas. This will give us a better sampling of their "fresh from the oven" product. In the meantime...the hunt must go on!!