Cleveland, Ohio: Best Pizza Pies in the City

Tough question, tougher solution. After all, what is a Pizza? Some dough, sauce and cheese? Think again!

Pizza Pan - Buy one, get two free (pickup only) sounds almost too good to be true, and it is. Pizza Pan Pizzas are almost "dietetic" Pizzas in my book. Almost no cheese, thin, insubstantial crust, very sparce toppings. Almost like a Mozza cracker with a bit of cheese on top for good measure. Gotta eat Pizza Pan Pizzas FAST, because they turn rock hard when they're cold, a symptom of being cheap with the cheeses. Not worth the price, freebies included.

Georgio's - The new Pizza on the block, Georgio's advertises a 'grab and go' 5 dollar large Pepperoni pie that is hardly worth the price. Not enough cheese or Pepperoni. Try their Calzones, though. Absolute best, French restaurant quality. Perfectly leavened dough, harmonious Italiano spices and generous fillings. Well worth the price.

Marco's - Great sauce and toppings, chewy, sourdough type crust and light flavored mozzarella cheese. If you like soft crust Pizzas, you'll like Marco's.

Zeppe's - Solid, Italian built, moderately crispy, good toppings and flavor. Good value as well. Zeppe's makes smoked ribs too, the kind you almost never find outside of Texas proper. Great stuff. Great menu.

Poppa John's - Same as Marco's. Chewy crust, overly fresh toppings as well, at least for me, if that makes any sense. Famous for the pepperoncini pepper in every box, Poppa John's was started by a former Pizza Hut employee, who was looking for a fresher, better way.

Pizza Hut - Should be called Pizza The Hut. Store-bought, out of a can pasty flavor, lousy textured dough, has more grease than a sponge dipped in grease, and tastes just the same. Horrible!

Dinato's - Where's the beef?! Small, insubstantial size, absurdly thin cracker crust, not enough toppings. Great flavor, but portions are dismally small for the money.

Theresa's - Ahh, more like it. Lotsa real Italian Provolone, Theresa's has a "big secret" in that they put the cheese on TOP of the toppings, baking them inside in all of their flavorful crunchy golden goodness. Real Italiano.