Cebula's Bar & Lounge

295 Main Street
Dupont, PA 18641
(570) 655-8809
Website

NEPA is home to the "Pizza Capital of the World" in Old Forge, but to be honest, I didn't really like the look of most of the options there. On a drive up 81, I decided Dupont was the stop for me. They have a gem called Cebula's, which boasts Polish potato crust pizza. When I pulled up, I knew it was the place for me.

A few locals were inside drinking and eating "reheats" which are slices that have been pre-made, and reheated, obviously. There were not a whole host of options, which made sense. Some kind of proprietary hot pepper blend, and the standard garlic powder and oregano. Worked for me.

The slices that came out were surprisingly good. A sort of hybrid of frozen Sicilian and pizzaz, the crust was uniquely soft and airy on top, but still nicely browned on the bottom.

The sauce was crushed tomato and onion, nothing too crazy, but nice and rich.

Now when I say "slices" I'm utilizing my cultural finesse; in the great northeast, they're called "cuts" and a whole pizza pie isn't a pie at all – it's a "tray" – and that's that. Consider yourself learned and don't ask questions. My half-tray boasted 8 large cuts and so I definitely took some to go. I'll admit, a cut of reheats that you reheat again is where it's at.

The cheese, however, was perhaps even stranger than the potato dough. It was a blend of some sort, but definitely had a heavy American cheese presence. I love the creamy texture of American on pizza (once in a while) and it complemented the spongy soft texture of the crust (thanks, potato flour).

At $2.25 a cut, it was cheap for our area, but apparently expensive for NEPA. Either way, I loved the atmosphere, the pizza, and the place. Will definitely stop back when I am on my way up north.

Vito & Nick's Pizzeria

8433 S Pulaski Rd.
Chicago, IL 60652
(773) 735-2050
Website

Chicago is a town pegged as a deep dish pizza haven. But this is not accurate at all. In fact, most of my Chicago friends prefer thin crust, but will also dabble in the pizza casserole every tourist seeks out when offered. Vito and Nick's is my favorite type of place. Low key, reasonably priced, draped in history, tradition and warmth.

The takeout side is cut from a scene of lost America. I LOVED it.

Oh but wait, the dining room doesn't disappoint either. The lights are a permanent fixture, as are many of the folks sitting at the bar.

The shrine to the founders.

They utilize the crisscut method of slicing that is a staple of Chicago thin crust pizza. The half sausage half plain pizza was a definite feast. There were ALMOST leftovers. The sausage balls are house-made and contain just enough spice and fat. The cheese gets nicely blistered from its stop in the oven.

The cheese and sauce extended all the way to the crust, which is a requirement unless you enjoy eating dry crust like some sort of psycho.

The crust itself was buttery and flaky, and had a nice crackery crunch.

I love when the pizza is cut in this manner, as the slices are somewhat small. This enables me to eat fifteen slices of pizza, and not be too weighed down.

Although it is not in the greatest neighborhood, it is worth the short drive from Midway. And well worth the price of admission.

Franzone's Pizzeria

501 DeKalb St
Bridgeport, PA 19405
(610) 275-0114

If you don't like sweet sauce on your pizza, stop reading. If you like amazing thin crust, and the "swirl", then get your ass to Franzone's.

Well-known among the Norristown area and beyond, Franzone's is about as unassuming as they come.

A Caesar salad came with surprisingly crispy lettuce, and a nice peppery cream based dressing.

But I was not here to eat salad. I was here for pizza. I went with a half pepperoni, half plain in order to sample both staples. I should have just ordered a whole of each. The crust is thin, crunchy, and has a fantastic slightly nutty flavor. The cheese is quality, and spread generously, allowing it to meld with the dough. But the sauce, oh that sauce, is the star of the show. The old rumor around town is that the sauce is made out of Ragu + sugar, but I believe it is actually made of tomato paste (for richness, sweetness, and umami) and pure love.

And a ton of sugar, yes. Either way, this sweet sauce is to die for, and has me craving some pizza from them RIGHT NOW.

Fancy, this place is not. Delicious, cheap, and crave worthy, it absolutely fits the bill. Some of my favorite pizza around.

Clank's Bar and Pizza

326 Market St.
Marcus Hook, PA 19061
(610) 494-9770

Couple of facts about Marcus Hook (thank you Wikipedia): named "Marrites Hoeck" after the Dutch conquered the area in 1655; officially incorporated as a borough in 1892; oil refineries are dominant industry; the lowest point in the state of Pennsylvania is located on the Delaware River in Marcus Hook. Also, it's Delco.

Unless you hit the gas trying to flee Chester before you get shot/robbed/worse, you probably have never been there. There is a light in the dark for residents, however, in the form of Clank's.

Once you get in, you may not be able to find your way back out, due to a combination of beer, overeating and camouflaged door.

Clank's, as you can probably imagine, is old school. Another warning, it is a smoking establishment. This is usually a nonstarter for me – but it wasn't too bad due to some well positioned ventilation apparatus.

This place is as blue-collar as they come. Nothing fancy, nothing healthy, but a rib sticking, hearty meal that will not break the bank. Square pies, chicken wings that resemble turkey legs from the Renaissance Faire in size, and cheap domestics.

The whole wings were much bigger than usual, but luckily they were fried extremely crispy. I am also usually not a fan of whole wings, but these were pretty good. Sauce on the side led to a slop fest of schmaltz, crackling skin, and hot sauce.

The square pies (only kind served there) were huge. Much thicker than a traditional DelCo square pie, I was worried these would stuff me after only two or three slices, but it ended up being lighter than it looked.

The pepperoni added a nice spicy grease, and the crust was comparatively fluffy inside and crunchy outside for how thick it looked. It's amazing that sheet pan pizza is even a thing, and even more amazing that it's pretty damn good.

It probably has something to do with the age-old oil on the pan adding seasoning and increasing the browning characteristics.

As if there was not enough food consumed at this point, the previously forgotten cheesesteak stromboli came out. This thing was almost laughable at how big it was. It was also possibly my favorite item of the trip. The meat was well chopped, the cheese added a nice creaminess, and the portion was fit for a fatso like myself.

My only complaint would probably be that the dough could have used a touch longer in the oven or an egg wash to really give it that golden brown visual. Overall though it was mighty tasty.

I wouldn't say you should leave wherever you are and rush to Clank's this moment, but if you find yourself down that way, you could do much worse than a square pie and a 'boli.

Bombay Local Pizza

1120 White Horse Rd #132
Voorhees Township, NJ 08043
(856) 375-2246

I recently got an invite to check out an Indian pizza place in Voorhees, and since I LOVE Indian pizza, and free food, I could not possibly turn it down.

Located in a typical NJ shopping center, Bombay Local has been open for about a year. The interior is sparse, but what this place lacks in ambiance, it crushes with fresh ingredients and the best damn marinara I can remember tasting.

Below are owners-brothers: Parig & Sam from Chatanooga, TN. The duo worked in finance for a few years in New York and then decided to open a restaurant closer to Philadelphia, in New Jersey. They base their creative menu on some family recipes mixed with new ideas, focusing on the freshest ingredients.

They recommend I start with the Desi bread served with a side of original tomato sauce. My god this was incredible garlic bread. It was simple, buttery, and packed with fresh flavors. The side of aforementioned marinara was just unreal. They take a traditional tomato sauce and add in a few extra Indian flavors. It's subtle, smoky sweet and positively addicting.

The bread itself had chopped peppers, garlic, and onions on it. It would make a fantastic sandwich wrapper.

They were kind enough to bring out two pizzas, each quarter boasting a different pizza style. So basically it was like getting to taste eight pizzas in one. Perfect.

Baingan bharta below. Probably one of my favorite Indian specialties off of a pizza, it was definitely also a winner on the pizza. "Bharta" refers to dishes in which the ingredients are roughly mashed either before or after the dish is prepared, so here we have a smoky, roasted eggplant mash that's full of garlicy garam masala flavor.

Bombay masala below, my second favorite of the day. The Indian BBQ sauce was sweet and spicy – so robust!

Chili potato below. Nothing too exciting there, but still pretty good.

Four alarm below, with habanero, jalapeno and small Indian chile peppers littering the melted cheese. This one was hot. With a really slow, creeper kind of kick that is also slow to dissipate.

After my mouth recovered from the four alarm, the next pie came out.

Spicy paneer below - it was bit like the bombay masala, but with less sauce and double the cheese.

Chutney paneer was probably the best of the 'paneer' selections. I mean, cheese chunks on top of melted cheese is certainly a no brainer for me, but this one had the fresh tang of mint-coriander chutney to cut the dairy. It's always nice to finish with some acidity...

Paneer tikka below, another take on the Indian-style BBQ sauce, a bit milder than the masala version.

Samosa below. It was like unwrapping a samosa and eating it flat. The flavors were spot on and the potatoes and curry seasoning took me right to the best Indian buffets of my memories.

If you are familiar with Indian food, you will know what each of these variations consist of. Each had their own unique flavors, and I have to say, the quality and freshness of the ingredients was evident in every slice. If I was in Jersey, this would undoubtedly be on my regular rotation. I didn't get a chance to try the Indian hoagies, but I certainly will next time.