Brigantessa

Along with friends visiting from Germany, we stopped in South Philly for a taste of Brigantessa's Stella Pizza. Stella (meaning star) Pizza is unusual in its 6 points of dough, each thoughtfully containing a dollop of fresh ricotta. Yup, it was delicious. The pizza part was a little too thin, making it a bit floppy. But the taste was lovely -- a great sauce and fresh cheese. Worth trying if you're in the area. Brigantessa also has delicious non-pizza options. The eggplant polpetti are particularly delicious.

Pizzeria Vetri

When you walk into Pizzeria Vetri and see that there is a bar area where you can sit with nose pressed right up to the glass to watch the pizzas being made, you realize that this a special pizza experience. That and the sign over the wood-burning oven that reads: EVERYBODY LOVES PIZZA.

The star at Vetri is the dough. It's super thin, just enough crisp so that it doesn't droop, great chewy texture on the crust. The pizzas are made with a light touch -- a little oil, a little sauce (salty and a little tangy, not too sweet), and a few slices of mozzarella. The pizzas are in the oven for mere minutes and topped with fresh basil.

The pizza is light and delicious. So good, we needed another one for Gary. Truth be told, Stef tried the Rotolo because it was heralded as "the best thing in this city." What arrived was a savory version of a cinnamon bun, with the lovely pizza dough wrapped around mortadella, ricotta, and oozing pistachio pesto. Rather magnificent.

Vetri pizza may not be life-changing or transcendent. But it is truly delicious pizza that you could eat on a regular basis if you were so inclined.

Pizzeria Beddia

Bon Appétit Magazine went out on a limb and claimed this is the best pizza in America. It certainly better be ... we waited outside Pizzeria Beddia for 2-/12 hours to order our pizza, then 20 minutes more for it to be prepared and cooked.

Yes, we've eaten a lot of pizza in our lives, but this one managed to live up to much of the hype. A super complex pizza with a lot of flavors, impeccably fresh ingredients, a flawless crust. What the experience lacks in charm (and seating) is made up by a truly spectacular experience.

Our baseline test is always a traditional tomato and cheese pie, but we gave the white a try as well. The seasonal variety today was a corn cream, cherry tomato, and pesto combination. Truly marvelous.

But is it worth the hassle? As we waited for our pizza to come out of the oven and be served about about 5:45 (2 full hours after we lined up outside the door), folks were ordering their pizzas and expecting to return at 8, 8:30, and 9PM. And if you get there after the 40 pizzas per day are spoken for, you're out of luck -- even if you were willing to wait until after 10PM for your pizza.

So, perfection? Perhaps not ...