pie five

this place is new to me and to knoxville. i saw this while driving home one evening and added it to the list.

put simply: it's like a subway but with pizza. you can order a pre-fab item or have them top your pie with whichever ingredients you want.

it is all built right in front of you and immediately placed into an oven. cook time felt like six to seven minutes.

i ordered their version of the meat lovers with five meats: pepperoni, ham, bacon, italian sausage, and ground beef. k1 had pepperoni. we both added garlic. and we threw a side of bacon cheese bread onto our order.

the cheese sticks were a good idea! we found then to be extremely tasty as we nommed those puppies up in no time. totally recommend those!

the pizzas were also quite good. we both got thin crust. it reminded me of hard knox in both size of the pizzas and the type of crust, but i would rank hard knox above pie five. nevertheless, we both thoroughly enjoyed our dinner.

this is a good place to swing in for a lunch pizza or when headed somewhere and you don't have a lot of time to lose. you can eat leisurely, but it seems more geared for the on-the-go person. it would be great in turkey creek near the movies or down near campus.

we both liked it. i think we'd go back without reservation.

Sergeant Pepperoni's

This post is coming in rather late (I blame midterms) but Sergeant Pepperoni's was probably my favorite pizza up to this point! Tucked away in a shopping center off Kingston Pike, I have apparently driven past it for years without ever noticing it.

We arrived right before the dinner rush and watched the place quickly fill up as we waited for our pizzas. The dining room is small yet comfortable. When the server brought out our pizza, she had a surprise. They had messed up a pizza so we got one for free! My pizza (pepperoni as always) was delicious. The crust was relatively thin and crispy, my favorite.

I finished off two pieces and ended up taking the rest home. It heated up well and I was thankfully able to enjoy some Sergeant Pepperoni for the rest of the week. I definitely will recommend their pizza to everyone!

harby's pizza

k1 and i headed to harby's pizza just off broadway this past tuesday.

it has been a while since i have traversed broadway much less during afternoon rush hour. driving in knoxville is already maddening most of the time. add in construction, and you seriously consider real estate in middle of nevada.

however, the place was cozy, filled with album covers on the walls from music of the sixties and seventies. this pizza joint has some style. (i haven't investigated the history, but i'm sure there is a story behind it.)

we both ended up with ten inch pizzas. the pizza was quite good. k1 even commented she liked a crispy pizza (i believe in reference to the crust). i ended up eating all of mine. no leftovers!

i definitely would recommend this place, but find a time when the traffic won't make you mad. then you can casually enjoy the place for what it is.

oh, all the prices included sales tax!

barley's taproom and pizzeria

one of my favorite places for pizza in knoxville is barley's. the whole locale is very rustic, old school. it fits a place where you'd have a new york style pizza.

since we ended up with too much pizza last time (is there really such a thing?), we decided one eighteen inch pepperoni and bacon pie would be adequate. and it was.

i couldn't stop eating the crust! you know how much i love bacon. but the crust was just very, very good. don't get me wrong. the toppings were just as tasty. but i was sad to start getting full because i couldn't munch on more of the crust.

these guys have both inside and outside seating. it was rather cold inside for both of us, and i considered requesting a table outside because it was pleasant, but the atmosphere was really worth the experience since k1 had not eaten here before.

i always enjoy eating at barley's!

Gavino's Pizzeria

Coming in at number 2 on Yelp's pizza list, Gavino's was a first for both of us. Once again battling the rush-hour traffic disaster (maybe we should change the time?), I skirted in right on time.

The staff were friendly and quick; I had soon ordered a Sicilian with pepperoni and Uncle Mock chose a Neapolitan Original Special. We decided to each order our own pizza instead of splitting one. We were hungry and I figured I could eat the leftovers tomorrow.

I was flabbergasted at the size of the pizzas the server brought out! This will feed me for a week! Sure enough, I was barely able to finish a little more than one slice. What I did eat convinced me that Gavino's has earned their good reputation. Mine was perfectly cheesy and greasy with a uniquely flavorful thick crust.

I would definitely return to Gavino's! (but only once I have finished the leftovers)

the hard knox experience

i had never eaten at hard knox pizza until yesterday, and now i am wondering why! they topped yelp's list of best pizza in knoxville (not that i yelp much).

k1 ordered a pepperoni and mozzarella while i picked the rocky balboa. the italian stallion had italian sauage (obviously), green and red peppers, and onions.

the crust was a good hand tossed, not to thick but a little more than thin. it was a good crust, and sauce...and cheese.

while k1 was still battling traffic to get to hard knox, they delivered my pie. i could smell it. it was good. and i was hungry!

i debated waiting but justified the need to test a slice while it was fresh. it was everything i thought it would be! all the flavors made me happy. and i did put the brakes on until k1 arrived.

the atmosphere was simple and relaxing. the music was all the stuff i grew up on when i was in high school, which made me happy. (i'm sure millennials would find it something to whine about, but i was singing along while i waited.)

totes recommends! top of yelp for realz!

oh, and i had worn my "you had me at let's order pizza" t-shirt that day!

finding good pizza

my niece and i decided we need to go a pizza quest around knoxville. since the notice that knoxville ranks third best city (in usa) for pizza, we should have plenty of options. turns out, there are about as many pizza places as there are mexican restaurants (well, maybe not that many).

this will be an awesome quest! we start today with hard knox pizza.

can't wait!

ps: http://www.notsville.com/2016/08/list-with-no-new-york-or-chicago-names-knoxville-third-best-city-for-pizza-lovers.html