Your Call: Pizza Delicious

In college, whenever we drove from tiny Lexington to big city Charlottesville, we always tried to make a stop at Crozet Pizza. The legend went like this. The old hippie who ran it got his start cooking pizzas at Grateful Dead/Jefferson Airplane/Janis Joplin shows. One day his VW van got stuck in Crozet, Virginia, and so he decided to sell pizzas until he could fix his van. He has been there ever since.

His pizzas were very good. But in order to make sure you got one, you would have to call a day ahead and ask him to reserve you 2 or 3 doughs for your crew. Needless to say, we often forgot that step. However, when we remembered, the hassle was well worth it. Great crust, exquisite sauce, and careful use of toppings were hallmarks of a Crozet pizza.

Last week a reader emailed and asked us why we hadn't checked out Pizza Delicious yet. He then went on to explain the almost mythical ordering process of Pizza Delicious, which goes like this. Pizza Delicious is only open on Sunday nights. They are not a restaurant. They will deliver if you live in the Bywater. Otherwise, you pick it up.

On Saturday afternoon they release via the www, how many doughs they will have and what pizzas they are offering for Sunday. You call after 5 p.m., place your order, they give you a time, and an address. You show up. Your order is waiting.

Underneath all of this is the heightened excitement of dealing with what may or may not be an IRS, kosher organization. Because I hate taxes, I already loved this concept. And the pizza delivers. Thin, chewy crust (although it could have used another 2 minutes or so to get blistery), a spicy, fresh sauce, dollops of creamy mozzarella, and torn basil marked the Margherita as a winner. Also, scattered across the pie, freshly grated parm provided crunch and salt.

Now, the downside is this. We trucked this bad boy all the way from the Bywater to Broadmoor and by the time we got home, the pizza had lost some punch. But the garlic knots on the ride home did help with the pain. So next time (or for you, the first time), just eat it on the roof of your car.

Pizza Delicious - a fitting name.