Picky wanted to finally head to a place that he's heard people rave about and read about for several years. We just never got around to heading over there while we were still in NY and always forgot to head there when we go back since we have our own pizza spots we like.

Joe's Pizza at 6th Ave and Carmine St has a nice slice.

The 2 [plain] slices we got were a tad overcooked with the crust charred, but it was nice, thin and crispy with a good cheese to sauce ratio and a nice crust.

The slice with the circles of mozzarella was cold (what's up with that?), but it was really good. Picky's favorite spot to get a slice in the city is at Ben's on Spring St & Thompson St in SoHo – it was a few blocks from his old office and was a consistently great slice (especially the Sicilian). He brought Messy there on at least one occasion and she did not like the slices they had there. The 3 slices were $7.

For a snack, we stumbled upon Amy's Bread in the Village. We initially wanted some Italian treats at Rocco's across the street, but the people behind the counter never came over to us so we headed across the street. While we were eating our treats, we were filmed by The Food Network who were filming footage for The Next Food Network Star so keep your eyes out! Who knows if we'll make the final 1 second cut.

Picky munched away on a black and white cupcake. The fancy paper wrapper was a challenge to get off, but it was worth it. The cupcake was nice and moist with a very thick and creamy icing.

Messy quickly picked out the coconut dream bar. She liked it more than the 'junk in the trunk' bar that Naked Chocolate Cafe offers, particularly because Amy's didn't have any nuts in it. The 2 snacks totaled just over $5.

It was a good eats day.

We went to La Fourno on a particularly cold night, and we were immediately warmed up by a brick oven hard at work. Our friendly hostess lead us past a large counter with tons of pizzas into the rear portion of the dining room which was very cozy — intimate, even! — with barely any lighting aside from candlelight bouncing off of the exposed brick walls.

The first thing we noticed about the menu was the lobster ravioli special, listed as "It don't get better than this." We took them at their word and didn't order any of it. We did, however, order an appetizer off the special menu: the farinatta bread, which was a hard (not quite biscotti-textured) chickpea flour bread. It came with roasted red peppers and sharp Italian cheese. We both pronounced it "interesting" but not excellent. We also got a basic salad with each of our meals, which comes with only the choice of oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Picky ordered the chicken valdostana which was stuffed with yummy delights, including prosciutto. Messy had the gnocchi gorgonzola, which came in a humongous portion. Messy unwisely ate all of it, save for a few bites by Picky, and suffered from severe agita afterwards. It was tasty, but Messy isn't the biggest fan of gnocchi, although she is a huge fan of gorgonzola (Picky loves gnocchi!).

Our meal was supplemented by a gift certificate from 12th St Gym when Messy re-joined for a year using Picky as a referral – they give out dinner for two vouchers with each referral. But you won't need to worry about cost too much, everything is reasonably priced. Our entrees combined were under $30.

Messy ****
Picky ****

The final word: Cozy, yummy Italian food in the middle of a bustling South Street block.

La Fourno
636 South St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 627-9000
Mon – Thur: 11.30am – 10pm
Fri – Sat: 11.30am – 11pm
Sun: 12.30pm – 10pm

Although we have had pretty good experiences with Pine Street Pizza, there is one major disappointment: there are no single slices. A small pie, which costs $5.75, is slightly bigger than a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza. They come with six small slices, roughly equal to two and a half "real" slices. The pizza is thick, and Greek-style, with crust that tastes almost like French bread. It's a good balance of mozz and sauce, but still too thick and chewy for Picky's liking.

Also on the menu are other Greek specialities like souvlaki and gyros. Picky went for a gyro, which he found to be nice and overstuffed, served in tin foil wrapper. He found it to be quite good, with plenty of shredded lettuce and diced fresh tomatos as well as a nice helping of sliced beef and yogurt sauce, and, for a twist, sliced pickles which was new to him and not a good, but not a bad combo.

Two other important facts about Pine Street Pizza: it's open until midnight, which is pretty late for the neighborhood, there are always cops in there. Always. Like four officers every thirty minutes.

And how large are the small pies? Below is a photo with a CD for reference:

Messy: ***
Picky: ***

The final word: Decent Greek pizza open til midnight, with lots of security.

12th St & Pine St
7 Days 11am – Midnight
Delivery to 11.20pm
215-922-2526

First off, we gotta say that Lazaro's slices are huuuuge, even by our standards. They're also pretty tasty: our only complaint is that the sauce is way too sweet. But otherwise, the pizza is very good, especially for Philadelphia.

All size pies have eight slices. A small plain [read: cheese] starts at $6.50 and gourmet pies start at $8. The first tier gourmet pies include the BBQ Grilled Chicken, Eggplant & Tomato and Hawaiian [Pineapple & Ham]. We haven't had any of their gourmet pizzas, nor their calzones or other offerings which include six vegetarian sandwiches, four of which are slightly different variations of the veggie burger, but we have been back twice for their plain slice– which says a lot for us. Of course, we were really, really hungry both times. We'll have to give Lazaro's a try sometime on a fuller stomach.

Picky would put Lazaro's right up there with NYPD's and Two Red Boots's slices. Lazaro's is not really a destination– if you order, order takeout as there are only a few stools to sit on inside. Picky would like to amend this post and say that he's had enough of this sweet sauce after a couple trips. For the first couple of bites, it's good, then the sweetness is just too much, no amount of garlic powder can help. NYPD is king!

Messy ***
Picky * 1/2

The final word: Big, sweet slices.

1743 South St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 545-2775
Mon – Th: 11am – 10.30pm
Fri – Sat: 11am – 11.30pm
Sun: Noon – 9.30pm

One of very few gourmet [brick oven] pizza places to earn the seal of approval from Picky, a bona fide pizza snob. With assorted toppings to choose from including, but not limited to: anchovies, arugala, goat cheese, kalamata olives, proscuitto and roasted zucchini. After much deliberation, we settled on roma tomatoes, ricotta and spinach. There is surely something to please everyone.

The desserts were small, by our fatso-American standards, but delectable nonetheless. Picky has sampled their calzones which are both very gigantic and rather pricey, and they were out of proscuitto which he was craving. Messy loved thier Insalata Siciliana which consisted of mixed greens with fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers kalamata olives, capers, anchovies, carrots, grape tomatoes and artichokes, tossed with house dressing – big enough to share.

Pietro's has two locations, one on South and Front Sts and one on 17^th and Walnut Sts, we dined at the Walnut St establishment, but we're sure the South St location is full of flavor as well. They even have a spot in Marlton, so if you're craving some good eats on your way to the shore or can't wait until you get back to Philly, stop on in over there.

Messy ***1/2
Picky ***

The final word: Picky's first decent slice of pizza in Philly!

Pietro's Coal Oven Pizzeria Restaurant
1714 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA
11am-midnight

After more than a dozen failed trips to various "pizza" places, Picky's co-worker told him about this gem. Being huuuge Law & Order fans, we don't know if it truly lives up to the standards of the NYPD. Messy thought it was phenomenal, but Messy also thinks Papa John's garlic butter sauce is phenomenal.

Here are Picky's thoughts on our two visits to NYPD Pizza: The first trip there, Picky's sicilian slice and pepperoni slices were both undercooked. But the thickness of the slices was finally correct; no overly doughy slices here. The second time there, Picky's slice was overcooked while Messy's was perfect. Very odd, since they were the two slices next to each other on the pie and they were in the oven for the same amount of time.

All in all, a good place to order up a slice [and they'll know what you mean when you say "Gimme a slice"] if you don't want to drive to NY –or at least northern Jersey.

Messy ***
Picky ***

The final word: A slice of NY in Philly… sort of.

NYPD Pizza
11th St Between Walnut St and Sansom St
Philadelphia, PA

Due to Picky's skepticism of non-New York Pizza, we ventured into Joe's pizza only on the recommendation of a tried-and-true New Yorker. Sadly, Picky was not impressed.

According to Picky, the cheese-tomato-dough ratio was all off, making the pizza way too "dough-y." Also, the selection of drinks in the beverage container was lacking. Messy, who is perfectly content with Pizza Hut, thought it was fine – a typical pizza take-out joint with corny photos of Italy on the wall, plastic tables and teeny square napkins that aren't big enough to blot the grease off the pizza. And so, Picky's quest to find decent Philly pizza continues. . .

Messy would like to note that, judging by the lunchtime lines, the rest of Philly would seem to disagree with Picky's assesment of what constitutes good pizza.

Messy ***
Picky *

The final word: Not so New York.

Joe's Pizza
122 S 16th St
Philadelphia, PA
215-569-0898
Mon – Sat: 8am-7pm
Cash Only!