Tale of the Pie: Tony's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant

This blog is not called The Calamari Project. When we typically decide to try a restaurant's pizza, we will usually complete the order with a side to keep things interesting. Usually it is something like wings, mozzarella sticks, or, yes, calamari. If the appetizer should be particularly good, we, of course, mention it. Same with if it should be bad. But the grade that we present at the bottom pertains to the pizza. The pizza in other words is the main attraction and what every restaurant we go to is ultimately judged upon.

Except for this review. In this one, we will adjust our rules and downgrade this restaurant based on the taste of the worst calamari (nay, DISH) I have ever had in my time on the planet we call Earth. But let's get to the pizza.

Tony's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant is a fairly nondescript strip-mall pizza joint next to a Wawa on Egypt Road in Norristown. I saw it one day when I stopped into said Wawa to see if they had a bathroom in which my toddler could urinate. They didn't, but one positive of the attempt was that I determined that we would try Tony's Pizzeria some time in the near future. When we did decide to try it, I was a little concerned when I showed up to pick it up. The place was very empty. It was just the dudes making the pizzas, me, and a couple sitting at a table. I believe that one of the individuals dining there was certifiably insane, but that is neither here nor there. There was a little bit of a problem with the service as it took the two college-aged fellows behind the counter at least five minutes to ask if I, like, wanted my pizza or something. However, if this place could say that the biggest problem they had were a couple of workers being slow on customer service, they would be very lucky. It was not until I returned home with the pie that I realized the bigger issue.

Weekend in Margate: Luciano Lamberti's Sunset Marina & Restaurant

Two years ago, when some family chipped in to get a shore house in Margate, we went to Lamberti's (Luciano Lamberti's Sunset Marina & Restaurant if you're not into the whole brevity thing) a lot. First of all, they had a lovely view of the bay. Second, they had a happy hour that, while a little bit erratically applied by the staff, lasted from noon to 7 and gave you half off of appetizers. Third, they had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap for cheap. And finally, they made a darn good penne arrabiate. Well, I'm happy to report that we went there again this weekend, and all of those statements remain true.

Tale of the Pie: Gino’s Ristorante and Pizzeria

Bumpkin waiting for his slice

To be perfectly honest, I feel a bit silly reviewing Gino's. Gino's was my absolute favorite restaurant growing up. My grandparents loved it. My parents loved it. We went there for birthdays, graduations, really any excuse we could find. And when I began dating my hubby 11 years ago, we went there so frequently that they basically only took our order as a courtesy. The food is exceptional, the portions are huge and you can BYO.

Surprisingly, their pizza was always just okay. We used to occasionally get it on a Tuesday because they had a special (either $5.99 or $6.99, I can't remember). Since they stopped the special, we haven't ordered it in years. Because really, the pizza itself wasn't all that special.

But as we're reviewing every pizzeria in the area, it would be unfair to exclude Gino's. Plus, they recently expanded the restaurant and their menu (as well as adding an unfortunate corkage fee), so we thought they may have switched up the pizza recipe a bit.