the Price of Pizza Delivery

24 hour delivery, no delivery charge for deliveries within 2 miles of the shop and $1 for deliveries within 5 miles of the shop and under $25, and $1 for deliveries after 2am, full delivery menu including pizza (thick or thin crust), calzones, hot and cold sandwiches, soda by the can or 2L bottle, alcohol (beer or wine), ice cream, and cigarettes (they check ID when delivering the adult menu choices). Delivered items cost more than they would at the convenience store or grocery store, but that's to be expected. Price of pizza & tip was $25.

This is probably my third favorite pizza, and my current favorite delivery. Having eaten pizza across the country, that's saying a lot.

The best pizza I've ever had is from a Phoenix pizza place that doesn't deliver, and doesn't have to because there's almost always a two hour wait for a table at dinner time. Rather expensive and nationally renowned. If, like me, you're a pizza connoisseur and you know Phoenix, you'll know the place I'm talking about.

The second best is a delivery place that I ordered from weekly while in college. They also delivered beer and cigs and gelato. Best garlic bread anywhere.

But we're talking about my third favorites, my current delivery place of choice, and they are, simply put, wonderful. Fast delivery, perfectly cooked crust and perfectly browned cheese, ample toppings, eminently reasonable prices, and the drivers usually seem to be grad students from the local university and are willing to accommodate reasonable requests for delivery of items not on the standard menu, say, if I wanted a bottle of liquor rather than the pizza or wine they do sell, the driver would usually be willing to provide.

Don't be afraid of the small pizza places, the one-off shops that you've never heard of, the loud and greasy joints run by big guys in red-streaked aprons. There's a good chance their pizza is better than anything you've had from any of the national chains. They don't need gimmicks like fancy crusts and oddball toppings to sell their pies: great tasting pizza is their gimmick.

Pizza's usually pretty cheap, even delivered, so try a few places before you settle on a place you'll call your "regular joint." The good stores will reimburse you if you're very dissatisfied with their product, or may give you a coupon for a free pizza at a later date if you want to try their wares again, so it's not like it's an enormous risk. And even if you do decide on a regular place, try some place new just to switch things up.

A place that delivers alcohol and desserts is a nice find because it saves you a trip to the grocery store for that stuff because all you can order is pizza and, maybe, soda.

Tip well. It's always nice to be the guy who's known for tipping well because your orders will always be delivered first, you'll never lack for napkins or fixings, toppings will be bounteous, and sometimes when someone local to you doesn't show for their order, the driver will offer it to you at no charge, sometimes even if you haven't ordered anything. It's happened to me more than once with more than one pizza place.