The 2nd Best Thing at Pizzeria Vetri is Still Not Pizza

Last year we wrote about Pizzeria Vetri and told everyone that the best thing to eat there isn't even pizza. It's the rotolo. Turns out the second best thing is still not pizza, but the calzone. 

The calzone didn't cross our eating radars until we dined at the kitchen counter at the new Center City location on Chancellor Street. The secret must be out, as the pizza creators were busy making calzones one after another. After spending an hour drooling, we knew the calzone was on our hit list. 

The prosciutto cotto and ricotta stuffed, folded pizza is a mouthwatering delight of tastiness. Vetri's light and slightly sweet pizza dough somehow tastes even better as a calzone than pizza. 

While the pizza is certainly some of the best in the city, trust us and go try the calzone. Of course, get a rotolo on the side and the daily thick crust (the third best thing!). 

*Kid-Friendly? Absolutely, especially the new location. It's down the street from our day care and has become the perfect spot for a bite and beer. There is plenty of room inside for your stroller. 

Two warnings though, First, the bathroom did not have a changing table. Second, be careful when you sit outside - the pizza oven vent is up above and at times can be unbearable. Kids or no kids, I'd suggest sitting just inside near the window to avoid the fumes. Awful. 

Philadelphia Pizza Craze Part Two: Square and Thick Crust Pies

The thing about pizza is that it can warm you up on a chilly winter night, fill your tummy after a long summer day at the beach, and everything in between. It's the perfect food for any time of year and you can't go wrong at many of Philly's pizza spots, new and old.

This post, the second in our quick series on Philadelphia's latest pizza craze, shares four square and thicker crust pies that we think are among the best in Philly. As we mentioned last post, we take with a grain of salt any discussion about the single "best" pie - especially when so many of today's hot new pizza joints are cooking with a similar style (like the ultra-thin Neapolitan pies that are all the rage).

To help you sample several of the "best" pizza in Philly - new and old - here are a few more pizzas we think you should try next. 

Salciccia from Square Pie with sausage, peppers, onions, mozzarella and red sauce. Brought to us by Gene Giuffi, the owner of Cochon BYOB, find these new square pies in the old Blue Belly BBQ corner in Queen Village. Giuffi taps his Brooklyn roots to make these thick crust, Sicilian-style pies, adding his own flair with meat toppings reminiscent of pork-focused Cochon just across the street. It's nice to see someone focusing on any other style than Neapolitan and they do a great job with a really thick crust.

The Salcicca from Square Pie Phily

Philadelphia Pizza Craze Part One: Are Neapolitan Pies the Best Pizza in Philly?

Philadelphia's pizza craze has reached bubble territory with the likes of Capofitto, Square Pie and Brigantessa all opening in the last few weeks, and Pizzeria Vetri, Bufad and several others not too long before them. It's as if the pizza gods are trying to make up for years of limited options by ensuring a quality place is on every city block.

We're big fans of the bubble like anyone else, but as pizza simpletons we take with a grain of salt the constant in-your-face debate about the best pie. It's easy to tell when pizza is bad. But as one of the greatest foods on Earth, pizza inadvertently imposes a real challenge in separating the "best" from 2nd, 3rd and even 4th best - especially when so many of today's popular pies are similar in style (ultra-thin Neapolitan being all the rage right now). 

To help you sample some of the "best" pizza in Philly - new and old - our next two blog posts will share eight great thin and thick crust pizzas.

Let's start with some of our favorite thin crust pies, in no particular order:

Nomad's Margarita pizza. Now with two locations and a food truck, Nomad's Neapolitan-style pizza is never more than a few steps away. And it's super light so you can polish off this whole sucker by yourself. Many say it's the "best" and most authentic Neapolitan in Philly but you should decide that for yourself.

Nomad's Margarita Pizza

The Best Thing at Pizzeria Vetri is Not Pizza.

Sometimes you have to dig a little into a menu to find the real gems.

Recent example: Pizzeria Vetri displays a simple chalkboard menu of 8 pizza options, plus 3 house special items, 3 salads and 3 desserts. It also offers a healthy list of draft, canned or bottled beer, wine and cocktails.

Marc Vetri + pizza. What could be better than that?? I'll tell you what's better than that. The house specials. Don't get me wrong, the pizza my friends and I inhaled at Pizzeria Vetri was great. Was it noticeably better than Zavino, Stella, Osteria, Nomad or the plethora of other fancy pizza/wine spots in Philadelphia? Not really. But that's ok, they're all great.