By Tucker Poux
Volume 68, Issue IV

Pizza. An American classic in every sense of the word, and it is distinctly New York. Briarcliff is no stranger to pizza, with several pizzerias in the area and some sort of pizza-involving event taking place in the high school seemingly every week. With so many places to order pizza from our community is faced with one daunting question that has crossed the minds of all citizens in Briarcliff.

In order to answer this age-old question, The Bulletin editor staff embarked on a journey of discovery, sampling pizzas in search of the best pizza in the Briarcliff area. The rules were simple: we ordered a small cheese pizza from four different pizzerias, judging the pies based on their price, delivery times and a self-developed tasting rubric . Our four contenders were Sal’s Pizza, Lucio’s Pizza, Euro Pizza and Ossining Pizzeria. We attempted to include Wood and Fire in the competition, yet were unable to because they have a $20 minimum for deliveries. Keep in mind that by the time we actually sat down to eat the pizzas, they were not fresh out of the oven but nearly an hour old, which may

have affected our tasting experience.

First up was Lucio’s, a classic in the ‘Cliff. It is the go-to pizzeria for both high school and middle school events. The pizza had a respectable delivery time of 38 minutes, but it was the most expensive pie sampled, costing 14 dollars for a small pie. The pie did, however, nearly over ow out of the box, so there is value for the size of the pie. Across the board, Lucio’s was well received. The cheese-to-sauce ratio was inconsistent, yet in certain bites the sauce blended perfectly with the cheese, making the slice was pretty hard to beat. The sauce itself had a sweetness that counteracted the bite of the cheese very well. For most of these pizzas, we had a lack of crunch in both the crust and the dough, which may have been a result of the delivery time. The crust on these slices was very doughy with no semblance of crunch anywhere. Despite also airing on the greasy side, the taste of Lucio’s was very hard to beat.
Our final consensus: 7/10.

Next up was Sal’s pizza, a relatively new pizza joint located on Marble Avenue in Pleasantville. The panel was unfamiliar with Sal’s, so it had no prior conceptions of Sal’s

pizza quality. Delivery time clocked in at 34 minutes, reigning supreme in speed while only costing $13.50. Sal’s ended up being the most controversial out of the bunch. Some said they loved it while others simply did not. It was by far the most unique pie; the sauce boasted several seasonings and the dough was much stiffer than the rest. However, Sal’s did suffer from a notable amount of grease covering the pie. The cheese-to-sauce ratio was well received, but the sauce divided our panel.
The score for Sal’s: 6.4/10.

Ossining Pizzeria, located on Croton Avenue, the farthest from BHS among the contenders, was up next. The pizza took clearly the longest to arrive, with a delivery time of 57 minutes. However, the pizza, at $12, was the cheapest sampled. Doughy was the main adjective used by the panel to describe the pizza. Although the cheese was sprinkled with oregano, the pizza lacked sauce, so the cheese-to-sauce ratio was very uneven. However, we did not consider it a bad pizza; it was avorful and boasted a crunch that we didn’t find among other pizzas. In comparison to the other pies, it was also relatively grease free. With all of this said, it did not stand up to the other

pizzas.
Ossining Pizzeria earned the following score: a 4.7/10.

Our nal pizza of the taste test was tried-and-true Euro Pizza, a staple of the Briarcliff community. Euro took 44 minutes to deliver and the pie cost $13. The cheese once again overpowered a lack of sauce throughout the slice. Grease was also very present throughout the pie. However, the pizza was flavorful and crunchy enough. Our consensus was that Euro was merely average. But, as Eli Karp put it best, “They’re quick, they’re reliable, and on a Saturday night at home you want Euro.”
Our final score for Euro was 5.9/10.

What a roller coaster of pizza emotions. By the end, our stomachs were full, out taste buds were twisted and our question was answered. Lucio’s had been crowned victor of The Briarcliff Bulletin’s Great Pizza Showdown. Keep in mind these opinions expressed were our own, and feel free to share your own by going to briarcliffbulletin.com and commenting on this article. Make sure to look out for another Briarcliff Bulletin showdown in the next issue.