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@TXCraig1: Sounds like great advice. I'll give you feedback on how the next pies come out. Thanks!

Oh, and my favorite song... New York, New York.

Some little known facts about Bertucci's:

The original Bertucci's was located in Somerville, MA's Davis Square. It vacated the spot around ten years ago, which is now occupied by a Subway.

The original location (and some of the first few built after the original) had bocce ball courts. Unfortunately, due to insurance reasons, none still do.

In the beginning, all Bertucci's used wood fired brick ovens, but all the newer locations have gas fired brick ovens.

Amazing! I wish I came up with this idea.

@mimolette

"Also, I'm not sure this article accurately conveyed the atmosphere of Spiritus at 1am in the summer..."

Do you think Andrew Photoshopped the shirts off of those guys in the pic? Did he perhaps add 50 additional people to the photo of the outdoor patio?

I'm not sure what you're getting at.

When my girlfriend, my dad and I visited Little Rendezvous last year, we had high hopes for this place. My dad was born and raised in Meriden and my parents still live only a few towns away. I was thrilled at the possibility that this pizzeria could be added to my normal rotation whenever I visited my folks. Unfortunately, we were severely underwhelmed. We ordered a plain pie and a plain pie with mozzarella, half sausage. The crusts on both were dense and dry, the sauce on the plain pie was severely overcooked and the sausage (crumbles) lacked any sort of flavor. I really wanted to love this place. The structure, both inside and out, has such amazing character, and the owner couldn't have been any nicer, but the pies were some of the most disappointing I've had in recent memory.

Nice review Meredith. You were quite fair.

I must admit that I am a fan of Santarpio's pies. Between the tangy cheese blend, the bright tasting sauce and the slightly charred crust, I think they make a pretty damn good bar pie. To all the commenters who criticized them on their use of semolina - I'm assuming you're not fans of Pepe's as well. As for their barbeque, however, it's downright terrible. I've been there on numerous occasions. Each time, the steak tips were incredibly tough and the sausages was cooked to oblivion. Topping your pies with sausage is a different story however.

@Pizzahunt: Fantastic looking pie! Every aspect of it looks spot on.

My recent pies have been been cooking in exactly two minutes with the broiler in my electric oven. Here's a photo of a margherita from my pizza party this past weekend: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FEVQBAqGSsg1WA0T6ORb1A?feat=email
The leopard spotting is almost where I want it to be.

I can vouch for Andrew by saying that my girlfriend and I had a nearly identical experience to his. The first time we visited Posto, a few months after it opened, we found the food to be disappointing. The appetizer and pasta we tried were trying too hard to be "different" and the pizzas lacked any type of distinctive char or blistering. When we went the other day, we discovered that the menu had changed considerably. We tried the lemon risotto arancini, which were deliciously creamy and rich, the gnocchi with short ribs, which were amazingly flavorful and tender, and the margherita pie, which exhibited an amazing amount of char, blistering and overall flavor. I had a chance to talk to Joe, the owner, and he admitted that he thinks that he is now finally getting things right. I concur.

My girlfriend and I visited Al Forno two years ago. We really enjoyed the margherita pizza but weren't blown away by it. As many have noted, the shaved scallions really overwhelmed the pie. Our meals, although pricey, were fantastic.

We've also been to Bob & Timmy's (the other famous Providence grilled pizza spot) and were quite underwhelmed. As purists, we ordered a cheese pizza but should have opted for one of their topping heavy creations.

@olsonmatt: Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely inquire.
Have you tried asking Iggy's for a sourdough starter? If they won't sell either, perhaps you and I can mobilize a covert special ops mission to procure some. ;)

My entire meal at Otto was a disappointment, with the lardo pizza being the absolute low point. The lardo was chewy and dry, as was the pizza itself. C'mon Mario!