Work required me, and two of my colleagues, to be in Pittsburgh for a day. One of my coworkers is from the area and loves the nostalgia of a small pizza shop called Mineo's Pizza House in a nearby suburb - Mt. Lebananon. He had gone to this place since he was a child and would go to bat for it being the best pizza around. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, so on our way back, we quickly stopped by.

We had to circle a few times before we could find a meter to park at, but we finally did and raced to enter the building as the incoming storm drenched us. It seems like a pretty old school Italian restaurant. We walked in, went to the counter and picked up our pie that we had called in. They handed us a box in exchange for about $20 (which is kind of expensive - I guess that's the difference with living in a college town). We got drinks and sat in one of the booths to begin devouring our pizza.

The first thing I noticed was that it's not flat (like Casa) or thick, like Sicilian-style. It's kind of in the middle. The sauce is a rich, hearty and savory. The pizza was covered in cheese - just my style. Don't need extra cheese here. It was generously melted all over the top, and the crust had a crispness but the interior was soft and light. Pretty good slice of pie, but I haven't really had anything quite like it.

If you want something a little different than college town, take a trip. I think you'll be pleased.


Grade: A