Baltimore's Best Pizza & Wings? (California: 2014, live, food)

[KLynch10]

My top five Pizza is Matthew's, Pasta Mista, Johnny Rad's, HomeSlyce and Zella's.

There are too many good wing places in Baltimore to count, having good wings is almost expected at Baltimore bars. But Kislings, Delia Foley's, Mother's and MaGerks have always been some of my favorites and HomeSlyce has great baked wings. Many people swear by iBar as well though I've never been.

[B.K.]

This subject has been covered before, but I'm a pizza freak, so here are some of my favorites:
Matthews on Eastern Ave.-The Baltimore institution, and its oldest pizza joint. Different from any other pizza I've ever had. Consistently good. Bob Dylan is a regular customer.
Gil's Pizza on Belair Rd, near Frankfort Ave.: Since 1957, all they sell is pizza, and only one size. About 7-8 years ago they got a Coke machine. Great, slightly stinky, house shredded and mixed cheese blend. Homemade dough and sauce. Meat sauce is great. Carry-out only.
Pizza Johns, Back River Neck Rd in Essex: A huge place, sorta like pizza joints I remember from the sixties and seventies. Staff wear white uniforms and paper hats, crust is thin, crisp; excellent sauce to cheese/toppings ratio.
Viccino's, Charles St. in Mt. Vernon: Huge pies, good quality mozz, slightly sweet/spicy sauce, lots of toppings. Most vegi toppings are free. Bonus: they deliver beer and wine. Carry-out only.
Serpico's, Belair Rd. in Perry Hall. Great pies, made by fresh off the boat, first generation Italian family. Their calzones are the best in town.
Wings: Decent wings are available nearly everywhere, but two of my favorites are Dead Freddie's on Harford Rd., and Bruce Lee's (that's his real name) Asian wings in Cross St. Market.

[picardlx]

Originally Posted by B.K.

Gil's Pizza

The best; period. I was going to say Mathews over Gil's but I think that just due to hype/respect. Mathews is great, but visit Gil's, order a cheese pizza or extra-cheese pizza (if you have no self-respect), let it 'rest' for 6 minutes and then taste it. It has to be how Heaven feels.....it has to be...

[Infinite_heights77]

Viccino's is good! All these spot are mostly over in East Baltimore (Baltimore RedNeck County).

Originally Posted by B.K.

This subject has been covered before, but I'm a pizza freak, so here are some of my favorites:
Matthews on Eastern Ave.-The Baltimore institution, and its oldest pizza joint. Different from any other pizza I've ever had. Consistently good. Bob Dylan is a regular customer.
Gil's Pizza on Belair Rd, near Frankfort Ave.: Since 1957, all they sell is pizza, and only one size. About 7-8 years ago they got a Coke machine. Great, slightly stinky, house shredded and mixed cheese blend. Homemade dough and sauce. Meat sauce is great. Carry-out only.
Pizza Johns, Back River Neck Rd in Essex: A huge place, sorta like pizza joints I remember from the sixties and seventies. Staff wear white uniforms and paper hats, crust is thin, crisp; excellent sauce to cheese/toppings ratio.
Viccino's, Charles St. in Mt. Vernon: Huge pies, good quality mozz, slightly sweet/spicy sauce, lots of toppings. Most vegi toppings are free. Bonus: they deliver beer and wine. Carry-out only.
Serpico's, Belair Rd. in Perry Hall. Great pies, made by fresh off the boat, first generation Italian family. Their calzones are the best in town.
Wings: Decent wings are available nearly everywhere, but two of my favorites are Dead Freddie's on Harford Rd., and Bruce Lee's (that's his real name) Asian wings in Cross St. Market.

[ktaadin]

Don't eat wings, so no comment there, but on pizza:

Matthews Pizza Eastern Ave (good, Baltimore's version of a deep-dish or 'thicker' kinda pizza).
Iggy's Pizza Calvert Street (thinner crust style pizza, well-made)
Johnny Rad's (I love the variety of toppings and styles available here-also has a good beer selection!)
Homeslyce (Solid pizza, one of my go-to's since its so close to home and convenient)

I'm curious to try alot of these other ones people have mentioned, particularly Viccino's. Thanks!

[designer_genes]

Can't comment on wings as I don't eat them much, but here is my two cents on pizza...

I don't get the big deal about Matthews. Trust me, I live 2 blocks away so I really want to like it, but it's just not good. Maybe I'm just a bit too snobbish about pizza because I'm from Jersey, but that stuff is almost inedible to me. Anything that isn't thin crust isn't worth eating, in my opinion. It's a shame because I know they're a family-owned small joint, so I was really eager to give them my business, but their pizza is just not my taste I guess. Plus I had kind of a bad customer service experience when I was in there too - everyone was pretty rude, which I really wasn't expecting from a place like that.

I have yet to find pizza that is completely up to my standards, but there are definitely a few places that are pretty good here.

I really like Joe Squared, but I almost wouldn't call it pizza. It's closer to a flatbread. But, it is delicious.

Iggies, Johnny Rad's, and Homeslyce are all good. Those are the three go-to's for me if I want a decent slice and a beer in a chill atmosphere. I also hear talk that Homeslyce is adding a location in Canton, which is excellent news for me as it's much closer to my house.

But, actually so far the best pizza I've had in Baltimore was at Verde in Canton (S. Montford Ave just south of the park). They do a great Napoletana style pie, the way pizza should be had. I would be at this place literally constantly if it wasn't so expensive, which is the only downside. Only reason I even ended up trying this place was because of the deals they did on Restaurant Week this year, but I'm glad I gave it a shot. It's definitely pricier and fancier than the other more down-to-earth pizzerias/bars around. But, if you're willing to pay for quality, that's where to get it.

[B.K.]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

Viccino's is good! All these spot are mostly over in East Baltimore (Baltimore RedNeck County).

It's true that some of these spots are in East Baltimore. But really, how often do you hear about outstanding pizza in West Baltimore? I believe there used to be a Papa John's at the end of North Avenue right at the Junction. I have heard recommendations for Tov Kosher Pizza on Reisterstown Rd. in Pikesville. Other than that, what?
The Westside has an even greater reputation for drugs and violence than East Baltimore, and much less of a reputation for any type of quality dining other than Lake Trout, Chicken Boxes, and a few scattered Caribbean and Soul Food carry-outs. So whatever may be drawing folks to Sandtown, Edmondson Village, Pimlico/Park Heights, Pennsy, Sowebo/Pigtown/Hollins Market, etc., etc., it sure ain't in search of good pizza.
And why would someone so concerned with matters of race have no problem stereotyping white residents of East Baltimore as "Rednecks?"

[Infinite_heights77]

Yeah, not too much good pizza spots in West Baltimore except for Chef Paolino's. We have good Jamaican, West Indian and African foods.

Tov Kosher is good! What about Egyptian Pizza in Belvedere Square?

I used to live around East Rock in Essex, so I'm familiar with those rednecks. And yes, I have no problem calling people rednecks and blacknecks (black folks who act like rednecks).

Originally Posted by B.K.

It's true that some of these spots are in East Baltimore. But really, how often do you hear about outstanding pizza in West Baltimore? I believe there used to be a Papa John's at the end of North Avenue right at the Junction. I have heard recommendations for Tov Kosher Pizza on Reisterstown Rd. in Pikesville. Other than that, what?
The Westside has an even greater reputation for drugs and violence than East Baltimore, and much less of a reputation for any type of quality dining other than Lake Trout, Chicken Boxes, and a few scattered Caribbean and Soul Food carry-outs. So whatever may be drawing folks to Sandtown, Edmondson Village, Pimlico/Park Heights, Pennsy, Sowebo/Pigtown/Hollins Market, etc., etc., it sure ain't in search of good pizza.
And why would someone so concerned with matters of race have no problem stereotyping white residents of East Baltimore as "Rednecks?"

[GoPhils]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

Baltimore has some of the best Pizza places...Some would say, "the best on the East Coast"

LOL got a good laugh out of this line. Good to see no one (except me I guess) took the bait.

[picardlx]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

What about Egyptian Pizza in Belvedere Square?

It's good, but Toss right down the street is better imo.

Originally Posted by designer_genes

Trust me, I live 2 blocks away so I really want to like it, but it's just not good.

If I lived that close to Mathews, I'd be on a Maury Povich world's fattest people special.

It's nowhere near Chicago deep dish style, but it has it own ... charm.