Portnoy's Pie review stirs crust controversy
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The Pie Pizzeria's signature-crust pizza, left, and thin-crust version. Photo: Kim Bojórquez / Axios
When Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy reviewed The Pie Pizzeria during his first visit to Utah last week, his order looked nothing like the heavy-duty slices locals and college students are used to.
State of play: The cheese pizza appeared thin and foldable, a notable departure from the joint's signature thick, gooey slices.
- "For a campus pizza spot, I think it's pretty good," said Portnoy, who regularly posts one-bite pizza reviews on social media, giving it a 6.9 score out of 10.
Friction point: Internet sleuths speculated that the pizzeria was somehow tipped off about Portnoy's drop-in and gave him a special, one-off pie to secure a favorable review.
- "I've never seen The Pie look like that," Salt Lake-based influencer Jordan Schmidt said on Instagram in response to Portnoy's review. Several Utahns agreed.
Reality check: The Pie pushed back, pointing out that it "has been serving thin-crust, light-cheese pies cooked well-done for 45 years."
The big picture: It's not every day that we get our own version of #pizzagate, so I took it upon myself to see if their thin crust is worth trying.
Disclosure: I gravitate toward Neapolitan- and New York-style pizzas, so The Pie is not my first choice, and like many people, I didn't know the joint had thin-cut slices.
What happened: I visited the eatery this week and ordered a typical slice, along with a large thin-crust pie.
- The thin option was considerably lighter than the original version, with a crunchier crust.
- Their traditional recipe was … what I expected, and took me back to my college days at Utah Valley University.
The verdict: The thin crust stole the show, and I highly preferred its cheese-to-crust ratio.
You tell us: Were you surprised The Pie had a thin-crust option? Which do you prefer?
- Share your thoughts by taking this survey. We'll gather responses until Oct. 30 and share results next week.