By Collin Williams ’20
Ohio University
I must first preface this article by stating that its title says it all. As an incredibly picky eater my entire life, there was always a constant that I couldn’t live without – pizza. As one food being such a staple in my diet, I’ve learned to change it up by trying everything on the menu and every pizza shop I ever come across.
Needless to say, throughout my stay in Athens, I’ve been on a mission to experience each of the many local pizza joints before graduation. Money was always tight, and my family obligations required me to frequently make trips back home. However, I dare say I did in fact accomplished my mission!
Doctor Pizza, located at 122 W. Union St., was regretfully the last in Athens that I tried. I’ve heard good things, but because I’m so particular, I don’t normally let anything I hear influence any expectations I may have. I mean, it’s a big deal and quite the endeavor to try another new place when all you want is to enjoy the next best pizza. After two tests, a quiz, and a research paper finished in a matter of days, prior to the move to remote learning this semester, it was time to reward myself.
You might be thinking, “O.K. Collin, everyone likes pizza. What’s the big deal?” Well, there is a consistency and certain level of sweetness to be achieved in the sauce – not too thick, but not too thin either. The cheese must be proportional from crust to crust. If not, the cheese will become too chewy or chalky and will remove itself from the crust on the first bite, leaving you with a lap full of toppings and shear disappointment. As for the crust, it needs to be of an ideal medium thickness that is soft and melts in your mouth with the edges just flaky enough to know it’s real and not just the dopamine levels in your brain that are soon to cause your head to explode.
All of these are subjective of course, but anything worth doing is worth doing well — and pizza shouldn’t be the exception.
Doctor Pizza not only fulfilled my aspirations for an astounding pizza, but also in customer service. The staff was genuine and helpful in my confusion when ordering online versus over the phone. It turns out, the discrepancies I thought existed were indeed figments of my own doing. Nonetheless, they understood and graciously made everything right when they had no obligation to do so.
Most would agree that it’s the little things in life that bring us such joy, and for me pizza is that thing. I would undoubtedly recommend Doctor Pizza as the best pizza shop in Athens and greatly encourage everyone to not only support them in these unusual times, but also all the local eateries and shops of Downtown Athens.
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