Pizza Roundup

Here's a survey of Charlottesville's cheese pizza slices, for when you're not looking for a whole pie.

1. Anna’s #9

The Slice: thin crust, equal proportions crust and sauce/cheese. Doughy crust with flour dusting.

Price: $2.02

The Place: Amidst the shops at Fontaine, the old shopping center with a drycleaner, Chinese restaurant, and Laundromat. There is plenty of character to go around. The interior clearly has not been renovated since the 70’s (?).

Waste: 1. Best on a reused plastic plate. 2. Unadulterated white paper plate. 3. If not specified, you’ll be thwarted by a Styrofoam box.

Crowd: Locals, Students, Little league teams.


2. Christian’s – Corner

The Slice: thin crust, right amount of cheese and sauce all the way to the edge of the crust. This place is made for pizza by the slice and they excel. They have readily accessible, though chained to the wall, oregano, parmesan, and red pepper flake shakers.

Price: $2 (downtown is $2.50)

The Place: On the east side of 14th St. near the train bridge. There is outdoor seating and plenty of room indoors at high chaired tables. It’s a shiny bright place.

Waste: white paper plate coated with waxy covering on top, all paper below.

Crowd: students.

3. Bolli’s

The Slice: Not outfitted for single slices but accommodating requests, Bolli slices look like shredded cheese from a store-bought pack was sprinkled on top. Things get a little thick on top and these are clearly not high quality ingredients. It’s recognizable as a slice of cheese, just not the ideal.

Price: $1.93

The Place: Classic West Main Street in an old house with a still recognizable old carriageway.

Waste: If you’re eating it there, they’ll serve it on a parquet plate with plasticware.

Crowd: Randoms, deliverymen

4. Christian’s Downtown

The Slice: so variable sometimes, layered with fluorescent orange grease and goopy cheese or aged to perfection. At its best, this is the best slice around.

Price: $2.00

The Place: A corner on the mall really can’t be beat. The exposed brick interior, outdoor seating, fishbowl spots facing the mall make this place fun to visit.

Waste: Same as the other Christian’s

Crowd: As variable as the slice. During the week there are mall regulars, the people who have had their mugs painted by the artists in residence in front of the regal cinemas, and on the weekend there are families and teenage couples.

5. Casella’s

The Slice: Casella’s is set up for the walk-in slice, but most people sit down or take out whole pies. The cheese slice tastes more like New York pizza than most. It’s a little thick for my liking. The taste isn’t sufficient enough to overcome the price and locale.

Price: $2.67

The Place: Barracks Road Shopping Center. Along with outlet malls, places like this belong in their own level of hell.

Waste: served on a top-coated paper plate if to go or it can be eaten there waste-free.

Crowd: hungry shoppers (Charging through Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft, and Talbot’s is exhausting), suburban families, teenie boppers.