In putting together plans for this issue, we met as editors and at some point the subject turned to pizza. (It may be important to note that this is not unusual for a seveneightfive editorial meeting.) Over the course of this discussion, we became aware of the sudden pizza joint explosion over the past six months or so. As of this writing, three locally-owned pizza places opened their doors since October (Giovani’s, Buzzard’s and LaRocca’s), another opened in 2008 (Via’s) and yet another was set to open about the time this magazine hits the stands (Pizagels—the re-envisioned Bagel Express). That makes Glory Days, open since 1985, seem venerable. And the Pizza Parlor, the Oakland pillar started in 1965, seem like a genuine institution.

What came out of this meeting was the notion that we at seveneightfive needed to delve into this recent pizza proliferation the best way we knew how—by eating it. Oh, and writing about it.

The editors—in the wholly incomprehensive and unscientific manner that is the keystone to seveneightfive’s success—tallied seven locally-owned pizza places in Topeka. If, out of sheer pepperoni madness, we missed any, we welcome that input on our website (www.seveneightfive.com). We then called each of these pizza places, who agreed to humor us by sending along their signature pizzas.

In order to bring together enough people to eat so many pizzas, we invited our entire staff and their families over to Kerrice’s place (whose boyfriend, Greg, graciously put up with the insanity) and let them stuff their faces.

For restaurants who didn’t offer delivery, we picked the pizzas up on our way to the party. Those who do offer delivery—Giovani’s, Glory Days and Via’s—we let them show off their delivery services and, for the record, each was delivered piping hot and right on time. Via’s picked up a few extra style points for having their delivery guy show up in a stretch Hummer limo (though we get the notion this isn’t a normal service—so I wouldn’t expect it on your everyday delivery call), but all the pizza couriers were extremely friendly. (And as a brief editorial—it’s just common courtesy to tip delivery drivers. Don’t be a jerk.)

Initially, the idea was to declare a winner of the seveneightfive pizza duel, but we decided against it for a couple reasons. First, there wasn’t a bad pizza to be found in the bunch—they were all good, so you really can’t go wrong. And second, if we’d put it to a vote, we probably wouldn’t have been able to declare a clear-cut winner. The diversity of personal preferences among our staff led us to realize that favorite pizza places vary widely depending on what kind of pizza someone likes.

In the end, we decided to just run down the local options and talk about what makes each unique. As always, seveneightfive reminds you to buy local—and with the all the great local pizza places, your belly will thank you.

Buzzard’s

4745 N.W. Hunters Ridge Circle
Topeka, KS 66618
(785) 215-8827

Hours: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., 7 days a week

No delivery

One of two places we tried that piled on the toppings for their deluxe pizza, giving it a nice, robust flavor. The style is your fairly standard pan pizza, but they covered the whole thing in a layer of cheese that’ll make dairy lovers happy.

Giovani’s

1505 S Kansas Ave
Topeka, KS 66612
235-2023

Hours: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Monday – Thursday, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Friday, 7 a.m. – 3 a.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. – 3 a.m.

Delivery available anywhere in town

New York-style thin crust with fresh toppings and a whole lotta cheese. There’s a ton of toppings on their supreme (though not in the dogpile like on Buzzard’s) and just the right amount of sauce to give it a great flavor. For the early risers, rumor has it the breakfast pizza on weekday mornings is pretty yummy, too.

Glory Days

2811 S.W. Wanamaker Rd
Topeka, KS 66614
(785) 271-5151

3310 S.E. 29th St.
Topeka, KS 66607
(785) 266-5353

* New Location on Gage Blvd – just South of 10th

Hours: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., 7 days a week

Delivery available in some areas

The best part is the crispy, golden crust, but there’s more to the pizza than that to make it stick around for 25 years. Their all-meat pizza was packed with enough—as our copy editor put it—“dead pig” to make even the most insatiable of carnivores cry uncle.

LaRocca’s Pizza

2025 SW Urish Rd
Topeka, KS 66615
(785)861-7141

Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sunday, Noon – 6 p.m.

No delivery

If you like sauce, LaRocca’s is your place. There seemed to be a lot of it on the combo pizza we got, and it’s plenty tasty to boot. Add in a bunch of meat, veggies and bubbly golden cheese, and call us happy. One interesting touch was the chunks of ham, which added a unique (and delicious) layer of flavor to their pizza.

Read Lunch with Loretta’s take on this place

Pizagels

Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday – Saturday, 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.

No delivery (not yet anyway)

Pizagels (formerly Bagel Express) gave us two sausage and pepperoni pizzas—one thin crust and one original crust (and we’re told they’ll have a wheat crust, too)—and you really can’t go wrong with either. The thin crust was cracker crisp, and the original crust had a subtly sweet flavor that several of our staffers enjoyed.

Pizza Parlor

1919 NE Seward Ave.
Topeka, KS 66616
(785) 232-5190

Hours: Sunday, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – Midnight

No Delivery

The Pizza Parlor has flown under a lot of radars, but it’s been putting out good pizza for 45 years. Their Little Bobby was the other pizza we tried where the toppings were so numerous they wanted to tumble off the slice, but they were all fresh and covered in a gooey layer of cheese. Grab a fork for this one and thank us later.

Via’s Pizzeria

738 S.W. Gage Blvd.
Topeka, KS 66606
(785) 215-8421
fax: (785) 215-8429

Sunday, Noon – 8 p.m.
Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Delivery available

Via’s gave us a half-and-half pizza. One half was their L’Opera pizza (their version of a deluxe pizza), which was filling and delicious. The other half was their “World Pizza” of the month, the Brazilian Inferno, which was certainly not for the faint of tongue (the sauce includes jalapenos, pineapple and habeneros). Their crust was flavorful, with extra ingredients our untrained tongues were unable to decipher.

THE RESULTS*

Overall taste of the specialty pizzas, on a scale from 1-5 as rated by a dozen staffers and their families

Buzzard’s: 4.125

Giovani’s: 3.28

Glory Days: 4.5

LaRocca’s: 3.44

Pizagels: 4

Pizza Parlor: 3.28

Via’s: 4

* Don’t pay too much attention to these scores. We are not statisticians and we are not professional taste-testers. So take these numbers with a grain of sauce…uh, we mean salt.

WHY PIZZA?

Why have so many new pizza joints popped up around town lately? The seveneightfive editors theorize…

Kerrice Mapes (owner/publisher): I think it’s because pizza is simple – it’s an inexpensive meal you can customize. Sausage, tofu, lobster – why not? Wheat, white, thin, thick crust – sure. Pizza is good. Beer is good. Pizza and beer go together. Any more questions?

Leah Sewell (editor-in-chief): It’s that whole 80’s revival thing, like leg warmers, high tops and shutter shades. Pizza parlors were hip in the 80’s, and they’re back. History repeating itself.

Ande Davis (managing editor): It’s the food’s customizable nature. Your favorite type of pizza is the sole determining factor of who you are as a person, and people are coming to recognize and accept this as the way the world works.

Matt Porubsky (poetry editor): I think we belittle the true meaning of the local pizza craze by questioning it. It is like what Walt Whitman wrote, “Do you see O my brothers and sisters?/It is not chaos or death – it is form, union, plan – it is eternal life – it is Happiness.” Pizza is happiness.

Erin Wynkoop (marketing specialist): Pizza is simple, easy and delish. It appeals to a mass audience because it can be suited to anyone’s taste buds.

Melissa Sewell (copy editor): As human beings, our hunter-gatherer brains are wired to seek the most sugar, salt and fat-containing foods.  And since pizza is heaped with cheese and is paired so often with soda, well… Let’s just say it’s a profitable enterprise to own a pizza joint.

[March, 2007 | Photos: Matt Porubsky]