On my most recent visit to Tampa, I wanted to check out some New York Style pizza places.  I tried two new ones-- East Coast Pizza in Riverview (photos above) and Eddie & Sam's in the downtown area (photos below.)

I really enjoyed my slice at East Coast (rated 4.0 of 5) but you can see from the photo that is wasn't exactly a "large slice."  Eddie and Sam's (4.5 of 5), I thought, was better, and the slice was bigger.  

As I was coming into the downtown area, I saw the giant Italian flag above Eddie and Sam's and I knew I was going to be pleased, and I definitely was not disappointed.  

Incidentally, I was in Tampa to pick up some friends at the airport.  After picking them up we headed to Clearwater and they both said they were hungry and would like a slice of pizza.  So where did we end up?  Mike's Pizza & Deli in Clearwater, of course! 

I just wanted to take a moment to say "Hello" to Adam Kuban and his posse over at http://slice.seriouseats.com/, and thanks for a shout-out on their very popular pizza site.

When I started blogging about New York Style Pizza (almost 4 years ago!), Adam commented on my blog less than twenty-four hours after my first blog post.  He welcomed me to the world of Pizza blogging.  Here's what he said: 

Welcome to the pizzablogging fold. You don't know what you're getting yourself into! I advise you not to turn back, however, but plow forward over the mountains of cheese and through the rivers of sauce that lie on the path before you. Godspeed, dear sir!

I was amazed!  I was still figuring out what RSS was, and I didn't know anything about Technorati, and there was no such thing and there was no such thing as Google Blog Search or Google Alerts.    I was trying to figure out how he knew about me and so quickly?  He told me about Technorati and it really opened my eyes to the power of automated searches and subscriptions across the Web.

I am heading back to the Tampa area again.  I am looking for good New York Style pizza in the Tampa  / St. Pete / Clearwater area.   I haven't even blogged all my findings from the last visit yet, and I'm going back for more.

Got any ideas for me? 

Someone suggested CBD's in Tampa but after looking at their menu (click here) I'm not so sure.

Send me your ideas! 

While in the Clearwater / St. Petersburg area of Florida, the subject of pizza came up, and one of my colleagues, Steve, asked me what kind of pizza  I liked.  "New York Style," I said.  

He looked at me quizically.  "What does that mean?  How do you know if it's the right kind?" 

I then proceeded to enumerate the Sliker Rating Scale:

"It has to be thin crust," I said.   "Check," he responded.

"It has to have pizza by the slice."   "Check." 

"Large slices."  "Check."  (Excitement was building.  We were 3 for 3.)

"Traditional pizza ovens.  No conveyer belts."   "Check. Check." 

"They have Sicilian.  Square slices."   "Yeah, I think so." 

"Run by Italians."   "Definitely."

"Red & Green or Italy in the theme or name."  "Check." 

"Pizza or Pizzeria in the name."   "Check.   I think we've got a match." 

I showed up in St. Pete the other night for some training and on Monday at lunch time I set out to find some good pizza in the area.  I am staying and working near the St. Pete airport.  I drove north on #19 then West to Clearwater.  Then I drove south along the beach and east on 686 back to the office. 

I saw two promising pizzerias that were closed-- it was Columbus Day!  Any good Italian-American restaurant is going to be closed on Columbus Day, right?  Maybe, maybe not.   Just a couple miles before reaching my office I spotted a sign across the way that said simply, "Pizzeria."

I crossed several lanes of traffic and did a U-Turn and walked up the steps to a pleasant surprise - La Pizza Mia Pizzeria.   I ordered the lunch special, 2 slices and a coke for under $5.   It was delicious.  The place was run by two Italian women who spoke Italian to one another. 

The slices were perfect!  Just what I wanted.  I didn't do the math, but I'm pretty sure this place ranked 95 on the Sliker Scale (no Sicilian that I saw.)

If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by La Pizza Mia Pizzeria!