Reno Pizza Reviews

Located a couple blocks from heart of downtown’s casino district, Pie Face Pizza Company sells thin crust, American style pizza.   While their pizza is thin enough to qualify as New York style pizza, Pie Face has two traits that mark it as more of a “American Style” pizza: 1.  They use more cheese than the average New York pizza. 2.  Their pizzas have a unique “braided” end crust.

A cheese slice with the braided crust from Pie Face Pizza Co.

While the braided end crust is interesting, one big drawback is that the braiding appears to the compress the dough and it results in a rather dense end crust (see picture below).

Braided end crust = dense end crust

Pie face is located right next to the entrance to the low rent El Cortez Hotel on the northeast corner of 2nd and N. Arlington streets.  It’s actually kind of tough to find because their sign blends in with that of the Hotel.

Pie Face Is Right Next to the entrance to the El Cortez

The interior looks nicer and more inviting than the exterior and has about 30 seats.  There’s even a small hang-out couch/chairs up front with a big screen TV if you want to veg out a bit while scarfing down your slice.

The service is fast casual where you order at the counter and then they bring your pie/slice out to you.  The people that work there are friendly and low key.

Pie Face has about 30 seats, plenty for a late night group

From a value perspective, Pie face’s pricing is very close to Blue Moon: $3.50 for a plain slice and $19 for a large (although their large is a full 20″).

Pie Face reminds me a bit of Blue Moon, in that the pizza is better than what you will get from Domino’s or Pizza Hut, but nothing I would go out of my way to consume.  In both cases, what prevents the pizza from reaching the next level is the crust.  In Pie Face’s case, the crust is quite thin, but it’s relatively dense and lacks chewyness and crispness.   I wish they would replace the braided crust with something lighter and more airy.

Pie Face apparently does a good amount of late night business (they stay open very late on Fri/Sat) that attracts a lot of people looking for a quick slice after a night of reveling downtown and in that regard I think the pizza probably hits the spot nicely.  If you are out and about downtown and craving a thin crust slice with ample cheese in a laid back environment, Pie Face is a good choice.

Name: Pie Face Pizza Co.
Address: 239 W. 2nd St.

Phone #: 775-622-9222
Pizza Type:  American
Oven: Gas
Slices? Y
Large Pizza Cost:  $19

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On Warren Way, just off Moana, you will find the only Nevada franchise of zPizza.  zPizza has grown into a large international chain by trumpeting its focus on organic ingredients including organic dough and sauce.  It also offers vegan pizzas (made with vegan cheese), gluten-free pizzas, and pizzas made with whole wheat flour.  All meat toppings are also MSG-free including its “pure pepperoni” which comes with no MSG, no preservatives, and no nitrates.    If Whole Foods were a pizzeria, it would be a lot like zPizza.

A 100% Organic Cheese Pizza from zPizza

The pizza is cooked in a conventional gas pizza oven.  It’s a thin crust pizza, but unlike a New York Style pizza which has a robust edge crust and gets progressively thinner as you get to the center of the pizza, zPizza has a small crust on the edge and actually gets a bit thicker as you approach the center.  Still pretty thin overall though.

The crust on my pizza, as you can see below, was reasonably thin, but lacked significant bubble structure.  This means it ends up being fairly dense without a lot of chewiness or crispness.

The edge is thinner than the center crust

As for the organic sauce and cheese, they put a healthy amount of sauce and cheese on the pizza, more than you would find on a Neapolitan pizza, but not as much as you might find on a heavy American style pizza, such as a Costco pizza.

Do the organic flour, sauce and other ingredients make a big difference?  From my perspective, I really couldn’t taste a significant difference, but I don’t think they are selling a distinct organic taste, so much as they are selling the piece of mind some folks get from knowing that they are eating organic foods.

The restaurant itself is situated just of Moana in a small strip mall on Warren Way.  As you walk in there’s a counter to order the pizza and then there’s a seating area that fits about 25 people in the back.  You order at the counter and they will bring your pizza out.

zPizza could use a fung schui consultant and a professional organizer

One thing that struck me as a bit odd is that there were racks of ingredients outside of the counter/cooking area.  It’s like their storage room wasn’t big enough so they just decided to put a lot of stuff out in the open. In addition, in the seating area there was a TV/Karaoke setup with lots of wires hanging out.  While the seating area itself was nice, in general the space had a bit of disheveled look to it.

Organic goodness awaits you inside!

Overall, if organic and/or vegan pizza is very important to you, then you will definitely want to check out zPizza.  They clearly take this focus seriously and have made a significant effort to insure that all of their ingredients conform with their healthy, organic focus.   That said, the pizza itself is not terribly memorable.  As you might expect with a large chain, they’ve taken a distinct “middle of the road” approach and it shows.  It’s certainly not bad pizza, especially when compared to other large chains, but it’s not great pizza either.

Name: zPizza
Address: 3600 Warren Way Reno NV 89509
Phone #: 775-828-6565
Pizza Type:  American
Oven: Gas
Slices? N
Large Pizza Cost:  $19

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I’ve been to Blue Moon Gourmet Pizza a few times for lunch. Each time I’ve had the lunch special (1 slice, a salad, and a drink for $7.50) plus an extra slice. I usually have just a plain slice and a pepperoni slice as I am trying to use these “benchmark pizzas” as a basis for comparison to other places in town.

The Lunch special with a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni

Truth be told, such “benchmarking” really isn’t fair to Blue Moon because their focus isn’t so much on the core pizza so much as it is on their gourmet “Blue Moon Style” topping combos, such as Yale’s Thai (Hoisin sauce, cheese, chicken, green onions, peanuts and shredded carrots) and Luna Azul (Refried beans, salsa, shredded chicken, olives, jalapenos, cheese, and lettuce). I have to give them props for their creativity and variety!

As to the core components of their pizza (crust, sauce, cheese), let me state up front that I’ve only had their slices and slices are usually a poor way to judge a pizza because they almost always are from pizzas made some time ago and then reheated. Reheating slices tends to harden the bottom and you really can’t replicate the “fresh out of the oven” taste no matter what you do. All that said, Blue Moon is above average, but not great, thin crust pizza. The pizzas are made from white flour and cooked in a standard gas pizza oven. The dough doesn’t appear to have a sourdough base as it lacks the chewyness you’d expect from sourdough. The crust is thin and not very pronounced (which can be good or bad depending on what you prefer). The sauce is on the sweet side for my taste, but not terribly remarkable one way or the other. Same thing goes for the cheese. I do like the oregano sprinkled on the slices though but had a hard time tasting it.

Neat, causual, and ... blue interior

The restaurant is a classic casual sit down pizza restaurant. There are about 25-30 seats so it can accommodate groups without much of a problem and it is a clean, well lit space. There is no outdoor seating.  You order at the counter, but if you are eating in, they bring the food to your table. Service is friendly and low key. There are some salads and calzones and menu, but this is clearly a pizza joint first and foremost. They do take-out but not delivery.

Blue Moon is on the right, on the south side of California

As to location, they are located on California Avenue very close to the southern side of downtown Reno making this an easy walk for lunch from courthouses or office buildings there.

Overall, I’d have to say that Blue Moon gets good marks for service, creativity and effort. The core pizza is above average and better than most chains, but not terribly distinctive which isn’t surprising given their focus on the Blue Moon Style gourmet topping combos.

Name: Blue Moon Gourmet Pizza
Address: 190 California Street Reno, NV 89509
Phone #: 775-324-2828
Pizza Type:  Thin Crust
Oven: Gas
Slices? Y
Large Pizza Cost:  $18.23

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If you happen to be near Reno Aces’ stadium and are hankering for some pizza, look no further than across the street to Slice of the Peak.  Brought to you by the same folks behind the Silver Peak Restaurant & Brewery, Slice of the Peak serves of a unique whole barley flour pizza and plenty of Silver Peak’s micro-brewed beers.  Mmmm, pizza and beer, what could be better?

The most distinctive aspect of Slice of Peak’s pies are that they are made from barley flour using the same kind of barley they use in their beers.  I must admit I have never had a barley flour-based pizza before Slice of the Peak.  It has a distinctive, but not overwhelming barley taste.  The pizza dough also seems a bit softer and more malleable then white flour.

1/2 of a personal whole wheat cheese pizza

... or perhaps you prefer a pepperoni pizza ?

The pizza is cooked in a classic gas fired pizza oven. I wouldn’t call it thin crust pizza in the classic Neapolitan or New York tradition, it’s more of a straight American pizza.  The combination of the gas fired oven and the whole wheat seems to impart a little less texture and carbon on the crust and bottom of the pizza than I’d like, but I found the overall package quite enjoyable.

Slice of the Peak is a Fast Casual restaurant.  You order at the counter, sit down, and they will bring the food out.  The interior of the restaurant is bright and lively.  They have plenty of space with a large main room including a bar, as well as a side room and outdoor space.  There is a room with pool and arcade games for hanging out and there is ample outdoor patio space to enjoy your pizza and beer “al fresco” when the weather permits.

High ceilings and lots of space inside Slice

The menu includes some key non-pizza items including fries, wings, and onion rings as well as several salads and sandwiches which means between that and the beer, a non-pizza loving companion can be quite happy here.

Prices are about average and slices are a pretty good deal @ $2.75 each for what amounts to two smaller slices.  Service has been good when I’ve been there, but I haven’t been there on a game day when I expect it can get kind of hectic.

Overall, I’d say that Slice of the Peak is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are going to an Aces game and looking for somewhere casual to eat either before or after the game.  Their barley flour pizza is unique and tasty.  I have found that it pairs nicely with many of Silver Peak’s micro-brews (I am partial to the Sierra Amber) but that might just be the beer talking.

Name: Slice of the Peak
Address: 300 E. 2nd St. Reno NV 89501
Phone #: 775-284-0600
Pizza Type:  American
Oven: Gas
Slices? Y
Large Pizza Cost:  $20

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