We recently heard tell of a bar fight that occurred in town whereupon two men became so enraged by a fundamentally Philly-area debate — Tacconnelli’s or Pica’s — that they literally came to blows. Neither party was hospitalized (though one sported quite the bruise on his nose), but it gets to the heart of something that moves us all. Let’s call it Your Special Pizza. Your Special Pizza is the one you have to make a trip for, or an occasion out of. In the case of Tacconnelli’s, that means reserving your dough ahead of time; for Pica’s, it means setting aside the time to ride out to DelCo if you don’t already live there. (And let’s face it: If you’re reading this, you probably don’t. Hiyo! Just kidding, DelConians. Sort of.)
But why can’t delivery pizza be Your Special Pizza? We don’t know! It just didn’t seem likely. But on a whim this Sunday, we tried Santucci Square Pizza, a small local chain that has six outposts. And it was a revelation. Like Pica’s, Santucci does the whole sauce-over-the-cheese business, and relies on a thin crust and hearty, tangy tomato sauce that’ll turn you into a believer and then make you a full-blown addict. (We ordered it again on Tuesday.) Meanwhile, the white pie and sausage red pie bore distinct similarities to Tacconnelli’s: The garlic/salt/pepper and cheese mixture on the white was a dead ringer, and the sausage had to come from the same provider, or at the very least, one quite similar. Are we saying that Santucci’s is now Your Special Pizza? No. Your Special Pizza is like love: Only your heart knows for sure. But we will say this: Santucci’s is Special.
Noses have been bloodied over which Santucci’s location is the best. Many people will only order from the O street location.
wait a minute, what about franzone’s?
Santucci’s pizza is so loaded with msg that it feels like my head is going to blow off after eating there.
I love Santucci’s and live minutes from the NorthEast local. Only issue is that the service sucks. We wait hours for delivery, and pick up is no better. Sad b/c it’s the best we’ve had.
@ foodzings: YES. I used to live in Conshy, and Franzone’s weird, sweet spiral pizza is about the only thing I miss.
There is a “secret” one at Stogie Joe’s. The owner is somehow connected with the Santucci family and their pizza is identical to Santucci’s.
Santuccis have been a Northeast classic since the 80s. Mrs. Santucci is actually a Pica (Santucci is her maiden name). The Santucci name was franchised in the last ten years and the locations were not using the “classic” recipe. In recent years, the original Santucci family has taken each franchise to court to win back the rights of their family name. So while Santuccis is still a staple and a favorite in my household, the story behind the pizza is pretty juicy as well.
Is Clank’s still open in Chester?
YES!!! I easily eat a half a pie at once, not because I am hungry enough to, but because I can’t stop. I drove in the first snow storm to get some tuccis.
Also, thought I would mention this, but Germantown Pizza at 4th and Germantown has the best Dirty Pizza-Dirty Pizza being ‘za that comes from a little greasy hole in the wall. But they make their own dough-no premade flash frozen crap. Pepporoni and Mushroom baby. I’m really excited now.
I know this is so late, but I wanted to try Santucci’s before passing any judgments. Iono’ if you guys ever get to Philaburbia and more specifically Springfield/Clifton Heights….but if you do please please PLEASE hit up Gaetano’s. It’s one of Delco’s food gems and is similar to Santucci’s but amplified in every sense. I’d even call it the shining escalade of pizza.