GREAT BARRINGTON: THE INSIDE SLICE

Ever since the birth of pizza, the world has been a better place. Just like humans, technology, landscapes, literature, and everything else in our world, pizza has evolved. As learned in science, evolution is necessary to survival.

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From the original sauce, cheese, and basil, the red, white, and green making up the Italian flag to represent its place of origin, pizza has become so much more. Some of the varieties it has become are deep dish, Sicilian, New York style, calzones, Greek, Neapolitan, and even sushi pizzas. We all have our opinions on the best pizza. In the process of evolution, something occurs called 'Competition'. We have competition occurring right here in Great Barrington.

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From Dola’s 2018 arrival in GB, a disturbance rubbed over our community. Now there were two amazing pizzerias located within a one minute walk of each other. Baba Louie's was the place to be, but Dola’s uprising questioned its quality. Baba Louie’s owner, Paul Masiero, and Dola’s, Ben Downing and Laura Shack, all must have been scared. While both are still in existence, Dola was forced to retreat out of its own original location into the 20 Railroad Public House (“20”) This was because  “Staffing is very difficult year round in Great Barrington,” according to Dola Pizza’s personal website (www.dolapizza.com). Could Baba Louie's be the reason Dola was forced to retreat? Many questions and statements can be deduced from this fact, but that is not what this is about. This is about the best pizza.

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When reviewing the two pizza joints, an outside colleague of mine, Keller Westcott, and I thought about a multitude of things. Yes, we were looking for the pizza that best represents Great Barrington, but really, it was about the taste. Was the crust wet? The cheese-to-sauce ratio sub-par? How long did it take? Was each slice consistently the same? So many questions, so we went out to find the answers.

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Walking into Baba Louie's new location at 42 Railroad Street was not disappointing. Just walking in, we were surrounded by the banter of friends, political conversations from families, and the aroma of pizza that danced its way around the entire restaurant. We visited both restaurants at about 11:30AM, before the big lunch rush on a typical Saturday afternoon. Keller and I were both greeted by a friendly smile at Baba Louie's, one that I’ve seen before, who was extremely kind and pleasant. Our service was all we could want and we were in and out with a classic red, white, and green Margarita within 18 minutes and 24 seconds. The price of this pizza was $10.65. While Baba Louie’s took above their estimated 10-15 minute wait, this amazing delicious pizza made up for it. Crust? Could be crunchier.

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After Baba Louie's, we entered the 20 Railroad Street Public House to order a “Maggie”, the Margarita served there. The service was great, but not like Baba Louie’s. The price for this pizza was $12.00, only about $1.35 above Baba Louie's. The size of this pizza was a little larger (a longer diameter), and it was served faster. The pizza took about 13 minutes and 52 seconds from register to the takeout corner. The one thing that stood out the most about Dola was its use of basil. Their basil had an amazing flavor that was better than Baba Louie’s and it was spread out much more evenly. The crust was better than, if not equal to, Baba Louie's but the big thing was its sauce and cheese.

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80% of what makes a typical slice of pizza is its sauce and cheese. While maybe Dola beat Baba Louie’s in the small aspects, such as crust and basil, it didn’t compensate for the overall pizza experience which is why we view Baba Louie’s as the face of Great Barrington. Baba Louie's has been around for a very long time in our community, giving it more time to become the favorite.