Tommy's Pizza

Of all of the pizza joints in Columbus, it's Tommy's that has established the most loyal following among locals, who claim the pies are among the best in the world. Midwestern to the core, each of the four central Ohio locations slices pizzas into squares and decorates its walls in Buckeye and Big Ten paraphernalia. But the fare they offer is purely Italian-American, originating from founder Tommy Iacono's family recipes brought from overseas when he founded his first restaurant in 1952. Subs, spaghetti dinners and noodle dishes are all well above average, but the real draw at Tommy's is the selection of gourmet pizzas, made to order in 11-, 13- or 15-inch sizes. With a cracker-thin crust and house-made dough and sauces, pies are loaded with up to six toppings ranging from salami, beef and Italian sausage to pineapple, smoked oysters and anchovies. Other ringers include the hot Italian sub (with ham, salami, pepperoni and cheese), the Italian sausage sandwich (a house-made Italian sausage patty and spaghetti sauce on a Kaiser roll), and classic spaghetti and meatballs. 

Beer and wine available. Serving lunch Mon-Sat, dinner nightly. Late-night (until 1 am) Fri-Sat.

"When you walk into Tommy's, you see old-school fire ovens.  The employees make the pizza in assembly line order; one for dough, one for assembling dough on pan, one for putting toppings on, one for placing pie in oven, one for taking pie out of oven, one for cutting pie with gigantic knife, one to yell to the server to pick up the order." - Columbus (C-Bus) Eats blog, April 11, 2010