a'pizza badamo

tasty but inconsistent. i really like it when it's made right, but twice in the past month, they sent me a burnt pizza. a few weeks before that, i received a pizza that tasted like they accidentally spilled a jar of garlic in the sauce.
it would be one of my favorites if it were consistent, but i don't like to gamble with how edible my dinner will be.

nyc style - yeah!. these friendly guys are knockin' it outta the park with this pizza. sorry, but i'm partial to nyc pizza, and this is it. perfect, thin crust with high-quality tomato sauce and cheese. flavors and textures that would rival any pizza in any market. this work of art doesn't need any toppings. it's beautiful in its pure form.

mt lebanon pizza wonder. mt lebanon is a great place to live and raise a family - great schools, safe neighborhood with easy access to the city. more importantly, it has the best pizza too! if you haven't gone in a while, you must try it again. amazing bread to go along with a great steak hoagie and perfectly cooked pizza with generous fresh toppings. doubling in size soon. can't wait to have the authentic pizza with homemade cherry peppers again. thank you for the delicious food!


-----30 dec, 2013-----

if you love cheese steak hoagies you have to try one. best one in the burgh! if you like a little spice, add cherry hot peppers.

italian hoagie. the italian hoagie is ok. not as good as my favorite place but ok. they asked which toppings you want and give you a list that includes mayo. just make sure you are listening, was not expecting some of the options.

the staff is great. friendly, like to communicate with the customers.


-----17 nov, 2011-----

good pizza & good service. the staff at the counter were real friendly, talkative and kept us updated on our order.

enjoyed the pizza, liked the crust and sauce.

crappy burnt pizza. i just received my pizza. ummm...it is burnt (black cheese bubbles everywhere, black crust). the crust bottom itself is as hard as plywood. i used to order from them regularly...but after tonight...never again. i used to complain about their lack of geometric cutting (that is small potatoes with those idiots). some pieces were 3 times the size of others. tonight, however, i paid $20 for a burn piece of crap. never again...off to little nippers...where they actually are at least consistent.

okay. the pizza was decent. pepperoni was good, but the crust tasted close to store bought dough. no flavor, too chewy and not an enjoyable ending to the piece of pizza. overall though it wasn't bad.

great little hole-in-the-wall. my wife and i have to be in mt. lebanon for 10 weeks so we decided to make a date night out of it. i was looking for an inexpensive little restaurant for a quick bite and found this place. great slices of white pizza, made simply with a lot of taste. altogether we've tried 4 different hoagies - eggplant, chicken parm, steak and meatball. all were delicious with lots of melted cheese, but the best imho was the steak. the meat and fillings were ordinary but what set them apart was the ridiculously light and toasty bun. the best i've ever had and i've had plenty. yum, yum, yum. another plus was the finely shredded lettuce with a hint of vinaigrette and pepper. my only disappointment was i only ordered a half. i'll know better next time. great find.

good, friendly service and much better than average pizza by the slice. it's our favorite place to go for pizza take out.

super solid. recently tried a'pizza badamo for the second time and was impressed with both the red and white pizzas - love that you can order by the slice. the white had a ton of flavor and was not over powered only by cheese and garlic (although i do love both and both were present). both styles of pizza had a great crust, nice blend between floppy and crispy. what i like better about this pizza than mineos (which i still will crush) is there is a little less cheese, allowing you to taste everything else that is involved. we also tried the hot sausage and chicken parm subs and while the bread was awesome, the cheese, meats and general flavors were only adequate, they weren't great. the chicken on the chicken parm was rather tough/chewy. we will definitely be ordering more pizza from here!

rise up. "as the self-imposed president of the pittsburgh pizza committee, i have a very, very important announcement. for many years now, the elite big four have enjoyed their ranks atop all pittsburgh pizza shops. campitis, mineos, betos and fioris all have been untouchable for decades."

sorry nick, but it might be time for a coup. putting campitis, mineos and betos up with a'pizza badamo indicates you're not fit for the office.

fwiw, mrs. "idoit" agrees.

but i do enjoy the pithy pizza reviews. you may not have a palate, but you've got a wit and some talent. not as dry as jd2918, but funny nonetheless.

the big five. as the self-imposed president of the pittsburgh pizza committee, i have a very, very important announcement. for many years now, the elite big four have enjoyed their ranks atop all pittsburgh pizza shops. campitis, mineos, betos and fioris all have been untouchable for decades. i have had badamos probably 15 or so times now, and as of friday, march 2nd 2012, i have officially expanded pittsburgh's big four, to the big five to include a'pizza badamo. their pizza is wonderful, and in fact in the same class as those other four fantastic establishments. so if you understand what the big four have represented for all these years, and have yet to try this place, please do yourself a favor. parking is a bit of a pain, but it's well worth it. 11/6/12 amendment: the a'pizza badamo girl is absolutely stunning. who cares about the stupid presidential thing going on, as of today, i have elected her hottest p.s.g. (pizza shop girl) in pittsburgh. she's always there on monday nights if you don't believe me and would like to see for yourself.


-----26 jan, 2012-----

comfortable shoes. this is a newer pizza shop in the south hills, and i think they'll be here for a while. very good place to stop in for quick, delicious individual slices. when the owner got to chapter 8 (choosing a location with adequate parking) in "how to open up a pizza shop for dummies), he threw the book down and said, "ehhhhh screw it, let's get this place up and running boys!"

i grew up going to caruso's, which had great pizza and an even better owner. anthony has carried the torch well. the pizza is excellent but my favorite part is talking with anthony.

best pizza ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!. the white pizza is to die for!!! it is the best i have ever tasted. everything else is amazing, too. done right, with the freshest ingredients. you couldn't do any better! staff and owner are wonderful. i'll never go anywhere else!

badamo's. i've driven passed a'pizza badamo many times and from all outside appearances, it looked interesting. a'pizza badamo is located at 656 washington rd mt. lebanon, pa.

the owner, anthony badamo claims an authentic italian fare, "our old world family recipes can be traced all the way back to a small town in calabria, italy known as "badamo". i thought it promising based on website description and from the outward facade of the restaurant. it's in a good location and the restaurant facade looks inviting.

was in mt. lebanon, pa around dinner time last week so i decided to try it. once there, i looked thru the menu and quickly determined it was basically bar food…. but was going to keep an open mind because i have been pleasantly surprised in the past. so i was determined to "hold" my judgement for the moment.

once i got my food, all initial judgements were confirmed. as the name aptly implies, a'pizza badamo is bad.

it is bar food so don't make the mistake i made by trying something "healthy" on the menu. not wanting pizza, pasta, sandwich or burger, i tried the grilled swordfish salad. they offer it as a cajun swordfish salad as well. the description: chargrilled swordfish or cajun swordfish served atop our garden fresh salad for 10.95.

what was i thinking??!? ok, here is what i was thinking… "hmm, even fresh frozen swordfish is good… i buy it from trader joe's all the time. if they offer this on the menu, surely the fish will be fresh frozen… the owner is italian, for god's sake!" in addition i thought, "garden fresh salad? ok, maybe a mixture of lettuce greens: iceberg, romaine, some baby greens? even if not a mix, then probably mostly romaine" ok, i thought, i'll try it.

obviously i was wrong.

when the waiter brought my grilled swordfish salad, the first 'whiff' immediately made me realize it was a huge mistake. i could smell the age of the fish… definitely not fresh (which i didn't expect) but, most likely, not even fresh frozen. and it was just iceberg lettuce cut w/a knife in chunks. big chunks.

i ate a small amount of the iceberg lettuce and a nibble of the fish (was scared of getting sick if i ate it).

because of this experience, i most likely will not ever go back to a'pizza badamo - not even to try their pizza.

i would recommend the owner, anthony badamo, revisit the italian family recipes.

'nuf said.

happy eating,

me

best in pittsburgh. this is by far the best pizza i've had in pittsburgh, no question. i'll get the sacrilege out of the way now: it's worlds better than both local favorites, fiori's and campiti's.

badamo's is pizza, simplified. red or white pie, made with fresh, wholesome, and delicious ingredients. tasty crust, basil, mozzarella, oregano, parmesan, garlic, fresh tomato... what else is there in life?

the location itself is a cool little space in downtown mt lebanon. no frills, but hip. when i went there to pick up, the staff was friendly. i've also chatted with anthony, the owner, on multiple occasions in the shop. very glad he decided to take the plunge last year and open up this shop!

this is fresh and fundamentally delicious pizza. leaps and bounds beyond anything i've tried in the burgh. keep it up!