max's coal oven pizza

justin romberg and i went to max's, near centennial olympic park, to check out their pizza. they boast the only coal-fired pizza oven in atlanta. if you've ever had pizza from a coal-fired oven, you know the temptation. the high heat of these ovens gives the crust not only crispiness but some natural variation. that hint of crispy burntness every once in awhile is a marvelous texture. being a pizza snob, let me be slightly critical. i found this pizza to be good for atlanta but not up to the standards of the best. (lombardi's in new york, the first pizzeria in the united states, serves the best pizza i've ever had. their oven is 100 years old---perhaps that's part of their secret.) the crust was appropriately chewy but seemed slightly assembly line, not artisnal. the toppings were fine but not wow; i wish that i could find some truly excellently spicedsausagein this town. don't get me wrong, this pizza is definitely worth eating. it might even be worth the $5 you will pay to park acr

the pizza here is delicious! we are from out of town and came here for a late lunch after visiting the georgia aquarium which is only a few blocks away. after 1:00 pm on thursday the restaurant was about half full. so we were seated right away and didn't have to wait long for the food. we were all pleased with the service. a 12 inch pizza was plenty to share between 2 people. we had the max's veggie and added italiansausagewhich had a nice kick to it. garden salad for $5 was a good portion. i probably could have just eaten that for a light lunch.

still pretty good. this is our second time coming here. our first was around 2009 and they had not been open long. we got asausageand crimini pie and it was delicious. the tomato sauce is very tangy, maybe too tangy for some, very concentrated tomato flavor. the mushrooms were good and not watery. thesausagewas very good, lots of fennel, and not in huge chunks like last time, much more manageable to eat. we didn't get anything else on the menu but did enjoy our pizza a lot. nice burn on the bottom. liquor selection could be expanded a little.

excellent food & excellent service! were in town w/ our kids for a quick get away. decided on max's for dinner. thesausage& goat cheese pizza & greek salad was awesome. very kid friendly & reasonably priced. our server was very friendly & took great care of us.

best pizza south of the mason dixon line honestly, it's pretty decent. beer selection was ok, and it's a good family atmosphere. the bianco and thesausageand goat cheese pies were excellent. flavor of the crust is really good, but it's not quite as chewy as an authentic brooklyn pie. it's also an old-school type of coal oven, where the coals sit at the same slab as the pizza (as opposed to underneath). it's a double-edged sword: you get the crispiness, but it adds some extra flavor. definitely not objectionable.

up til now, shorty's was my favorite pizza in atlanta hands down. now it's too close to call. my girlfriend enjoyed the greek salad & pizza bianca withsausageso much i will definitely be a regular! not only was it her first real 'aha' moment with food (a huge deal for me seeing that i'm a self-proclaimed foodie) but she said she almost melted into the floor! now that's pizza worth travelling for!!