Little Italy

This hole in the wall on Riverside Drive is owned by an Italian family, and Ben Cortese served us a pepperoni pizza along with some family history.

His father Peppino started the business with a pizzeria in Athens. Since then they've expanded to multiple pizzerias in North Georgia and Alabama. The Gainesville location opened seven years ago.

Cortese recently visited Italy, but with ties to New York, too, he said "I think good New York pizza's got them beat."

DiFede agreed. In the Little Italy slice she noted the freshness and her favorite part, the bubbles in the crust.

"The crust is crispy, easy to fold," she said. Cortese said dough is made fresh each morning and rolled by hand the old-fashioned way. They don't proof the dough here (a process where the dough rises before it is used), which results in the thin, crispy base.

The sauce is simple with few spices.

"It's juice with peeled tomatoes and then with basil in there," Cortese said. "And then we pass it through the machine here (to crush the tomatoes). We add olive oil, salt and pepper and that's it."

Cheese is Grande whole-milk mozzarella, which Cortese said is top quality.

DiFede noted the consistency of the cheese, which was stringy and plentiful.

The pepperoni slices also covered the pizza and were peppery.

Monkey Barrel

This nightlife spot on the square recently reopened and continues to serve an old recipe for whole-wheat crust.

"It's a Gainesville recipe, it's been around for years. It's just a typical wheat dough recipe," owner Chris Jones said.

DiFede noted the crust is very doughy and thick, a sharp contrast to the thin, New York-style Little Italy slice.

It's dusted with cornmeal to give it a little crispness, Jones said. And honey is available on the tables for dipping the crust.

Sauce, cheese and pepperoni are mild, DiFede said.

Jones said the sauce is made from crushed tomatoes and a few spices. Cheese is a 50-50 mixture of Grande mozzarella and Provolone.

Atlas Pizza

Brothers Vic and Mark Jordan recently moved their pizza business to the downtown Gainesville square.

Through trial and error they've created a somewhat thin crust using a high-protein flour. It is made two days ahead in order to proof, and it's slapped out on cornmeal and flour to keep it from sticking.

"It's doughy, and it's got a little bit of a crisp to it, but not too crisp," DiFede said. There's a dusting of Parmesan on the crust, too.

Cheese is stringy, but not too stringy, she noted. The thin layer of sauce is sweet and there's plenty of pepperoni.

Vic Jordan said the sauce is made with canned crushed tomatoes a few spices and oil. Cheese is whole-milk mozzarella.

For those with more adventurous taste buds, the menu offers specialty pizzas like the Sheppard, which features lamb, the Philly Cheese Steak — a personal favorite for the Jordan brothers — and the Poseidon, which features salmon, spinach and broccoli among other toppings.

Elmo's Italian Kitchen

Another family business is a few steps away at Elmo's.

Employees say the pizza here is made with love because of the family connection.

As for the taste, sauce is mild, but sweet, DiFede said. Crust is thin with a snap to it. Cheese is thick and creamy.

The ingredients, however, must remain a secret.

In short, the handful of pizza places around downtown Gainesville offer a little bit of something for every taste - New York-style thin crust, thick whole-wheat crust and choices in between.