Perhaps because food coverage was long confined to the “women’s pages,” or maybe because meals are so often enjoyable, reporters who like to be thought of as grizzled are apt to reflexively distance themselves from food journalism.
“Sorry,” they say when they hear what I do. “I’m not a foodie.”
Sometimes they’ll allow a fondness for beer or bourbon, but they’ll swear they don’t care about what they eat. Food means nothing to them.
The three-word code to get past this façade is “Election Night pizza.”
Pizza in the newsroom on Election Night is one of the most cherished journalistic traditions. There’s nothing like a grease-soaked pizza box on a humming computer tower to demonstrate you’re a person of the people and toiling away for them. When the topic came up in my cohort of an online training offered by Newmark J-School, it sparked so much enthusiastic conversation that our instructor opened the next session by apologizing to students outside the U.S. who might have felt left out.
That was my cue. Since part of The Food Section’s mission is to make meals more meaningful, and another is to reinvigorate local journalism, it felt incumbent upon this publication to hook up hard-working reporters with quality pies.
The Campaign for Better Election Night Pizza was underway.
On November 5 (aka Election Day), The Food Section will deliver the best pizza in the Triangle of North Carolina to every interested newsroom within one hour’s driving distance of Raleigh.
But which pizza is the best? That’s where you come in.
Pizza is surging across the South these days, with Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill home to a few of the region’s finest examples. To determine which of them is better than the rest, we’re staging a blind tasting at The Longleaf Hotel in downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, October 16 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m.
A $20 ticket gets you three slices, two drinks, and one vote, as well as the pride that comes from supporting factual reporting during election season. And should you want more pizza or more pride, additional slice tickets will be available for purchase on site.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an American election if big donors didn’t have an outsized say in the outcome. Readers who purchase tickets at the $150 level are entitled to unlimited pizza and drinks, as well as 10 votes. Alternatively, if you can’t join us, or want to boost a certain pizzeria’s chances of taking home the title, it costs just $5 to cast an absentee vote.
Personally, I love the idea of reporters eating as well as the powerful people they cover. But good luck getting a newsroom vet to admit the same. When I emailed North Carolina editors to explain this arrangement, one of them wrote back to say, “To be honest, there’s something *special* about the mediocrity of Election Night pizza. I don’t know that I want it to be better.”
May that skepticism always thrive. But in the meantime, here’s what we’re serving on October 16 (along with a few pizzas from places that aren’t eligible for competition because they’re closed on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but still merit mention on an alphabetical list of outstanding Triangle pies.)
Benchwarmers Bagels and Coffee
500 E. Davie St., Raleigh, benchwarmersbagels.com
The square-cut pie at Benchwarmers, which set the Triangle standard for bagels when it opened in 2019, is closer in spirit to cheese bread than what’s found in most corrugated pizza boxes. But that’s a tribute to the food hall stall’s command of yeast and respect for flour, which coalesce in open-crumb tang.
Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard
1930 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, bowstringbrewyard.com
In the photo above, Bowstring’s pizza looks like it’s come to party, which isn’t too far off the mark for this staunchly New York-style pie. With a sturdy crust and robust sauce, Bowstring pizza is a fine companion to most beers and just about any leisure activity. What else can you ask from a slice?
Di Fara Pizza Tavern
111 E. Chatham St., Cary, difarapizzatavern.com
Di Fara has every other Triangle pizzeria beat when it comes to Kings County cred, having been opened in 2021 by a nephew of Dom DeMarco, the force behind Brooklyn’s iconic Di Fara Pizza. But even if you’re not aware of the family tree, you can taste the restaurant’s roots in a crust that has more chew than heft.
Pizzeria Faulisi
215 E. Chatham St., Cary, pizzeriafaulisi.com
On both its website and in person, Faulisi leads with what it doesn’t offer: No table service at lunch. No reservations. No gluten-free crust. All of which is a way of saying Faulisi prides itself on a minimalist approach, exemplified by good flour and tomato-forward sauce, plus plenty of char. No complaints!
Frank’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant
2030 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, instagram.com/frankspizzaraleigh
Surely the most nostalgia-saturated pie on this list, the pizza at Frank’s has been made the same way for half a century. For those who recall the Carter administration, the inflated crust, sweetish sauce, and cheese without Euro pretentions add up to a comfort dish they may not have realized they missed.
Fullsteam Boxyard RTP
900 Park Offices Dr., Durham, fullsteam.ag/visit/boxyard
It should surprise precisely nobody that brewers make great pizza, since they’ve typically spent decades obsessing over ferment and grain. The results are on delicious display at Fullsteam’s Boxyard location, where the square pies owe their complexity to locally milled flour and a wild ale sourdough starter.
Italian Pizzera III
508 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, italianpizzeria3.com
I’ll admit that I don’t get IP3. At least, I don’t get why its moderately greasy, highly gloopy pizza would win over fans. But as someone who grew up in a college town, I very much get the appeal of a slice that will always taste to its partisans like tailgate parties and cram sessions in the dorm. You go, Heels.
Oakwood Pizza Box
610 N. Person St., Raleigh, oakwoodpizzabox.com
A Raleigh sensation with buzz that crosses state lines, Oakwood makes a terrific pie with two defining characteristics: A crust that doesn’t shy away from crispness, and tomato sauce that has more in common with tomatoes crushed right off the vine than what most pizzerias consider a canvas for cheese.
Pie Pushers
117A W. Main St., Durham, piepushers.com
Pie Pushers’ pizza doesn’t look like anything special, and that’s the most special thing about it. The platonic ideal of an American pie, this is the combination of bread, sauce, and cheese you have in mind when you order a slice at a bowling alley, roller rink, or carnival. But Pie Pushers delivers, and the staff is nicer.
Pizzeria Mercato
408 W. Weaver St., Carrboro, pizzeriamercato.com
The Southern pizza renaissance didn’t really get going until this decade, which makes the eight-year-old Mercato one of the genre’s granddaddies. Experience is evident in its control of the restaurant’s brick-lined oven, which produces crusts with the right amount of flop and beautifully blistered corniciones.
Pizzeria Toro
105 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham, pizzeriatoro.com
Another pizzeria with Neapolitan leanings, Toro is maybe the cheffiest of the bunch, with each pie reflecting dexterity with spices and herbs, and confidence that doesn’t wilt in radiant heat from the pizza oven. Much as somms speak of “pizza wine,” the sophistication on display here makes this a wine pizza.
Trophy Brewing & Pizza
827 W. Morgan St., Raleigh, trophybrewing.com
While the crust of Trophy’s pizza is almost comically bloated, the pies are a superb example of form following function, even in the realm of sauce-and-mozz. These are pizzas to cushion prolonged beer-drinking sessions—and I’d wager that the dogs welcomed at Trophy love their construction too.
Just registered – looks like fun. Of these, I have had DiFara, Faulisi, and Toro. Here in Cary, we love Faulisi.
Have heard a lot about Boxwood but not been yet. See you in October! – @CharlieDelray
Awesome! See you there.