In anticipation of the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, the Reminder Publishing news staff discussed quintessential foods that are consumed during the big game. Nachos. Wings. Various dips. Another food that can be found at most watch parties: pizza.

We can work with that.

Regular readers of ours know that the news staff loves a good food tasting that highlights local businesses. As with most of our tastings, we opened up to suggestions for which businesses we should seek out from not only Reminder staffers, but also the public. What we posed to readers on our Facebook page:

“What’s your favorite Western Mass. Pizza shop? The pizza shops that earn the highest amount of votes from our staff and the public will be selected for our story.”

Bearing this in mind, another stipulation to our review includes logistics. Most people have a favorite pizza shop (or two, or three…) Pizza shops are arguably the most popular form of restaurant in our local towns. It would be impossible for our small staff to taste test pizza from the 29 pizza shops that were brought to our attention. It also would be incredibly expensive, and we would likely all be sick by the end of our experiment.

Considering we can’t eat 29 pizzas ourselves, we decided to select the most voted for pizza shop for each one of our free weekly editions. This means that for the Chicopee Herald edition – which is comprised of Holyoke, Springfield, and of course, Chicopee – only one pizza shop, the one that has the most votes, would be selected between those communities. The same for the East Longmeadow Reminder, meaning we would select the most highly voted for pizza shop of East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Hampden, Enfield and Somers. The same rule applies for our Original Pennysaver’s communities and the Agawam Reminder.

One final stipulation– our reviews are, as always, up to interpretation. Everyone has different taste – especially in pizza. I prefer a thicker, doughy crust. Other staffers prefer a thin crust pizza. Some prefer a classic cheese pizza, while others want a pizza loaded up with toppings. The purpose of our food tastings is to highlight the wonderful local businesses in our communities and their foods, and to perhaps make our readers aware of new eateries they may not have tried previously. Based on differences of taste, one person’s favorite pizza shop could be anothers least favorite, and so on.

Now that the rules are all out of the way – let’s eat.

Parthenon – Agawam

To create a bit of parity between our pizza reviews, we decided that at each pizza place we went to we would purchase the classic cheese pizza, as well as a combination pizza. All of the pizzas that we bought were smalls, however we quickly realized a small to some resembled more of a medium to others.

Parthenon’s small pizzas were most accurately a small pizza – they were certainly personal sized. The pizzas appeared to be uniform, and standard – perhaps they were cooked in a round pan, because they were picture-perfect.

Parthenon’s crust was buttery, and the sauce had a touch of sweetness. Their crust was on the thinner size, and wasn’t as doughy as others. Notably, Parthenon’s pizzas were pie-cut, not square-cut. Staff Writer Danielle Eaton shared that the crust “wasn’t super crispy,” which she felt was a positive, as she does not like it when pizza crusts are too hard. There was a decent amount of cheese that was evenly layered on the cheese pizza.

This pizza place’s combination pizza, which they call the “house special,” consists of onions, pepperoni, green peppers, mushroom, hamburger, and of course cheese. Reminder Publishing Longmeadow News and Enfield Press Editor Chris Maza noted that Parthenon’s “crisp veggies” made their pizza a favorite for him.

Eaton agreed, noting that she felt the mushrooms were “fresh,” as opposed to a perhaps jarred or pre-packaged variety. Staff Writer Sarah Heinonen noted that she felt there was a “nice mix of topping flavor.” Parthenon’s combination was regaled as the favorite combination pizza of the four combination pizzas that were tested by the staff.

Parthenon Pizzeria is located at 835 Suffield St. in Agawam. To place an order, call 786–7941.

Close runners–up for the Agawam Reminder include: Sorrentos of West Springfield, Liquori’s of West Springfield, BNapoli of West Springfield and Peppo’s Pizza of Agawam.

Capri Pizza – Holyoke

The second I bit into Capri’s cheese pizza I said, “This tastes like butter.” Everyone agreed; the crust of Capri’s pizza is buttery, and even has a butter aroma to it. The crust underneath the toppings is thin, but slightly thicker than others on the edges. Both of Capri’s pizza’s were square cut. The layer of cheese on the cheese pizza was thick, and evenly spread.

Maza shared that he felt Capri’s sauce was “just the right amount of sweet” and featured “the perfect ratios of crust, sauce and cheese.”

Long before our taste–test and we found out that Capri won the Chicopee Herald’s pizza tasting, Eaton shared that Capri’s pizza is her favorite shop in the area. She explained that she feels Capri has the “best crust, it is nice and buttery and crispy,” and further noted that she is biased because she is “married to a New York pizza snob.”

Capri’s combination pizza featured hamburger, plenty of pepperoni and green peppers. Maza noted that he felt the toppings were a bit limited in variety, as it appeared to only feature those three toppings. Heinonen explained that the toppings were evenly distributed, and that the hamburger was “tasty.”

Capri Pizza is located at 18 Cabot St. in Holyoke. To place an order, call 532-3460.

Close runners-up for the Chicopee Herald edition included the following Springfield pizza shops: Red Rose, Two Guys Pizza, Family Pizza, Tony’s, Nino’s Pizza, Pizza Choice, Frankie and Johnnies, Husky Pizza, Pizza Works, Siano’s and Golden Pizza.

The Pizza Shoppe – East Longmeadow

I have to say, of all of the crusts that we tried out, The Pizza Shoppe’s was my favorite as it is quite unique. Their crust is incredibly sweet, which may come off a bit strange on first bite to people who are used to a savory pizza crust. Their crust is definitely thin, and their small pizza is a true-small size. The crust is round, and may be cooked in a uniform pan, as we noticed its perfectly circular shape.

The Pizza Shoppe’s sweet sauce and crust gave their pizza an interesting twist to a classic cheese pizza. The cheese was layered evenly, and generously. Heinonen stated that it was “an easy slice to eat,” to which I agreed.

The presentation of The Pizza Shoppe’s combination pizza was beautifully done, as all of the toppings were evenly, and dare we say – artfully – distributed. The hamburger was in chunks, rather than ground meat. Other toppings on The Pizza Shoppe’s combination pizza included mushroom, pepperoni, green peppers and onion. The peppers and onions were sliced notably thin.

The Pizza Shoppe is located at 134 Shaker Rd. in East Longmeadow. If you’d like to call The Pizza Shoppe, they can be reached at 525-2470.

Close runners-up for this edition that were highly voted for included Hampden’s Gio’s Pizza,  Peppa’s in East Longmeadow and Fazio’s in East Longmeadow.

Family Pizza – Westfield

Family Pizza featured the largest small pizza of the group, resembling more of a medium. Instantly when we opened the box we noticed the crust was thick and doughy, and appeared to be hand-formed. While the combination pizza was square cut, Family Pizza’s cheese pizza was pie-cut.

The cheese pizza was generously covered in cheese, and was clearly a quality brand. This pizza was a solid choice, and the staff agreed that this is the type of pizza that we have “come to expect” from around this area, meaning, a doughy, thick crust with quality cheese and sauce.

“Being a Baby Boomer, I found the old school pizza offered by Family Pizza in Westfield to be a throw-back to my youth. Both the cheese and combination pies looked exactly like they should: hand-thrown crusts with decided edges, a generous level of cheese and a solid combination of toppings,” Managing Editor G. Michael Dobbs commented.

The combination pizza by Family Pizza had many green and red peppers, mushrooms and hamburger. We noticed there was plenty of pepperoni on this pizza, and tons of hamburger.

“You definitely get a lot for your money because the toppings are really loaded, and if you like a lot of meat on your pizza, this is a good option without having to get a specialty pizza and having to pay extra,” Eaton explained.

Family Pizza is located at 281 Elm St. in Westfield. The business can be reached at 568-1580.

Close runners-up for the Original Pennysaver edition included Gigi’s, Pizza Towne, Village Pizzeria, Valley Pizza and the Russell Inn.