Pizza blitz: 3 new pizzerias, 1 upcoming to know about in Palm Beach County
We’re abuzz with pizza news in Palm Beach County. New pizza joints. Pizzerias on the way. Pizza with personality. Pizza with Instagram influence. Pizza that speaks New York, Detroit, Chicago, New Haven, what have you.
As I write this column (on March 14), my inbox tells me it’s National Pi Day, a day that celebrates a mathematical constant yet somehow has been commandeered by pizza marketing minds. My inbox also informs me that a cookbook by the pizza oven brand Gozney, a book described as “the ultimate guide for food and pizza lovers everywhere”, will be published in May by HarperCollins.
And, of course, there’s The Post’s pizza-champ poll, which runs through the end of March. The contender field has been narrowed from 16 to eight to now four. Voting resumes Monday morning, closing on Thursday, March 21, at 6 p.m. (Check the “restaurants” tab on The Post’s website for the updated poll Monday.)
Yes, it’s a pizza blitz. But the pizza-shop wave of the past couple of years is not surprising at a time when we seek comfort and value in how, what and where we dine. Plus, a well-topped, nice-crust pie is America’s most shareable meal.
Here are three new pizza spots to put on your radar!
Bucks Coal Fired Pizza
This new North Palm Beach takeout-pizza shop offers something we see rarely atop pizza: ground venison. That’s a nod to owners and pizza-makers Frankie Cecere and Desiree Jacobs’ love of the outdoors.
At Bucks Coal Fired Pizza, the Florida native combines the ground venison with chopped bacon and a drizzle of blood-orange-balsamic glaze to create the shop’s signature Bucks Pizza pie ($28.99). In one of his favorite pies, The Rut, he adds pickled jalape?o and locally made Dad’s Hot Sauce to the venison crumble ($27.99).
But the biggest sellers at the weeks-old Bucks are the Buffalo chicken pizza that’s drizzled with house ranch ($24.99), the Ultimate Pepperoni pizza ($25.99) and the twice-baked, cast-iron chicken wings ($16.99 for 10), he says.
Cecere may be new to the craft of shaping and baking pizza in a coal-fired oven, but he knows his pizza. It has nourished him most nights, connected him with his kids at mealtime, even sparked his fancy to the point that he opened Bucks on Feb. 1.
With some long-distance tutorials from a chef/cousin in Calabria, Cecere dotes on the thin-crust, charred-edge pies he makes from dough that begins with imported Italian flour. His toppings are also high quality — tomatoes from Italy and “whole, pure cheese” from California.
“I’m a pizza nut. For years, I've ordered pizza three or four nights a week. My kids and me, we love pizza,” Cecere told me this week.
I heard about Bucks, thanks to one of my readers, who emailed me to say the shop served “the best pizza I’ve ever eaten (and I come originally from New Yawk!)”. Thanks for the heads up, Arlene!
Bucks: 900 Northlake Blvd., North Palm Beach, 561-469-8816, BucksCoalFired.com; open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The Underground Pizza
There’s a rocker, 80s vibe to this just-debuted pizzeria in Palm Beach Gardens, where the specialty pies are deep-dish and generously topped and the decor offers “underground” references (as in Velvet and London).
The Underground Pizza, which opened its doors Wednesday (March 13) at the Promenade Plaza, also offers thin-crust pizza (including the Lay’d Back, topped with Canadian bacon, pineapple, jalape?os, red onion and feta, $21.99 for small, $29.99 large), shareable salads (like the baby gem lettuce Caesar with chives, shaved Parmesan and house-made dressing, $14), beer and wine.
I ordered the East Side deep-dish pie ($21.99, $29.99) for takeout on opening night, and it did not disappoint. Atop a crisp, hefty cornmeal crust were mozzarella, house-made beef meatballs, onions, nicely roasted garlic cloves, mushrooms, basil and chunky tomato sauce.
The tender, fluffy meatball slices were so tasty that, note to self, I plan to try them on their own as a starter next time ($13, served with shaved Parmesan, basil and toasted sourdough bread).
Owner Cole Herring has brought a terrific concept to Palm Beach Gardens, offering enough variety, fresh ingredients and good service to bring locals back.
The Underground Pizza: 9920 Alt. A1A, Suite 815 (by Planet Fitness), Palm Beach Gardens, 561-429-4883, TheUndergroundPizza.com; open every day except Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
How Ya Dough’n
The anticipated second location of Boca Raton’s How Ya Dough’n pizza shop made its debut in western Boynton Beach on Feb. 26.
As you may recall, How Ya Dough’n in Boca was the only Palm Beach County restaurant to make Yelp’s 2024 list for “Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.” The pizza concept, started by a former logistics company owner named Garett Goodman as a backyard pizza pop-up during the 2020 shutdown days of the Covid-19 pandemic, is on a roll.
The 65-seat indoor/outdoor space offers Goodman’s sourdough-crust, creatively topped pizzas as well as starters, sandwiches, salads and other bites.
How Ya Dough’n Boynton: 8240 S. State Rd. 7, Boynton Beach, 561-336-3341; open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
Mister O1, coming soon to West Boca
The Miami-born pizzeria with a name inspired by U.S. visa category granted to its founder for his “extraordinary” pizza-making accomplishments is opening a second location in Boca Raton.
Now a popular national chain, Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza will open the new location in West Boca. The debut is expected to happen sometime in April, the pizzeria’s operating partner, Alfredo Keri, told me this week.
There’s more.
“The good news continues. There’s also another (Mister O1) opening this year in central Boynton Beach,” he said.
Stay tuned!
Mister O1: For locations and information, visit Mistero1.com
Hungry for more restaurant news?
Here's how to stay up-to-date with your local dining scene: follow our food & dining writer, Liz Balmaseda on Twitter @LizBalmaseda, Instagram at @silkpalm or sign up for our free weekly foodie newsletter, At the Table.
Read recent columns by Liz Balmaseda
? Best meatballs in PB County? Here are our favorites!
? 5 new restaurants to get excited about in Palm Beach County
? Mexican restaurant gets new look, Food Network contestant chef
? Best new restaurants for a big weekend brunch
? Favorite local roaster builds dream roastery, with drive-through
Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pizza near me in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Jupiter
