Column: Pizza in Davis

Oh, pizza. Many college students and I love thee. May I count the ways in which you and your round perfection inspire awe in millions? May I tell of your cheesy, crust-like structure? How about your tasty and sometimes unique toppings? Oh pizza, you were too kind to share yourself with the world. What would we do without you in our lives?

I could sing this pizza love song all day, or maybe for a minute and a half until my roommates tell me to shut my face. After that, I’d get angry and probably eat some chips while watching “Oprah.” The bottom line is that pizza is great. Everyone eats it, from the average college guys, to the family with 2.5 children, to the grandparents who eat it while watching Terminator or Kill Bill: Volume 1 (and if you don’t believe that grandparents do this, then you’ve never met my grandmother).

Fun fact: pizza can be eaten for any meal of the day. It’s a convenient food, and we should be grateful for it. We should be even more grateful that there are so many pizza places in Davis at our disposal. How many, do you ask? Oh, I’d say about 15. But I’m not going to talk about all of them now, especially not big name pizzerias like Dominos, Papa John’s or Little Caesars. We all know how these places operate, so there’s really no need to talk about them in detail. But there are other great places in Davis that should be mentioned.

Village Bakery, located on Second Street across from Amtrak, has been described by some to have the best pizza in Davis. They only have three tables inside, so people usually take their pizza to go or bring it outside to eat. They sell slices that range from $2.25 (cheese) to $2.75 (vegetarian, their most popular) and full pizzas range from $14 to $18. They also sell coffee, pastries and homemade bread. Their coffee ranges below $2, and their breakfast/desserts include muffins, croissants, éclairs, creampuffs, lava cakes and Napoleons (otherwise known as Mille-feuille). My friend was amazed they had Napoleons and got one to go. She finished it by the time she walked out the door. Way to go, friend.

Lamppost Pizza, located on Lake Boulevard, is a great pizzeria if you’re in the West Davis area. It’s a great place to hang out with friends, drink beer and watch some sports on one of their seven TV screens. You can request special sporting events to be played, except for wrestling which is apparently not too popular. They offer many discounts and coupons, including a discount you receive when you sign up with your e-mail address. Some popular pizzas include the Mediterranean and The Whole Nine Yards combo. The weirdest combination they’ve put on a pizza? Pesto, mushroom, sausage and anchovies. Yummy.

Cenario’s Pizza, located in Oak Tree Plaza near Covell Boulevard and J Street, is a great place to call in for a delivery or pizza to go. They have a cheap lunch special for $4.99, which includes a mini pizza, a garden salad or Fred Bread and a 12-ounce soda. Never had Fred Bread ($2.99)? Puh-lease. It’s great, addicting and I swear it should be illegal. Their most popular pizzas include the Superriffic Combo, Garlic Chicken, and the Mediterranean. Prices for a full pizza range from around $14 to $19.

Symposium Restaurant and Pizza, located on East Eighth Street next to the Dollar Tree, is one of Davis’ hidden treasures. Seriously. It’s been around for 33 years and specializes in Greek pizza. One of the owners, Contilo Pandeleon, explained that they started a trend in the Davis area with putting feta cheese on their pizza. Once they started, other pizzerias followed suit. But this place has been around a while for a reason. It has loyal customers; one group in particular from L.A. always gets a pizza to go and freezes it for the drive home. Now that’s loyalty. Symposium has also been on the KCRA-A List and has received a review of 3.5 out of 4 stars from The Sacramento Bee. Their Greek pizzas range in price from $8.99 (small) to $20.25 (large). Stop by for dinner and check out why they’re so good.

Lastly, Woodstock’s and Steve’s are both popular college hangouts, so I won’t say much about them except for this: Woodstock’s is open until 1 a.m. on weekends and offers awesome Apple Cinnabread, while Steve’s has great pesto pizza and offers gluten-free if you need it.

Now time for the (semi) food tip of the week! Want to help out a former UCD Ph.D. student? Then check out the food info website, davis.pricearc.com and see how it operates.

JENNIFER RICHWOOD is casually eating her pizza while watching “Conan.” E-mail her about your casual pizza eating experiences at jcrichwood@ucdavis.edu.