October 10th, 2020
Baltimore, MD
After several months of staying local in NJ for our pizza adventures, we decided to venture out on a bigger pizza road trip with the two boys. We had been planning a trip down to Washington D.C. and Maryland to two pizza places from previous years’ lists back in April but obviously had to cancel those plans. Pizza di Joey is a new addition to the list in 2020, so we made it our first stop.
Pizza di Joey serves New York style, coal-fired pizza. They sell mostly by the slice, although you can order full pies if you’re ready to wait for them. It started out as a food truck in 2013 driving around the Baltimore City area, but then in 2019 opened its current location in the Cross Street Market .
We ordered three slices here. The slices are large (12″) and we were planning on making two more pizza stops this day. We ordered two slices of cheese, which they kindly cut for James, and one slice of the Caprese. The Caprese slice was unlike any slice we have ever seen – slices of fresh mozz, not melted, on top of hearty slices of tomato, all topped with basil and a splash of oil. The Daily Meal commented specifically on the buffalo chicken slice, but we aren’t huge fans of buffalo chicken and so went more traditional.
They also have some specialty slices that weren’t available when we showed up first thing after opening. We would have loved to try their Grandma slice or their “Drunk Grandma” vodka slice. Their panini menu also looked good.
The pizzeria is located at the Cross Street Market so there were plenty of tables to sit outdoors. We liked the whole atmosphere of the Market and it would be fun to come here again once the pandemic is over.
As for the pizza, they were pretty good NY slices. Our main complaint was that the crust was a little doughy. I’m not sure if this was because they were the first pizzas made of the day, but most of the photos we’ve seen online also look like the crust is colored pretty lightly. When we think of a good NY slice’s crust, we generally think of something a bit more crisp. The more doughy crusts tend to belong to those $1 slice shops.
Even if the crust wasn’t our ideal, the slices hit the spot after our 3 hour drive down. We’d definitely recommend a stop to enjoy the market and a slice if you’re in the area. The market is in a nice area of town to walk around, and it’s only a short walk from here to the waterfront. James got to see the boats and we got to stretch our legs before heading down to Washington D.C. for our second pizza stop of the day.
To visit:
Pizza di Joey 1065 S Charles St Baltimore, MD 21230
