Music City Mike was in Columbus to see his fave live musical act, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, at the Schottenstein Center on the Ohio State campus. Pre-show I camped out at a nearby Starbucks on Lane Avenue to clear out my e-mail box and write about pizza. Lo and behold across the street was a Tommy’s Pizza. Unfamiliar to me, it looked more like a restaurant than a place at which I could test a slice. It was also well past lunch time, and the parking lot was slowly emptying, so I passed.

Heading to the Center early, I dropped off my car and took a walk towards town. Surprisingly, I encountered another Tommy’s on this side of Lane Street. (They also have a third Columbus location.) This one looked slice-friendly so I stopped in to give it a try.

A center counter area was flanked by table seating on both sides. I sat on the open left one amongst a room full of folks wearing an assortment of Springsteen shirts. My waitperson soon took my order for a single plain cheese slice ($2.50) that took only about 3 to 4 minutes to present itself.

Immediately on its arrival I declared to myself “This is the ugliest slice of pizza I have ever seen!” While I wasn’t sure if I would be getting New York style or Chicago thin, this turned out to really not be either one.

While it did in a way have that Chicago-thin feel (greasy with a cracker crust) it was strange in that although the slice was the usual New York-style usual triangle, the cheese was centered in a square on top. The crust edge also went around most of the whole slice with a scattering of burnt spots. It was also sabotaged by some way-too-strong parmesan cheese with some heavy garlic thrown in for additional damage. Taste-wise this slice failed.

The amount of cheese this had was way too much. When I got to the end, it all started to fall apart, and I found myself folding and eating it like a sandwich. This was not working out. All I can say is that at least the slice was edible. Although afterwards, this greasy bugger made my stomach long for something soothing.

As far as being strange in style and ingredients, this one sure took the cake: a variation on the Chicago thin style that I wouldn’t go back for. Columbus continues to be a disappointing pizza town.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     **1/2 Perhaps Not a Total Waste

Tommy’s Pizza
174 W. Lane Avenue
Columbus, OH  43201
614-294-4669
http://tommyspizza.com