I am the self-professed Pizza Snob in a never-ending search for the perfect cheese slice.

This was my stated objective when I started this blog some six years ago, and it still holds true. While I do have a #1 favorite slice on my list, my travels across this great land and globe have found quite a few slices that if not perfect, are pretty darn close to it. It still is a thrill to find a slice that I slap a 5-slice rating on, and this one in the Keystone State is my latest.

My last post told how my son, The Philosopher, and my daughter-in-law, now live in the Philly area. Well, to be exact, they live in the sharp town of Wayne, PA which is thankfully somewhat outside of the big city. On my first visit there, I wasted no time in exploring the local terrain for pizza, and my first stop was a place I discovered through the Google called Paola’s.

Not too far from the kids’ place, Paola’s is in a very classy part of town amongst lots of attractive-looking food places and local shops. One annoying thing however was that there was not lots of parking. It took quite a while to find a spot and I was left with a bit of a hike. I guess I should have expected such at dinner time on a Friday night. There is also a train station downtown which caused the local governing powers-that-be to not offer much in the way of free parking. I took my chances parking in the front lot of a hair salon that was closed at this hour.

The set-up inside Paola’s was somewhat usual albeit with an added touch of class. The counter up front had slices in view, and I was able to see pies being made. In the rear of the room, the two walls were lined with booths. Although I would only be doing pizza, I could just tell that the Italian food here would be great. Reading about the place afterwards, I learned that Paola was the owner’s name and that she was born in Italy, first brought her family recipes to Brooklyn for four years, and then moved shop to Wayne for the last 16.

Hungrier than usual, I ordered two plain cheese slices at the big long counter before retreating to a side front table to wait. Even though Paola’s was alive and hopping, my slices didn’t take long at all, and get this—they were served on a china plate!

Like I usually do, my first move is to flip my slice over to look at its bottom. I myself nearly flipped when I saw how dark and beautifully charred mine were. They were also served good and hot, and their spot-on construction lead to a perfect Fold and Rip conclusion to each of my two slices. It didn’t take long for my taste buds to discover that I was eating some fantastic slices of pizza!

Everything that a slice of pizza has to offer in the way of taste was in Paola’s slice. These folks sure know how to make a great slice of pizza, and their perfect execution was complimented by the fine and flavorful ingredients.

I was so enthused by this slice, I brought one home for my son to make sure he makes Paola’s his local go-to pizza joint. One last thing to say is that finishing my slices revealed a cool pizza and oven graphic on the china plate—a touch of class to some great slices of pizza!

PIZZA SNOB RATING ***** Sets the Standard
Paola’s
128 N. Wayne, Ave.
Wayne, PA  19087
610-688-6898
www.paolascucina.com