In a college town, pizza (or pepperoni) is always king. The Bloomington area has a large number of pizzerias, as evidenced by the number of pizzerias listed in the Herald-Times pizza survey – 46.
After a total of 14,624 votes cast, Cafe Pizzaria emerged as the winner of the Crowd Signal poll, which was conducted from August 1 to 8, with 6,104 votes or 41.75%.
Co-owner David Webb said Cafe Pizzaria opened in 1953 and, as far as he knows, is the oldest and first pizzeria in Bloomington.
“The people of the city and IU have supported us throughout the years and we really appreciate it,” he said.
Webb’s son, Crosby, has worked at the pizzeria since he was eight years old. Now one of the owners/managers, he is the third generation of the Webb family to work there. His grandfather, Larry, started working at the Cafe Pizzaria in 1962 and bought the business in 1986.
The sausage at Cafe Pizzaria is different from other restaurants, Crosby Webb said. “It’s a different style,” he explained, adding that the family has used the same recipe for years. Any pizza with sausage as a topping or a Stromboli with sausage is a customer favorite.
What kind of pizza does Crosby prefer?
“I like mushrooms. I put mushrooms on everything, so that’s my standard dish,” he said.
Other pizzerias listed in the poll include Bucceto’s with 4,716 votes or 32.25%, followed by Mother Bear’s with 2,210 votes or 15.11%. Pizza X received 535 votes or 3.66%, followed by Aver’s Pizza with 445 votes or 3.04%, and Lennie’s with 101 votes or 0.69%.
The “other” pizzerias that make Bloomington’s favorites
In the “Other” category, people could vote for any pizzeria that wasn’t included in our list, and 513 people added the pizzeria they thought was the best. Here are all the pizzerias that were added, sorted by the number of votes they received.
Baldy’s Pizzera was named the best pizza place on the South Side by 106 people. The next most votes went to DaVinci’s Pizza and Pasta with 87 votes, although some customers criticized the Herald-Times for not including it on the list. Goodfellas Pizzeria received 38 votes, closely followed by Azzip with 37.
Windjammer Grill at Fourwinds Resort & Marina received 34 votes. Rockit’s Famous Pizza received 24 votes. Ellettsville’s Pizza Pantry received 19 votes, followed by Osteria Rago with 18. Eric Gordon’s Greek’s Pizzeria received 12 votes, followed by DeAngelo’s with 10.
Trailhead Pizzeria received 7 votes, as did Nick’s English Hut, Luca’s Pizza Di Roma (in the College Mall food court) and Papa John’s. Sahm’s in Eagle Pointe received 5 votes. Big Woods received 4 votes, as did Hank’s Pizza Mac, Pizza Hut and Domino’s. FARMbloomington and Toppers Pizza each received 3 votes. Big Woods Bloomington, Chicago Pizza and BJ’s Restaurant each received 2 votes, as did Bubba’s Pizza in Mitchell, Sam’s Club and Swing-In Pizza, which is no longer in operation.
Others that each had one vote were Brady’s, Quarry, Porthole Inn, Monroe County Pizza Department (no longer in operation), Speedway Gas Station, Papa Murphy’s (no Bloomington location), Max’s, and “my house” and “homemade.” We don’t have location information for the last two, so there’s no way to sample these great pizzas.
Contact Carol Kugler at [email protected]
