Who does Pizza Better? Tony's or Joe's?

Editor's Note: OK so it's June and we've decided it's time to mix things up a bit for you Salt and Pepper readers.  This week, Salt n Pep decided to sample the same dish at two restaurants and judge which one is the best. Do you agree with their choice?

vs.

 Name: Joe's Pizza and Subs

Address: 8390 Centreville Rd, Manassas Park

Cuisines: Pizza, pasta, salads, subs

Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, American Express. There's an $8 minimum purchase to use credit cards.

Alcohol: No

Price: $

Hours of Operation: Mon - Thu, 10 a.m. - midnight; Fri, Sat, 10 a.m.- 1 a.m.; Sun, 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.

 Name: Tony's New York Pizza

Address: 9108 Mathis Ave, Manassas

Cuisines: Pizza, pasta, salads, subs

Payment: Cash, credit

Alcohol: Yes

Price: $

Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily

 Salt says:

 Even though they both specialize in New York-style pizza, Joe's and Tony's are as different as night and day.

 When I walked into Joe's, I was surprised by how small it was. The kitchen takes up most of the space, however there are two chairs for patrons to sit inside and a few tables outside. There were three other people in the restaurant ahead of me waiting for their take-out and it was more than a little bit crowded.

 I settled on  a slice of pepperoni pizza. To say the least, I was not impressed. The crust was a little over kneaded and lacked flavor. Actually, I tell a lie—there was a metallic-like essence about it— I'm assuming it came from the pan.

Aside from the crust it was OK. The pepperoni wasn't really anything to brag about. The sauce was well seasoned and the cheese was good. But since it was a slice of pizza and you can't escape the crust, the metallic flavor seemed to take over. 

 The staff was friendly, but I got some flack when I went to pay for my slice with my credit card,  since I spent less than three bucks and the minimum for credit is eight bucks.

 Tony's on the other hand was amazing. Even though I visited the restaurants one after another in the middle of lunch hour, I was shocked by how many people where inside. The place was full and the line to order was incredibly long. Even though Tony's had a much larger menu and tons of pizzas to choose from, I decided to be fair and just have a slice of pepperoni.

 Like I said before, the difference was night and day. The crust was plain, but in its simplicity it was amazingly good. It was perfectly kneaded and perfectly seasoned. No metallic taste here! The sauce was incredible, and the cheese tasted very, very fresh. The superb freshness and high qualify of the  pepperoni, great sauce and the slight sharpness of the cheese made the slice perfect.

 If I had to chose between the two, I would definitely pick Tony's. It was one of the best slices I've had in a long time. I would definitely go back often, it was amazing. Joe's on the other hand ... I don't think  it is even in the same league.

  Pepper says:

 Tony’s in Fair Lakes has been a spot I’ve been hearing about for years that has received rave reviews for its pizza being the best in the area, but I never made it there. Come to find out, there are two Tony’s in Manassas.

 So the first spot I check out, is the Tony’s on Mathis (the other is in Bull Run with and ). The place was much larger than I assumed it would be and very well staffed, so I was pretty hyped about the pizza. I ordered a large pepperoni, and it was great. Perfect New York taste, with light amount of sauce, lots of cheese, and grease dripping off. Ah. Just the way I like it.  The dough was rolled thin and slightly chewy. There was also a good amount of pepperoni pieces on it.

 The next day, I visited Joe’s of Manassas Park, which definitely came in a far second compared to Tony’s. I’ve been going to Joe’s in Arlington and Falls Church for years, and their pizza has always been “pretty good,” but when compared to Tony’s, it tasted horrible. Even the presentation was completely different.

At first I thought they had given me a cheese, instead of pepperoni, because there were only a few pepperoni slices hidden UNDER the cheese. The cheese was also not dispersed evenly over the pizza, leaving patches of just saucy bread.

The sauce, by the way, was definitely not as good as Tony’s, it was thicker and a little too strong; together with the crust, all you could taste is bread and sauce. The dough was also too tough and left me with a weighed-down feeling after only one slice.

 I would definitely return to Tony’s for more pizza, not only is the taste better, but so is the price. Not to say, I won’t ever go back to Joe’s for some meatballs or a sub, but its pizza certainly won’t ever be the same, now that I've had a taste of Tony's.

I never thought the taste of pepperoni pizza would be so drastically different between the two eateries. If I had to recommend one to residents, I would certainly recommend Tony’s.