Throughout my seven years of living in Lexington, I have eaten plenty of pizza. Some have been great, some have been awful, and most have been somewhere in between great and awful. Today, I will be giving my thoughts on the different pizza that Lexington offers.

I’ll start off with the disappointments. Frank’s is the biggest disappointment in Rockbridge County. While some other food is servable, the pizza from Frank’s is far from it. The pizza is very bland and lacking flavor. The sauce is filled with sugar and tastes artificial. Finally, the crust is equivalent to cardboard. This is quite disappointing because they offer an $8.85 cheese pizza deal on Wednesdays. I guess you get what you pay for.

Pizza Hut and Domino’s also fit into the disappointing category. The pizza overwhelms you with its salty taste. Even the cheese somehow tastes salty. It is alarming to think about how they make cheese taste salty. More problematic, though, is the fact that the toppings are often burnt. Who wants burnt pepperoni on their pizza? They can often be convenient if you are ordering from your house, but I stay away from Pizza Hut and Domino’s.

Next, I will be analyzing the servable pizza in Lexington. Papa John’s and Heliotrope get the job done if there are really no other options. Papa John’s has the freshest pizza out of the chains like Domino’s and Pizza Hut. Its crust is a bit doughy, but considerably more appetizing than any other I’ve discussed so far. Papa John’s downfall is the amount of grease the pizza produces. As soon as I open the pizza box, grease is already taking over the box. This prevents Papa John’s from a higher review. 

Heliotrope has good quality pizza and ingredients, but you can not get a traditional pizza. Rather, you have to settle for exotic toppings like salami. Also, the price of a pizza does not reflect the taste. If I have to pay upwards of 20 dollars for a pizza, I need to receive a mouth-watering one. Papa John’s and Heliotrope can be eaten periodically, but there are better options than the latter.

The good pizza options in Lexington are Gina’s and Salernos. Gina’s delivers an authentic Italian pizza with good sauce and toppings. Its crust takes away from the overall taste because it has no flavor, but that is a minor issue. Overall, Gina’s is what Frank’s wants to be. 

Salernos offers wood-fired pizza. This smokey flavor really appealed to me. The crust is delicious and you can tell that the pizza is truly wood-fired. They offer options as simple as cheese pizza’s all the way to complex options like the “Cheesesteak Pizza.” Salerno’s downfall is their inconsistency. I have had as many burnt pizzas at Salerno’s as I’ve had good pizzas. Salerno’s had a chance to be the best pizza in Lexington, but they are too inconsistent. Gina’s and Salerno’s are not the best pizza, but they are awfully close.

It is finally time to crown the honor of the best pizza in Lexington. This title belongs to Rockbridge Pizza and Subs, more commonly known as RC Pizza. Not much needs to be said about this pizza. It consistently lives up to my high expectations. The toppings, cheese, and crust all reign supreme over Lexington’s other pizza offerings. 

Finding the best pizza in Lexington has been a process 7 years in the making, but it feels good to crown a winner, a loser, and everything in between.