Gaetano's Pizza

210 S Springfield Rd.
Clifton Heights, PA 19018
(610) 626-4826

If you are looking for Delaware County's answer to Santucci's, that is how I would describe Gaetano's. Although they now have multiple stores, the original is in Clifton Heights, and it's everything you would want it to be.

Pizza on the right, pasta and sauce on the left. Nothing fancy, just delicious homemade food.

The cheese-on-bottom, sauce-on-top thicker crust pie is a steal at about $12, and is enough to feed a couple of hungry (or greedy) eaters.

The best way I know how to do this comparison is against Santucci's, so I will do it that way. Crust – the W goes to Santucci's, as they have that foccaccia style crust that is bursting with flavor. Here, the crust was good, but it just couldn't compete. I want to also say that just because circle doesn't get the square here, it's still a fine shape.

It could, however, more than compete on sauce. The sauce at Gaetano's is sweet, garlicy, and had plenty of herbs and spices. The sauce was deep, rich, and complex, kind of like me. Except for the rich, deep, and complex parts.

The cheese was delicious, and loaded on there. I love the cheese being baked into the crust. It lets the tomato sauce carmelize just a bit further, and still allows the Maillard reaction to hit any exposed dairy.

I also tried the pepperoni, which was generous, greasy, and delicious. The spicy encased meat added some unneeded, yet welcome, flavor. I certainly didn't need it either, but I was not unhappy to have the entire top covered in meat.

Basically, this is every bit as good as Santucci's, yet significantly cheaper. DelCo doesn't mess around. This pizza is great.