Family Style Pizzeria Wins Again

When it comes to business, it makes sense to hire a team to follow a protocol to deliver reliably quality products. The franchise model is highly effective for growth. When it comes to quality pizza, however, I don’t believe there is anything better than having your pie made by the people who own the shop.

This was proven true on a recent visit to Mangiamo Pizza and Wine Bar. I’ll skip past the nice atmosphere, the pleasant greeting and get straight to the pie. This was hands down the best cheese pizza I have had in Santa Cruz. We have many great pizzerias, but the crisp of the thin crust, the tang of the tomato sauce, and the richness of melted cheese combined to create a winning pie.

No Robot Ever Could

With all the talk of Artificial Intelligence and job replacement, there’s a certain type of business person who hopes that robots will be making their businesses more efficient in the near future. I believe in the human capacity to care, and I think that this intangible factor is the secret ingredient that makes some things so indescribably good. You can’t even hire staff to do that. There’s no way a robot is ever going to replace the integrity of a person who loves serving the best pizzas.

That’s what you get at Mangiamo Pizza and Wine Bar at the Deer Park Shopping Center in Aptos. You are greeted by one of the owners and the other owner makes your pie. This dream team is slinging pies like no other pizzeria in Santa Cruz County. This is in no way a criticism of many of the passionate young pizzaristas who are combining dough, sauce, and cheese to beautiful effects. Like I said, we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to pizzas. I have tried a lot if not all of them, and I am here to tell you that Mangiamo takes the cake. Or, the pie, rather. I give this pizza a perfect 10.