Every city has their rivalry, in the Jewish world it usually takes place in the form of food. Pizza is probably one of the most hotly debated topics when it comes to kosher food, mostly because of it is accessible to all and that makes the fight even bigger. You don’t find many people debating whether Prime Grill or Abigail’s is better simply because they are patronized by wealthier people who don’t debate such nonsense. But pizza is the equalizer, Brooklynites claim their pizza to be superior to all – but if you asked anyone from Brooklyn they could debate to high hell the qualities of Mendelsohns over Pizza Time or whatever.
Baltimore on the other hand has only two pizza stores, well actually three but if you ask any Baltimorean they will tell you that Carmel’s is terrible – and since this is the case I actually ate there last time I was in Baltimore and I have to agree, the pizza tasted like a soggy Tov castaway slice that fell into a puddle of water. For out intents and purposes there are only two pizza stores in Baltimore Mama Leahs and Tov, and Baltimoreans which are always trying to prove that they are just as good as New Yorkers (maybe because they are all from New York) tend to go head to head in the pizza debate.
Both pizza stores have their high points and low points and I as an outsider intend to say my share and then let everyone else go a little crazy, after all they call them Baltimorons for a reason.
Tov Pizza:
If you want a quick snack and don’t want to wait for them to make your food, Tov is where it’s at. Unfortunately this can only mean one thing, your food is being warmed up and not made freshly. It’s a tradeoff I am willing to take, sometimes, you can always count on Tov to be quicker then Mama Leahs and for them to have slices ready. This may be because the sheer size of the place causes the employees to constantly be making food for this behemoth of a store that never seems to be filled up, except for Saturday nights.
Tov pizza is very oily and it has a weird color. The pizza here is yellow, no idea why, but it has this very yellow look to it, it may be due to the amount of oil that seems to accumulate on every slice. For New Yorkers Tov Pizza just doesn’t cut it, the slices are too small and the taste is unlike any I have had, save for Carmel’s. Tov Pizza has the uncanny ability to taste good after it sat in your car for 3 hours in the middle of the summer, I wonder what sort of preservatives they use?
The parking situation is weird and the gas station next door is always filled with weirdoes and people who will probably rob you car, but we are in Baltimore after all. I should give mention to the fact that the girls who work at Tov are usually very cute so if your in it for that 30 second chance you have while exchanging pizza store pleasantries involving taking your money and getting change from the pizza girl with the possibility of getting her number, Tov may be better, since Mama Leahs only has one girl and Tov’s has up to 3 working behind the counter.
Mama Leahs:
When I go to Mama Leahs I get the lunch special or the deep dish, the regular pizza doesn’t do it for me, don’t get me wrong I think they have great pizza – but its just too damned expensive. You would think that a pizza store obviously catering to Yeshiva guys would be a little cheaper, but its not. The lunch special is $11 for a soda, personal pizza and fries. The fries have skin on some of them which I like, but I have a feeling they are from the package as well. I am told that Mama Leahs makes their own pizza sauce, is this true? I would say that the taste at Mama Leahs is for more mature audiences then that of Tov, it is more refined, more luxurious and better tasting and looking.
They say we eat with our eyes, if so I was a little disturbed last Saturday night when this table of wannabe Brooklyn couples (trying to be hockers and hot chanies) but couldn’t pull it off ordered a large pizza, I wanted to take a picture of the inch deep pool of oil in the middle of the pizza, but the greedy hockers took a piece and breached the dam before I could. In general Mama Leahs pizza looks way better then Tov’s yellow crust pizza, but this was a little much.
The deep dish is great, but the vegetable content at Mama Leahs is pathetic, do not order veggies your heart will break when you realize you spend $1.50 on 4 mushrooms, Tov deserves props for good vegetable amounts and making you feel it was money well spent.
The girl behind the counter at Mama Leahs is super cute, but I am told she’s dating the smiley pudgy guy behind the counter, makes sense, I always wondered if people were playing footsie amongst other things under the counter while serving customers. I am quite surprised that in Baltimore at a pizza store catering to the yeshiva they would allow guys in knit yarmulke and girls in jeans.
The verdict:
In my opinion, don’t hate me for it, Mama Leahs kicks Tov’s butt in many ways. Mama Leahs is cleaner, better lit, better tasting, fresher and less oily then Tov’s. If you don’t want to wait an eternity for your food however Tov is the place to go, Tov scores in terms of girls behind the counter, room to sit and ability to last long periods of time without being refrigerated.
A recent video I did in Mama Leahs:
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Tov all the way. First of all the sauce that tov uses, don peppino sauce, is way better than mama leahs, even given the fact that Mama Leahs makes their own sauce. In addition, Tov’s slices are thiner and crisper than Mama Leahs.
Finnaly snow cones in the summer.
Ah I
Damn wordpress, I wanted to say that I like thicker more mature pizza better.
hey hesh, to each their own.
In brooklyn we argue on price and taste, oh yeah and the occasional roach in some places.
The problem with Brooklyn is that to have a good arguement you have to eat and every little hole in the wall. For instance my mechanic is located near this place on 44th and 16th and its phenom- I love their plain pizza.
What they really need to do is to combine forces. The girls at Tov are way way hotter. We would definately want to keep the girls at our heavenly pizza store. However the food stinks. The fries at Tov are always soggy and if you get them to go they are put in hard plastic containers which doesn’t even keep them warm. All it does is make them soggy. Mama Leahs on the other hand has fresh made fries that are great. The pizza is way better at Mama Leahs so thats the way to go.
Finally in my hypothetical perfect pizza store what we have to do is evict Carmels and open a new store with the girls from Tov and the food from Mama Leahs. 1+1=perfection. The stores would be equal distance from each other so there would be no favoritism. Just my opinion.
I have friends who have worked at Tov (even one who worked as a driver) and still, we always went to Mama Leah’s. Their pizza is better, they have super tasty soft serve ice cream and if you go there wearing pants, people won’t stare at you.
I know that has nothing to do with pizza, but if you are a female who wears pants in Pikesville, the stare factor makes a difference.
I understand the pants problem – I can only imagine how you would rate brooklyn pizza stores
Anyone want to argue the pizza places in Queens? Pizza Professor, Benjy’s, Shimon’s and Naomi’s.
I can do the Professor or Benjy’s. NO Naomi’s and I’ve eaten meals at Shimon’s, not pizza.
mama leahs is better, but service is terrible. still only sometimes worth waiting 40 minutes for the pizza, plus all the girls to check out
Mama Leah’s used to have a second restaurant in Rockville, MD, and I went there frequently as I really liked their pizza. Then they started going downhill, ran out of soda, ran out of toppings, ran out of toilet paper, etc. Finally they just shut down for good.
After that, I went to the one in Baltimore on my way to an event in York, PA. Pizza was even better, and the atmosphere (e.g. decorations ) was even better. I’ve been to Tov maybe 3 times over the last 5 years, not often enough to remember their pizza well for a comparison though. But as my wife comes from Boro Park, and we visit family there every now and then, I can say that both Tov and Mama Leah’s beat out Boro Park shops in terms of not having to wait in a cramped line to shout out your order.
My roommate from sem worked at Mama Leah’s and she told me the high prices are on purpose. They want to keep the bochrim crowd down as much as possible. I’ve only been to Mama Leah’s, and the last time I had pizza there was in 2004, so I can’t really compare the two.
As for Queen’s pizza, Pizza Professor all the way.
Wow, is Baltimore like Brooklyn? People will give a girl weird looks if she’s wearing pants?
As for pizza, it’s not only New Yorkers who say their pizza is the best, others do also. I have friends who ask me to bring back pizza whenever I go into Brooklyn.
My impression, as a person who moved to Baltimore from another city, is that people who grew up in Baltimore favor Tov’s, while most everybody else likes Mama Leah’s. My vote is hands down for Mama Leah’s.
I used to work at Mama Leah several years ago. They didn’t make the sauce from scratch, but used a tomato sauce (Hunt’s i think?) and mixed in several other ingrediants.
The fries were also homemade. We had a potato press – you stick the potato in, it shreds it into the shoestring, and you drop it in the fryer.
And obviously, no contest – Mama Leah beats Tov for best pizza. The one redeeming quality of Tov is that they have a wider selection of foods.
If you ever come down to silver spring, do an article on nut house vs ben yehudah.
Hm… I asked my friend about this, and he said that there isn’t any rivalry to speak of now because Tov’s kitchen recently burned down.
veebee I love Ben Yehuda pizza.
Correction: Their are 5 places to get Kosher Pizza in Baltimore.
The Eden Cafe in Both JCC’s have, in my opinion, excellent Pizza. If you have 45 minutes to wait for the someone to take your order, i highly suggest it.
I am a harsh critic of Baltimore, but one thing it has going for it is Kosher Pizza.
best pizza in the world is Amnon’s in Boropark, Brooklyn. best pizza in Baltimore (a.k.a. only pizza i ever had in B’more) must be Mama Leah’s… mmm i can still taste those jalapeño peppers
Where’d the video go?
Oh the guys from Ner Yisroel asked me kindly to take it down.
Didn’t they say that they “were allowed to be there?”
When exactly did you visit Tov Pizza and conclude with these observations?
Just curious – I have been to Tov and Mama Leahs at least 20 times each. Been going to Baltimore for years and I dated a girl in Baltimore this past year as well.
i never knew how stuck up new yorkers are. get over yourselves. no one in b-more gives a danm what you think. our pizza is so much better than your no matter what you say. it is good to have all three pizza stores because they in good locations and spread out. all 3 make their pizza fresh. ny pizza looks and tastes just like the streets they are located-nasty. tov is better and in a good location. all the workers are drop outs or the owners daughters.
You are a true baltimoron.
Mama Leah’s pizza is great.
well, all i can say, is all my life i have travled to baltimore and mama leah’s is the BEST. however, pizza shops in baltimore are all WAY better than here.(yes, even caramel’s is better!!!) you have options! we have one pizza store and all they sell is pizza.no fries. no onion rings, nothing. just pizza and greek salad. the pizza is usually pretty good but still….
Mama Leahs overdoes it with the garlic. Hello there are more than 1 type of spice out there. They also cannot take an order correctly for the life of them. one simple personal pie will turn into an extra large with every topping they have.
Tovs, better wash your mouth out after eating there, you may contract a viral disease. Also when making an order better come the exact time they tell you, because any earlier, they wont give you the order even when it’s sitting on the counter right in front of them! “15 minutes, not 10 minutes, you have to wait till it’s 15 minutes!”
They both pretty much suck!
at least one spice is better than watery grease!!!!
Hesh – Have you done a “Best Kosher pizza anywhere” post? Tov isn’t that bad. Yehudale’s in Toronto and Nagila in L.A. are very good. Pete’s in Denver is okay. Eli’s@Chabad in Rochester is great!
Sorry but they all are not very good. None holds a candle to Benjys or Amnons, but Eden Cafe in Baltimore actually has better pizza then either of them and even sells its frozen pizza in the grocery stores.
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