The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit 2013: Pasta Mista

The rules of The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit are simple.  Each category is worth 2 points (allowing for half points). The only pizza I'm considering is the basic slice of cheese. At the end of the year, the highest score wins the coveted Baltimore Bistros and Beer's Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit title. This week's entry is none other than Pasta Mista (Towson location). I've reviewed them in the past, but it was a review of the restaurant as a whole. Today, I'm only focusing on their slice of plain cheese pizza. Click here to see how last weeks entrant fared.

Droop Factor - The crust on this pizza defies gravity. As far as droop factor is concerned, Pasta Mista cannot be beat. The pizza is layered with the perfect amount of sauce and cheese to prevent the oh so annoying droopy crust.

Score = 2

Greaseifcation - I like made up words here at Baltimore Bistros and Beers. I also like when swimming classes aren't mandatory in order to avoid drowning in grease. Pasta Mista manages to keep the grease to a minimum thanks to the proper portioning of cheese I referenced up above.

Score = 2

Aroma - Just like the score indicates, the smell of Pasta Mista's pizza is ordinary. In other words, it smells great because it's pizza, but it's lacking the celestial pizza scent that Pizza Johns had to offer (and to which all shall be compared).

Score = 1

Cheese - I focused really hard on the flavor of the cheese trying to find something that would stick out, but I just couldn't come up with anything. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad, it was just cheese and because of that it's getting a middling rank of 1.

Score = 1

Sauce - Just as with the cheese I focused on the flavor of the sauce hoping that some specific feature would jump out at me. But again, the sauce was just "meh''. I like a bright, acidic pizza sauce and I just wasn't getting that last night. The flavors were all kind of muddled together.

Score = 1

Crust - The crust of Pasta Mista's pizza is by far the best feature of their pie. When you fold the slice it stays there without swaying back and forth. The crust is thin, light, and crunchy, falling just short of having the cracker like crunch I'm looking for.

Score = 1.5

Overall Score -  7.5 out of 12

This week's review of Pasta Mista made me laugh a bit. Almost everything good about last week's pizza (Pizza Johns) ended up being mediocre at Pasta Mista. And everything weak about last week's pizza was strong at Pasta Mista. Pizza Johns had an excellent sauce and cheese, but a crust that left a little to be desired. Pasta Mista offered sauce and cheese that was pretty forgetful, but their crust was excellent. Would I recommend a slice of Pasta Mista cheese pizza? You betcha. But do they have what it takes to called the Best Pizza in Baltimore? I'm not so sure. Only time will tell.