Trying to find good pizza in a small town is nearly impossible. A new pizza place opened up here and so with a few friends, we tried it out.

Nothing to rave about and I was disappointed.

In my entire life of 70 years, only three places have made what I consider the best pizza in the world, two in Seattle and one just north in Lynnwood.

Northlake Tavern

Northlake Tav is just a tiny ways away from the University of Washington, for those 21 and over. They pile on mounds of toppings on top of a proper crust (not too thin and not too thick) and hot and bubbly right out of the pizza oven. Even when we moved to Lynnwood, we would drive the 25 miles south just to get this pizza.

My second choice is the Italian Spaghetti House and Pizzeria, which sadly no longer exists. This was right in my own backyard, just down the street and around the corner from my house. I celebrated my 18th birthday there and my parents and I would make a late night stop for pizza after watching Johnny Carson together. The chef’s name was Ilio, which I named my little dog.. actually Keiki Ilio, which also meant “little dog” in Hawaiian. It was a great place with wonderful handmade pizzas that always tasted fresh. A huge loss to the neighborhood when it closed.

The last one is Sparta’s in Lynnwood. When I lived in Lynnwood, we spent a lot of time at Sparta’s. Great pizza, excellent salads and wonderful cheesecake.

Sparta’s Pizza

The main pluses of all three of these places is that they never changed. They stayed true to their design for decades of existence. You always knew you could get what you came for when dining there. Consistency was the key.