The method behind the rankings
The Slice Index is a personal pizza archive by Joey Pepperoni. It is not a crowdsourced average and it is not a claim to universal objectivity. It is a critic’s ledger: pizzas ranked by crust, bake, balance, ingredient judgment, regional style, and repeatability.
About the critic
Joey Pepperoni is an independent pizza critic based in Cincinnati, focused on crust, bake, balance, regional style, and repeatability. Reviews are based on personal visits, not crowd averages or sponsorships.
Disclosure
No paid rankings. No sponsorship influence. Comps, if any, should be disclosed. Closed shops are retained as historical records, and repeat visits are noted when relevant.
What the score means
The color bands remain intentionally simple. A 9.0 or above is Top Tier: destination-level pizza or a pie that defines its style. An 8.0–8.9 is Great: strongly recommended, with real craft or distinct local value. A 6.5–7.9 is Worth the Calories. Below that: All Pizza's Good, Right?
What matters most
The core criteria are crust quality, fermentation, bake, structure, sauce balance, cheese behavior, topping restraint, and whether the pizza remains compelling after the first bite.
Closed pizzerias
Closed shops remain in the archive. They are always shown below open pizzerias in rankings and excluded from the map.
Limits
The limits are real. Pizza varies day to day, even at excellent pizzerias: dough fermentation, oven temperature, staffing, timing, travel, and what came out of the oven that minute all matter. I have not tried every pizza, and pizzerias change over time as recipes, cooks, locations, and ownership evolve. A truly scientific ranking would require eating every pizzeria in the world on the same day, under the same conditions, with the same order and comparable freshness. That is impossible. The index is therefore a disciplined personal critic’s archive, not a laboratory result.
Data gaps
Some entries are rating-only or lack addresses, photos, coordinates, or Instagram post links. Those gaps are intentionally not filled with invented information.