During a conversation with a colleague in the U.S. last year, I learned about the concept of a “pizza crawl,” where he and his sons planned to visit multiple pizzerias in New York City to rate them based on taste, crust, and other criteria. Intrigued, I filed the idea away for a future adventure.
Back home in Israel, my family and I often venture out for some outdoor fun. We’re nature lovers, but we prefer our hikes with minimal climbing, and given the unpredictable winter weather, we’re cautious about outdoor activities. This year, I proposed a pizza crawl of our own, staying within a half-hour’s drive from our home in Yad Binyamin. After some hesitancy, the family agreed, though they had little idea of what they were getting into.
We would only rate basic cheese pizza (no specialty options to ensure fairness).
We would eat just one slice at each stop.
Each family member would rate the pizza based on several factors.
No pre-orders – pizza would be ordered only when we arrived, encouraging real family time.
Our ambitious plan was to visit five pizzerias in the southern region of Israel. Here’s how it went:
Pizza Kafrit, Moshav Berechya
The search for Pizza Kafrit was a challenge in itself. Waze led us to a dusty parking lot, with no signs to guide us to the entrance. Once inside, we found an open-air restaurant offering a range of baked goods from a large brick oven.
While we broke our rule by ordering both a regular cheese pizza and a pricier specialty pizza, the cheese pizza stood out for its heavy crust stuffed with cheese. The pizza’s flavor was undeniably cheesy but also too oily, making the slices difficult to hold. Despite its drawbacks, Pizza Kafrit was unanimously voted our favorite stop of the day.
Pizza Tuvia, Be’er Tuviya
Next, we headed to Pizza Tuvia in Be’er Tuviya, a small store in a strip mall. The atmosphere was lively, and the staff warmly welcomed our pizza crawl. To our surprise, they gifted us a free dessert, but our ratings remained unbiased.
The pizza here had a thin, crunchy crust and a slightly sweet sauce that earned high marks. While the pizza was enjoyable, nothing particularly stood out. A standout, however, is their specialty pizza – the Caramelized Onion and Camembert Pizza, which combines arugula, pecans, and a sweet sauce for a surprisingly delicious flavor combination.
Pizza Regina, Gedera
After a few slices, the team was starting to feel full. We made our way to Pizza Regina in Gedera, located at a gas station. Unfortunately, our experience here was far from satisfying. The ordering process was inconvenient, with no service at the counter, and the pizza itself didn’t live up to expectations. The dough was uninspiring, and the cheese portions were sparse.
The family rated Regina the lowest of the day, with one family member expressing disappointment with the pizza, while another maintained the simple view: “It’s pizza. What could be bad?” Still, Regina’s score of 4.81 was a far cry from the 8+ ratings we gave the other stops.
Esterica, Kiryat Malachi
Although we skipped Esterica during our pizza crawl, we later visited for a fair comparison. Their dough received praise for its crispiness, but the sauce was too salty for our tastes. Despite this, I highly recommend their specialty pizzas, particularly the Pizza Alfredo and the Pizza Antipasti (though I personally skip the eggplant topping).
As dusk settled over the region, we concluded our pizza crawl with satisfied stomachs and the hope of making this a regular family tradition. There was even talk of a future trip to Fabrica in Rehovot, but for now, we’re content with our first pizza crawl adventure – with many more to come.
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