Margarita Pizza from Pizza Shack
February 9th is National Pizza Pie Day. Lucky for you, today happens to be February 9th! We’ve known for a few weeks now that this day was near, so we celebrated early in order to give you some ideas of how you yourself could celebrate.
We think the best way to celebrate National Pizza Pie Day is pretty easy: Eat pizza. But not just any pizza. No, no, no…. We need you eating some real good, high quality, original, conceived in the minds of local Jacksonians pizza. We will not allow celebration of this sacred day to be done with pizza that you can order anywhere in the country. You must celebrate with a local pizza pie!
Where are the best places to get a local pizza pie?
Our top two suggestions are what you might expect. We all love these two places because they just flat out know what they’re doing when they make a pizza.
Suggestion #1: The Pizza Shack
Pizza doesn’t get much better than at this local favorite. After being voted “Jackson’s Best Pizza” by the readers of Jackson Free Press for the fourth year in a row, you might expect them to get the big head, but The Pizza Shack is still as humble as it has always been. They did just upgrade their facility, moving from State Street to a slightly larger and nicer place on Fortification Street, but even the upgrade is humble.
Pepperoni Pizza from Pizza Shack: A layered masterpiece
On our last visit to The Pizza Shack, which was also our first visit to their new spot on Fortification, we left no less satisfied than we ever have. The pizza was a homerun, as always. We got a medium Pepperoni pizza and a small Margarita pizza to split, knowing that these guys can do nothing but improve upon these already classic variations of the traditional Italian pie.
As any regular Pizza Shacker knows, the layering of the toppings is what makes these pizzas most special. This art was more prominent on the Pepperoni pizza. We could see the masterful alternating of layers clear as day. On top of the somewhat thick and doughy (and delightful) crust was a layer of cheese. Then a layer of pepperoni. Then more cheese. Then more pepperoni! Then, to complete the layering process, even more cheese! Inside this seemingly simple Pepperoni pizza was actually six hand-situated layers of Italian heaven. This pizza had flavor for miles and miles. The Margarita pizza was different from the Pepperoni one in that it did not have as many layers and the crust was a bit thinner. Taste wise, it was right up there with the Pepperoni.
The specialty pizzas from The Pizza Shack that we’ve tried before have all been equally as outstanding as the Pepperoni and Margarita from our last trip. We love the Double Cheeseburger, the Turkey Club, the Carnivore, the Hawaiian…. You honestly can’t go wrong here! For that reason, The Pizza Shack is an ideal celebration venue for National Pizza Pie Day.
The Pizza Shack is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
The Franklin Street Pizza is one of many delicious Sal and Mookie's specialties
Suggestion #2: Sal and Mookie’s
You knew it was coming. It’s no secret: We love the pizza from Sal and Mookie’s in Fondren! Their handmade crust, super fresh ingredients, house-grown herbs, and “pizza factory viewing gallery” are all part of what make Sal and Mookie’s pizza special. This place is also very family friendly, so if you plan to celebrate National Pizza Pie Day with the youngsters, this would be our suggestion as to where to do that.
Sal and Mookie’s boasts an extensive menu of New York themed specialty pizzas that most folks seem to be pretty crazy about. On our last trip to this joint, we ended up ordering the Franklin Street pizza since we’d never tried that variation before. Franklin Street had a creamy spinach and artichoke spread as the base, and was topping-rich with mozzarella, sharp yellow cheddar, sliced tomatoes, red onion, ground turkey, and creole seasoning. My, my, was this tasty… To make this pizza just a tinge healthier, we got it on whole wheat crust, which, in our opinion, blows most whole wheat pizza crusts out of the water!
Some Eat Jackson favorites at Sal and Mookie’s are of course the classics like cheese and pepperoni, but we also love Riker’s Island (which has all sorts of meat on it) and the Build-Your-Own options. It’s hard to go wrong when ordering pizza at Sal and Mookie’s!
Sal and Mookie’s is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
We hope you celebrate this day like it deserves to be celebrated: with friends or family and a great local pizza!
How do you plan to celebrate? Who do you think serves the best local pizza?
The Pizza Shack
925 E Fortification St
Jackson, MS 39202
(601) 352-2001
thepizzashackjackson.com
Colonial Mart Location:
5046 Parkway Drive Suite 6
Jackson, MS
(601) 957-1975
Sal and Mookie’s
565 Taylor St
Jackson, MS 39216
(601) 368-1919
salandmookies.com
PIZZA SHACK IS THE BEST PIZZA IN TOWN!