🍕 Pizza Lovers of Florida is joining Lesage Collectibles for Trade Night + Pizza Meetup @ Copp Brewery!

My brother-in-law Eric, owner of Lesage Collectibles, is bringing collectors together for sports cards, TCG, memorabilia, and giveaways. Come enjoy Copp’s pizza and spend the evening with our pizza community, too. They will have plenty of pizza options available to purchase, along with their great alcohol selections!

🔥 PIZZA OVEN GIVEAWAY: One Pizza Lovers of Florida member who attends will win a brand-new 15” One Bite Pizza Oven. Inspired by Dave Portnoy’s One Bite reviews, this portable outdoor oven uses wood and charcoal, has a 15-inch square pizza stone, and is designed to reach up to 950°F. If you make a trade purchase during the event, you will get an extra raffle ticket!
🎟 🍕 ❤️

📅 October 16, 2026
🕔 5–9 PM
📍 Copp Brewery, 7855 W Gulf to Lake Hwy, Crystal River, FL
🎟️ Free to attend

Pizza lovers and collectors alike are welcome. Who’s coming? 🍕

They are one of my favorite pizzerias in Florida for a reason! Bythechefpizza (Lakeland) is a MUST visit pizza destination 🍕 ❤️

Make sure to comment on the main post! This location is owned by the one and only Tyrell Reed of Pizza King Podcast. It's one of the best options in the Valrico region and his pricing is insanely affordable.

Yesterday, 13 members of Pizza Lovers of Florida went on the Pizza Crawl – Pinellas Tour from St. Pete to Dunedin, tasting Sicilian, Detroit, Grandma and New York pizza along the way. The video takes you through the day in the same order we experienced it.

Stop 1: The Violet Stone, St. Pete | Uncle Johnny Sicilian

Owner Dan welcomed us with the Uncle Johnny, an upside-down Sicilian with extra sauce and pecorino. It was saucy, cheesy and airy, with a very crisp crust and excellent char. The bake was exactly what I hoped for. I personally loved everything about this pizza.

The Violet Stone started as a food truck in 2022 before growing into its St. Pete home, named after their daughter. Dan told us a Tampa location is coming soon. The service was incredible, and a few were lucky enough to sample their steak and cheese, which was incredible too.

Members praised the sauce, crunch and airy interior. Some wanted more cheese or a crisper bottom, while others found the sauce sweeter or more tomato-forward than they prefer. That mix of opinions gave us plenty to talk about from our very first stop.

Stop 2: The NONA slice house, Safety Harbor | Detroit Red Top

NONA’s Detroit Red Top combines mozzarella and brick cheese with stripes of marinara. Its thick pan-baked crust was airy, with a crisp cheese edge known as frico. I enjoyed the flavor and texture, and Emily gave us great service. The outdoor seating gave everyone room to gather between stops.

Owner Jamie Culliton offers several pizza styles at NONA. The name combines those of his children, Noah and Naomi. Jamie also owns and runs Frico on 2nd in New York City, which I ranked #1 across all five boroughs during my recent trip to 53 pizzerias.

On an earlier visit to NONA, I had the Detroit "The Meatball", with sliced all-beef meatball, red onion and piped ricotta. I added pesto to make it a Moneyball, and it was one of the best Detroit pizzas I’ve ever had. We focused on the Red Top for this crawl, but I want to bring the group back to try NONA’s topped Detroit pies.

Members praised the Red Top’s airy dough, sauce and caramelized cheese edges. Others wanted more cheese or sauce, or preferred a thinner crust.

Stop 3: Gino's NY Style Pizzeria & Restaurant, Palm Harbor | The Grandma Pie

Owner Dino served a Grandma pie with sweet tomato sauce, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil. Grandma is also baked in a rectangular pan, but it has a much thinner profile than the Sicilian and Detroit pies we had just tried. Gino’s version was very crisp, with good char and no flop.

Gino’s has served the Palm Harbor community since 1990, with a family pizza story that runs from Sicily through Queens to Florida. Members enjoyed the Grandma pie’s crunch, garlic, basil and sauce. Some wanted more cheese or sauce, and the sweet tomato flavor divided opinions.

We all sampled Gino’s bar pie as an extra. It was exceptionally thin and crisp, with no flop, and it drew some of the strongest reactions of the day. Our ballots scored the Grandma pie only. Based on the comments, including the bar pie in the voting could have changed the standings.

Stop 4: Madison Avenue Pizza, Dunedin | Old-School New York

We finished with a round New York pie. Madison Avenue’s Old-School uses 96-hour slow-risen dough, Old World style sauce, mozzarella, pecorino Romano, Grana Padano, Calabrian oregano and fresh basil. I loved its crisp crust, sauce, cheese and balance. I noted this as "perfect".

Owner Sean Ferraro began working in a pizza shop as a teenager. He and his wife Jackie later returned to the Tampa Bay area to open Madison Avenue Pizza, bringing Sean’s Italian family cooking and restaurant experience together. Olivia’s service was incredible, and the entire staff took great care of us.

Members repeatedly praised the Old-School’s bake, char, crispness and balance. A few wanted a different sauce seasoning or flavor balance, but it earned the most first-place votes of the day. 🏆🍕

THE MEMBER RESULTS

Thirteen members ranked each stop from 1st to 4th. First place earned 4 points, second earned 3, third earned 2 and fourth earned 1.

This does not mean one pizza is better than the other, as these are all different styles and shouldn't be competing directly against each other. However members did identify preferences across the pizzas.

🥇 1st: Madison Avenue Pizza | 39/52 points
🥈 2nd: The Violet Stone | 35/52 points
🥉 3rd: The NONA Slice House | 29/52 points
4th: Gino’s NY Style Pizzeria | 27/52 points

Madison Avenue: (6) 1st; (2) 2nd; (4) 3rd; (1) 4th
The Violet Stone: (3) 1st; (6) 2nd; (1) 3rd; (3) 4th
The NONA Slice House: (3) 1st; (2) 2nd; (3) 3rd; (5) 4th
Gino’s NY: (1) 1st; (3) 2nd; (5) 3rd; (4) 4th

Every pizzeria earned at least one first-place vote. Madison Avenue won the member vote. NONA and Gino’s were separated by just two points.

As you’ll see at the end of the video, the best part was getting everyone around the table. Some members came straight from a cruise or had just moved last week from Colorado, and one even boarded her dog to join us.

Thank you to all four exceptional pizzerias for welcoming Pizza Lovers of Florida, and to everyone who came out to taste and support Florida’s pizza community. 🍕 ❤️

Looking forward to seeing all registered crawlers tomorrow! Please note parking at The Violet Stone and The NONA slice house can be challenging as it's limited spaces!

Let's welcome our new members!
John OMalley,
Scott Henderson,
Brian Guthrie,
Chris Chisholm,
Toni Natale,
Mark Haney,
Dean Silbert,
Richard Bottega,
Tuscan Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria,
Joey Westfield,
Hannah Hernandez,
Vegas Jay,
John Marchand,
Karen Mascia,
Larry Davis,
Willien Van Der Bergh,
Elvin Gallisá Lozada,
Adnan Sehic,
That 716 Pizza Joint Lake County,
Lars Smith,
Corey James,
Regina Haberman,
Caleb Rappaport,
Monika Czarny,
Brian Greslick,
Zach Munson,
Pat More,
Katie Russo,
Wayne Madonia,
Brandon House,
Tim Mullahy,
Stella Hunter,
Pasha Levon,
Jason R David,
Amanda Tellini,
Shawn Manspeaker,
Kimberly Marie,
Ryan Sauer,
Kevin Mcgriff,
Sharktooth Nate,
Ciara Coxen,
Christina D,
Cuong Tran,
Joey Gagliardo,
Drew Ward,
Otilio Rojas,
Pedro De Los Santos,
Ben Alanis,
Adam Kauranen,
Jim Brown,
Chad Provost,
Jessica Jordan,
Kathiana Franco,
Brian Conboy,
Heather Patrick,
Andrew Mylott,
James Ward,
Angie Boyd,
Izzy Valentine,
Jon Den,
Crystal Puccio,
Jennifer Jones,
Angie Borrelli,
Quin Herrera,
Heather Gaines,
Ming Byrne,
Jill Sakowski Foti,
Mindy Touchton,
Ty Esdaile,
Marcelo Anunciato,
Eric Mitchell,
Tanesha Cole,
Zane Toth,
Rosa Broadus,
Aus Tex,
Ryan Seabold,
Thomas Earl Blase Sanchez Jr.,
Lahkim Shabazz,
Nigel Arendes,
Lindy Rapp,
Julie Ann Berg Calandro,
Michael Corleone,
Cj Cason,
Kaitlin Olivia Foster,
Stacey Little,
Sheri Morgan,
Jay Starke,
Faith Burns,
Jon Smith,
Kyra Waldron,
Chris Tallent,
Matt Schapiro,
George Champlin,
Virginia Marie,
James Davis,
Christine Bellport,
Alyssa McIntyre,
Jason Dowling,
Drew Vidler,
Paul Brian,
John Osborne,
Gina Carleton,
Josh Martinez,
John Paolillo,
Sarah Krantz,
Jennifer Bigelow,
Thomas Ray,
Shane Cherry,
Erik Roque,
Tyler Self,
Enmanuel Tavarez,
Brian Waldorf,
Todd Woodcock,
Charles E Faulk III,
Bia Nichole,
Thomas Cleary,
DeWayne Barton,
Armando Lozoya,
Daniel Calderon,
Jon Bliton,
Christopher Weidlich,
Dudley Booger Dawson,
Nikki Laushot,
Michael Belcher,
Tracy Price,
Sheldon Packer,
Amanda Lee,
Courtnee Alaina,
Carlos Questell,
Chris Rizzo,
Tommy Franky Moore,
Celeste Brown Webb,
Lara Natasha Boneta,
Kandi Clark,
Damaris Delgado-Molina,
Layla Ruffino,
Christian Lalinde,
Jeff Jackson,
Elizabeth Cleveland,
Maria Maria,
Shawn Ting,
Kevin Nordyke,
Matt Olsen,
Cherise Moncrief,
Tommy Trocciola,
Richard R Zavala,
Kyle Miners,
Lindyloo Bubu,
Nicole Scabet,
Robert Sieni,
Karalee Smiley-Rogers,
Lacey K. McCarthy,
Charles Hamacher,
Marcus Zook,
Aelia Marotta,
Michael Giannini,
Lonnie Spinella,
Javier Angel,
Lindsey Tuscany,
Diane Mullinax,
Billy Massimo,
Mike Stanbro,
Joey Burke,
Anthony Sarcone,
Victor La Luz,
Lou Diaz,
Matt Allen,
Mazzilli's Pizza & Subs,
Randy Wilson,
Yvonne Augarten,
Hols Plfs,
Mdrums Mike,
Jessica Allison,
Ian Fox,
Karma AG,
Magel Castro,
Lh Manny,
Stephen Guarneri,
Cory Schack,
Joey Donovan,
Diana Quinn,
Jån Grønvold,
Richard Callahan,
Vidal Acosta Tiburcio,
Darren S Parent,
Allyson Hill Ayala,
Matt Weltman,
Luis Tejada,
Suzanne Bailey,
Bill Leon,
Ryan Madigan,
Phil Friedlander,
Imma Farmer,
High Rise Pizza,
Anna Cappabianca Free,
Kaleigh McKay,
Megan Collins Sattler,
Charles Chaplin,
Bill Scharke,
CJ Fuetterer,
Samantha Watts,
Michael O'hanlon,
Theeblackberry Sweetie,
Arthur Clausen,
Spencer Ray,
Rick Hensley,
John Meyers,
Douglas Clark,
Antonio Bacon,
Jennifer Roberts,
Chris Ennis,
Lozano Bichi,
Jose Cabral,
Bryan K Loeffler,
Michelle Ruth,
Chris Wood,
Jesse Brownell,
Toni Forrest,
Michael Cadd,
Buck MN,
Jim Clay,
Ashlee Purdy,
Kimberly Czajko,
Jason Colbert,
Jake Echevarria,
Jacob Abe,
Nataro B. Carnegie,
Amber Smith,
Drol DeEggo,
Laura Sgroi,
Allyson Grace,
Greg Jones,
Jeff Norman,
Nancy Grinage,
Darren Varney,
Husam Kasem,
Steven Vasquez,
Michele Dube,
American Foodie Network,
Scott Streitz,
Connie Martin,
William Root,
Andrew Polanco,
Sydney Lynne,
Michael Friedman,
Jennie Lynn Barker,
Andrew Macdonnell,
Suzanne Wall,
Nate Poupko,
Kylle Doow,
Gary Lake,
Tony Townsend,
Clay Andrew,
Belinda Pratt,
Jesua Saavedra,
Scott Sloan,
Ali AZ,
Jonathan Santangelo,
Michał Bernat,
Derek Robins,
Geneva Pelfrey Williams,
Jonathan Tirado,
Emily Danko,
Lo Vazquez,
Troy Epps,
Joshua Robinson,
Brittany Morgan,
Chris St John,
Karen Bohnsak,
Steve Hughes,
Benny Sanchez,
David Wood,
Author Valeri Caronna,
Zip Simone,
Alysha-Ann Pilette,
EW Hall,
Joshua Merritt,
Max Max,
CJ Kozel,
Jen Johnson Craven,
Terece Young,
Tealeisha Collins,
David Redondo,
Brent Cramer,
Rich Stoffregen,
滨州市华厨寰宇进出口有限公司,
Laura Quarles,
Mike Waters,
John P Johnson,
Josh Roberson,
Kathy Frampton,
Stephanie Nicolaysen,
Patrick Parks,
Betty Ann,
Ginny Summa,
Ronny Varga,
Shirley Coderre,
Karry Bennett,
Maria Palma Gaito,
Devin Lord

Has anyone been to Peter's Pizzeria?