GQ Hearts Providence Pizza

Finally the world knows what we at RIM have known all along: Providence produces some damn good pizza. Well, to be fair, the world has known about the to-die-for free-form grilled pies coming out of Al Forno’s kitchen for decades, but now another smaller star is getting it’s doughy due: Bob & Timmy’s, a twenty-five seater just off Atwells with plenty of hole-in-the-wall charm.

In the latest issue of GQ, food writer Alan Richman travels the country (visiting 109 pizzerias and eating a whopping 386 pies) in an exhaustive search for the twenty-five best pizzas you’ll ever eat. Providence secures two spots on the lofty list with Al Forno clocking it at number 18 (“Al Forno’s grilled pizzas are more than legends; they’re beauties.”) and Bob & Timmy’s beating out institutions like Frank Pepe’s in New Haven and sizzling hot (in terms of press, anyway) newcomers like Co in New York and A16 in San Francisco. At Bob & Timmy’s Richman raved about the spinach-and mushroom variety (“The vegetable toppings were remarkably fresh, and it occurred to me that freshness is something we rarely think about when contemplating what pizza we admire.”), and at Al Forno it was the grilled pizza with roasted eggplant that won his heart.

Here’s the article, “American Pie," in its entirety. What do you think; did Richman miss any other perfect pies in Providence?