Doughboy Pizza stacks up against Macon’s best

I know this will be sacrilege to many Maconites, but I’ve thought long and hard about it. I, being of sound mind and body, do state that Doughboy Pizza is just as good as Ingleside Village Pizza. In some cases, better.

It’s the crust. I think it might be the best crust I’ve ever had, and a friend who joined me said the same. I’m not necessarily a crust fan generally, but this is made with beer, and I think the bubbles help make it light and flaky. It doesn’t fill you up, thus enabling you to eat another slice.

My friend described it as a cross between Ingleside’s thick crust and the sweet, yeasty flavor of Mellow Mushroom.

Remarkably, service is quick even though Roger Ruiz, who has been working in pizza for years (most recently at Macon’s Mellow Mushroom), does most of the pizza-making and serving himself.

Doughboy offers an array of specialty pizzas from pesto to buffalo, with an interesting array of fresh toppings. You can also create your own with a red, white, pesto, buffalo or barbecue base. The red sauce is tangy and flavorful without being too sweet, and has plenty of body. That made the garlic knots a special treat, although they were a bit too laden with olive oil.

The eatery sells by the slice -- even the specialty pizzas, which means you can get a great, filling lunch for about $4. And unlike some pizza places, slices don’t taste like they’ve been sitting under a heat lamp forever.

I give two thumbs up to the white pizza. My sole pizza criticism was for the pesto speciality pizza: it seemed flatter, with less cheese and not enough pesto flavor.

The atmosphere is what makes me knock this down from a 4-star rating to a 3-star one. Seating is limited and bare-bones, with rather harsh overhead lighting. There is no decoration, and my friend thought it didn’t look very clean. And because there’s no delivery and parking is inconvenient, you are probably stuck eating in these surroundings.

As my friend put it, “Doughboy serves the kind of pizza you’d go out of the way to get, but then you might hesitate at the door and wonder if you are in the wrong place. The restaurant is in a great location with great food, but I am afraid it may not succeed unless it makes an effort to invest in some cosmetic improvements.”

Doughboy Pizza

Address: 490 Cherry St., Macon

Phone: (478) 254-8895

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Wednesdays; 11 a.m.-midnight Thursdays-Saturdays

Payment: Cash, credit, debit

Smoking: No

Alcohol: Yes

Kids Menu: No

Noise Level: Low

Health Rating: 96

Price range: $3.50-$15.50

Rating: 3 stars

This story was originally published March 22, 2013 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Doughboy Pizza stacks up against Macon’s best."