Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine’s March issue will feature a bracketed, March Madness tournament style pizza face-off to determine the best pizza in the country. Sixty-four of the country’s best pizzerias flexed their muscles, rained pepperoni from beyond the arc, slam dunked fresh mootz over the competition and smothered the opposing team’s offense with a competent crusty defense.
- East Coastin!
Slice’s Adam Kuban and Serious Eat’s Ed “A Slice of Heaven” Levine lended an assist to the the Rachael Ray crew by filling out the brackets. Adam’s West Coast Pizza Madness Tour back in October was to help figure out some of the bracket winners out west.
A minor quibble: Maryland was in the South-Southwest bracket. Yes, we are below the Mason-Dixon line, but our easternmost boundry is the Atlantic Ocean. Last time I checked, the Atlantic Ocean IS the east coast, but we were denied inclusion in the East Coast bracket. I mean, c’mon guys! 
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Ellicott City’s Coal Fire Pizza lost in the first round to San Antonio based Dough Pizzeria Napoletana
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DC’s 2Amys won its first round game by beating Dallas based Campania Pizza & More only to lose in the round of 32 to Dough Pizza Napoletana.
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Bethesda’s Mia’s Pizzas made the deepest run of the area pizzerias by making it to the Sweet 16 after dunking on Houston’s Dolce Vita and then Miami’s Casale before losing to famous home pizza maker turned pizza shop owner Jeff Varasano’s Atlanta based Verasano’s in the round of 16.
The final four have been revealed and what a doozy it’s gonna be! The all wood-fired oven line-up of the Final Four are sure to heat up the road to the championship:
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NYC based Motorino will represent the East Coast and face off against Nick Lessin’s Chicago based Great Lake out of the Midwest bracket.
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The West Coast will be represented by Pizzeria Mozza, who will face-off against iconic Phoenix based Pizzeria Bianco out of the South-Southwest bracket.
It’s gonna be a clash of the titans type shoot-out for the championship. Lot’s of PTPers on the floor, babyeee! Who is the winner? Find out in the March edition of Rachael Ray’s Everyday Living, which is set to hit newstands on February 14th. Check out the full brackets here.
This article makes me want to try Pizzeria Bianco, if it beat out Russo’s. Being from Texas, I’ve tried Dough and Dolce Vita but still love Russo’s. If I am ever in the the AZ area….I gotta try it.