Zesty's pizza immediately in running for best in town

I don't really frequent places anymore. Part of writing about all the options in our town is actually going out and trying them. Sure, I've got my favorites that I try and squeeze in whenever I can, but often Megan and my dining decision is made by her asking me "Where do you need to write about?"

Which isn't all bad, and please don't think I'm complaining! But it is important context for this:

I've ordered from Zesty's Pizza over on the westside of town on Marion Road four times in the last three weeks. Once would have been enough to write about it, but it was just that good. I found myself craving the crust. I've not been this excited about a pizza place since New York Express was in town. And I eat and like a LOT of pizza: Tomacelli's, Pizza Man, Dareo's, Taste of the Big Apple, Red Rossa, Grille 26, and on and on and on.

Zesty's crust, with a good crunch and chew, is my favorite part. You start with a good base, and it's going to be hard to mess up. After that, you have a variety of sauces you can choose, the two main ones being the Zesty sauce or the Sweet & Mild. The Zesty sauce is the way to go here for your basic pizza. A really nice tomato base with a little kick. Not sweet.

We ordered a couple different varieties, and they have most of your normal configurations of toppings (Hawaiian, Cheeseburger, Meat, Combination, etc.). Two of my favorites were the Garlic Chicken Delight with the white sauce, Ricotta cheese, Canadian bacon, chicken, onions and tomatoes, and the El Diablo, a buffalo sauce, spicy pepperoni, sausage, andouille sausage, black olive and jalapeno pepper combo I tried in a calzone and loved.

Maybe the best thing we've ordered though are the bread and cheese sticks. Again, crisp, chewy dough with and excellent amount of garlic, seasoning and cheese. You could make a meal of these alone.

Point of order here: Zesty's is a westside business, and doesn't deliver east of Minnesota Avenue. But they do have a drive-thru window, and are open until 3 a.m. on weekends.

So while I'm not ready to crown Zesty's the king of the Sioux Falls pizza landscape, I am telling you they're already in the discussion.

And I highly suggest you give them a try or four.

It also begs the question: What IS the best pizza in town?