DERRY — With the rich smell of melted cheese clinging to the air, pizza enthusiasts of all ages gathered to choose the best pizza in town, and help a local charity.
Sonshine Soup Kitchen’s inaugural Pizza War had contestants Thursday night vying for best cheese or specialty slice in the greater Derry area. The event was held at the Senior Cafe at Pinkerton Academy, 5 Pinkerton St., and had eight pizzerias from Derry, Londonderry and Pelham serving up their best offerings.
Ethan Knowles, a 14-year-old from Windham, said pizza is his favorite food and as such he considers himself somewhat of a pizza connoisseur.
“It’s great to get together and see different places and people you might not know,” Ethan said. “And I get to try more than one pizza place too.”
While Ethan’s favorite of the night had been from his hometown’s Friendly Reds Tavern, 22 Haverhill Road, Windham, not all voters agreed.
Kelsen Brewing Company 44 Nashua Road, Londonderry won for best specialty slice.
The vote for cheese, on the other hand, ended in a three-way tie between Kelsen Brewing Company, Paisano’s, 4 Chester Road, Derry, and Rig A Toni’s, 38 W Broadway, Derry.
The idea for the war came from the Londonderry Knights of Columbus, which held a pizza war event for years, said Laura El-Azem.
El-Azem, a member of the board of directors for Sonshine Soup Kitchen, said she had loved going to the Pizza Wars and thought, why not bring it to Derry?
“It seemed like a good idea, and I decided it would be fun,” El-Azem said. “We’d like for people to be aware (of Sonshine). We have a lot of community support, and lots of people see our value.”
All of the proceeds went to Sonshine Soup Kitchen, which serves meals to those in need Monday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets were $20 for adults and children were admitted free of charge. While each pizzeria was limited to one signature cheese pizza, they were allowed to bring as many specialty pies as they wanted.
Some did more standard supreme pizza style toppings, and some went out of the box, using hot honey, spicy maple syrup, and even a chicken pot pie pizza.
In addition to pizza, desserts and drinks were donated by Dominos and prizes were raffled off.
“I thought it was an awesome idea,” said Derry resident Jamie Comrie. “I love that it’s for a good cause.”