On a nondescript part of Cumberland Avenue, a block away from Maine Historical Society, you’ll find what some people argue is the best pizza in the entire world. Not just in Portland or the northeast.

Pizzaiolo means a pizza maker in Italian. “It means ‘pizza guy’” explains owner Patrick Scally, aka Pat. (A female pizza maker is called a pizzaiola.) Pat is quick to point out that the pizza his team creates has its roots in the Big Apple.

“This isn’t New York-style pizza,” he says when we sit down to talk. “This is New York pizza.”

It’s certainly a busy spot. Kids from nearby Portland High School are sitting at two of the three tables. Two men holding hard hats stand in line for slices, while a DoorDash delivery person walks out holding a tower of about ten pizza cartons.

“We sell more types of pizza than anywhere else,” Pat explains. “We have anywhere from 15-24 different kinds each day. We also use fresh ingredients—fresh beef, fresh mushrooms. Our meatballs are the best in the city.”

He points to a wall where a series of reviews are framed in glass. These are the accounts of various journalists and food writers who have stumbled in and discovered pizza perfection.

Pat is an intriguing character. He was born in Area 51, New Mexico, to a father who worked in the military. He was then raised between Downeast and Portland. Fresh out of school, he got a job at Papa Ginos. His can-do attitude got him promoted to general manager within 18 months. It was in San Diego that he got his big break, landing a job at the award-winning and world-renowned Bronx Pizza.

“I probably threw over a million pizza doughs into the air while I was there,” he muses.

When he came back home, he set up his own store and began teaching a new generation of Portlanders how to make sublime pizza.

“It’s all about the love in the dough,” he says, smiling. I look behind the counter to watch store manager Mitch Harmon toss fresh dough into the air. “It’s what my mom always used to say. If someone isn’t feeling right, you’ll know it in the dough.”

Pizzaiolo, 360 Cumberland Avenue, Portland, ME, https://pizzaioloportland.com/