The skinny:

Located within a cute little downtown area, Charlie Mac’s offers a decent variety for such a small town. Pizzas are sold in the typical three sizes: small ($4.99), medium ($7.99) and large ($11.99). There are traditional toppings ($0.99/$1.99/$2.39), such as ham, spinach, garlic and banana peppers, as well as premium toppings ($1.49/$2.49/$2.89), such as ricotta, artichoke hearts and chicken.

Seventeen specialty pizzas are available here, including the Americana ($6.99/$11.19/$17.19), with extra pepperoni and extra cheese; the Mac Pizza ($9.99/$17.19/$21.19), which comes topped with Roma tomatoes, marinated chicken, caramelized onions and ricotta cheese; and the Greek ($7.99/$14.19/$18.19), which offers feta cheese, Roma tomatoes, kalamata olives, olive oil and oregano.

Review: After checking out the list of specialty pies, the final one caught our eye that day: a medium Chicken Pesto ($15.19). The pizza’s description was simple: basil pesto sauce, marinated chicken and fresh mozzarella.

We looked forward to that cheese, and upon first glance, there was no way to miss it. We knew we had fresh cheese to look forward to, but we were shocked by how generous our pizza maker was. Deidre loved the taste of it, but she thought the amount of it didn’t quite work with the lighter pesto pizza. The heavier cheese would have been better paired with perhaps a meat pizza. It’s a reminder that more isn’t always better, and with pizzas like this, balance should be the goal.

The pesto flavor was then more masked than Deidre thought it should have been. But later, we were curious if it was just a blander pesto. Though the flavor fell a bit short, Andrew appreciated the aroma of the pesto, which was great. He thought the issue may have come back to balance: a bit less cheese may have let the pesto shine more. The oil from the pesto was a bit pesky, too. The pizza itself was much too oily — some of it squirted out with almost every bite.

The chicken was broiled, and it was refreshing to get a break from the fried, breaded chicken that so many pizzerias use. The pieces were cut up small and distributed evenly, but Deidre found them to be a little dry.

The bottom crust was thin and Deidre thought it held up well despite its oily toppings. Andrew disagreed there, finding it a bit soggier than he would have preferred. Deidre ended up liking the end crust best. It had the tiniest crunch that she could only hear in her head, and each bite bit off nicely.

Grabbing pizza on road trips makes the cold pizza test a bit difficult. Our hotel room didn’t have a fridge, so the pizza wasn’t exactly cold … closer to room temperature. After a bit of settling, Andrew found the problematic oiliness wasn’t as much of an issue. And while the chicken had lost some flavor, the cheese was still creamy and delicious.

Rating: Deidre: 3.5 / Andrew: 3.5= 7/10 slices

Charlie Mac’s Pizzeria
17 E. Main St., Warner
456-2828, www.charliemacs.com

The skinny:

Sal’s Pizza opened its first location in 1990 in southern New Hampshire – Salem, to be exact. So while the “from Boston’s North End” thing might be more in spirit, Sal’s definitely brought a whole new kind of pizza to the 603 area code.

With 12 Sal’s locations throughout the state, it’s easy to drop in for one of its famous huge slices. We’ve each made the mistake the first time we were there and ordered two slices, only to walk away with half of an almost-20-inch pizza.

Pizzas at Sal’s in Concord — where we visited for the latest review — come in 12 inches ($7.99) and 19 inches ($11.99). Toppings add $1.25-$2.25 to the price, and they include standard choices such as bacon, roasted red peppers, tomato and even pulled pork.

At this particular Sal’s location, there are more than a dozen specialty pies to choose from. Some pizzas here include the Quattro Formaggio ($10.99/$17.49), with feta, romano and two types of mozzarella; Sal’s Special ($11.49/$17.99), covered with mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, eggplant and black olives; and even the Lasagna ($10.49/$16.49).

Sal’s slices are what attract the crowds, and they start at $3.49 each.

Thanks to Twitter followers @NBDems, @BrianChabot, @LaniVoivod, @solivernh, @ETNHEditor and @VictoriaVBesien for the suggestion!

Review: On this particular visit to Sal’s, we did something we hadn’t done before: order an entire pizza. We chose a large Buffa-Q pizza ($17.99), which included buffalo chicken, barbecue sauce and bleu cheese. As you might have guessed, this was a messy pizza.

We both love spicy barbecue sauce, so we were hoping this would introduce us to a new combination of hot and sweet. Instead, the buffalo definitely overshadowed the barbecue. Deidre was disappointed to not pick up the sweet barbecue, but she liked how hot the buffalo was. Andrew was surprised that the flavors of the sauces were still fairly defined, despite the mix.

The shredded chicken itself was marinated in buffalo sauce, which added to the high temps. Each bite had multiple pieces of hot chicken.

The cheese was plentiful, as the entire pie was blanketed in cheesy goodness. Andrew thought the cheese balanced the sweet and spicy sauces nicely. The bleu cheese probably also helped balance out the sauce, but it was a bit hard to notice it among many stronger flavors.

Sal’s signature crust was big and doughy, with just a little crunch around the end. And Sal’s slices are pretty big, so you either need to eat them with a fork, or use the old foldover technique. Combined with everything atop each slice, this was quite the heavy pizza.

The one thing that really stuck out on the cold pizza was the barbecue sauce. The chicken wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been, and the cheese tasted a bit less creamy. Still, it made for a flavorful, filling lunch the day after.

Rating: Deidre: 3 / Andrew: 3.5 = 6.5/10 slices

Sal’s Pizza
80 Storrs St., Concord
226-0297, www.sals-pizza.com

The skinny:

We pulled in for lunch on a recent trip through Keene, and we were excited about the Italian-style pizzas.

Pizzas here come in the 8-inch personal size, the 12-inch small and 16-inch large. The 8-inch is $7 for plain cheese and $7.75 for 1 topping, but that’s as far as you can go with the personal size. Cheese pizzas start at $8 for the small and $10 for the large. Each topping adds $1 to a small and $1.25 to the large. And there are plenty of topping options, including the standard choices and other treats such as artichoke hearts.

Ammici’s also has several specialty pizza options, which come in small and large sizes. Options include the Breakfast Pizza ($10/$12.50), which includes bacon, egg and mozzarella, and the Californian ($12/$15), which includes fresh tomatoes, eggplant, onion and broccoli.

There are also calzone options, but what really caught our eye was the Pizza Sub (grilled pepperoni and sausage, pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese), which we may have to try on our next trip through town.

Review: We’ve been on a meatball kick lately, so we ordered a large meatball pizza ($11.25).

The amount of meatballs on our pizza was insane. Aside from noting the quantity, Deidre also was pleased with how the meatballs were cut up on the pie. (She’s become more aware of this recently; making the toppings not too big – and not too small – really does enhance the slice-eating process.) The smaller meatball pieces still packed quite a meaty punch, and we both loved the bit of zestiness in each bite.

The sauce was typical of an Italian-style pizza, layered on thin. Andrew thought the amount was just about right and loved the slightly sweet flavor, which worked well with the zesty meatball. Deidre appreciated that the flavor wasn’t hidden due to not enough sauce; in fact, she was glad to taste a little more than she thought she would with each bite.

The cheese also covered the entire pizza, meaning a bit of ooey-gooey mozzarella in each bite. It was slightly greasy, but that was to be expected with the topping quantity. (Besides, a little grease on a pizza isn’t a bad thing, right?)

We expected a thin crust – and we got it. As Deidre ate her first slice, she was delighted to get a crunch with each bite. But as she ate her next slice, the grease started to affect that crunchiness, causing the first part of the slice to be just a tiny bit soggy. The end crust, however, maintained its crunch throughout our lunch.

The cold pizza was a meatball extravaganza, making for a delicious meal out of the fridge. The crust stayed chewy enough to be enjoyable and the great coating of cheese was still nice and creamy.

Rating: Deidre: 4 / Andrew: 4.5 = 8.5/10 slices

Amicci’s Italian Style Pizza
90 Main St., Keene
355-3535, amiccisonline.com

The skinny:

@Collinjc775 had recommended C.C. Tomatoes to us, and after checking out the menu online, we were excited for dinner one recent weekday night.

Brick-oven pizzas can be ordered in two sizes here: 14-inch small ($9.95) and 18-inch grande ($11.95). Twenty-six toppings make up the list here, and you can order selections such as anchovies, hot peppers, zucchini and even mozzarella balls. Toppings are $1.50 each on a small, $2 each on a large.

Seventeen specialty pies are ready to tempt you, such as the Sausage Lasagna ($12.95/$15.95), which is covered in sausage, ricotta, tomato sauce and mozzarella; the Presto ($11.95/$13.95), which has pepperoni, plum tomatoes and extra mozzarella; and the Giardino ($11.95/$13.95), which combines eggplant and mushrooms with fresh herbs, garlic, tomato sauce and mozzarella.

Eight specialty calzones also appear on the menu, and all are less than $10.

Review: At C.C. Tomatoes, we ordered a small Carnivore ($13.95), which had pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, rosemary ham, bacon, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Deidre was immediately excited by the crust. She had been waiting way too long for a pizza with a crunchier bottom crust. It wasn’t a heavy crunch, but it was able to hold the load of meats and cheeses atop it easily. She also noted some of the beautiful blackened char on the end crust, which signaled the crispiness she was seeking. Each bite had just enough of a crisp outer edge and a softer inside to make it one of the best crusts she’s had in a while.

The cheese was very heavy. It reminded Deidre of a Greek-style pizza, except for the fact that the cheese was much more likable. This was pure mozzarella, laid on thick, so it was creamy and chewy. Andrew thought this might have been the most mozzarella we’ve had on a pizza.

The sauce, unfortunately, was masked by the heaviness of the cheese. Andrew dug a bit and found the sauce to be pretty neutral, maybe a bit on the sweet side. He and Deidre both wished there was just a bit more.

Multiple meat tastes were detected throughout the pizza. Deidre thought the standouts were the sausage, which was plentiful and spicy, and the ham, which reminded her of a traditional Easter dinner. Andrew also loved the complex flavors of the ham and sausage. By comparison, the bacon and pepperoni seemed downright pedestrian.

Andrew thought the cold pizza was deliciously meaty. Adding in that the crust still tasted crispy and delicious, and this was one awesome cold pizza.

Rating: Deidre: 4.5 / Andrew: 4.5 = 9/10 slices

C.C. Tomatoes
209 Fisherville Road, Concord
753-4450, cctomatoes.com

The skinny:

We took up Facebook fan Liz’s suggestion of this Manchester restaurant.

Thin crust pizzas at Johnny Troy’s are served in two sizes: 10-inch small ($5) and 16-inch large ($9.50). More than a dozen toppings are listed on the menu, such as Roma tomatoes, spinach and salami; on a small pizza, add 75 cents each, and on a large, add $1.50.

Specialty thin crust pizzas include Prosciutto & Caramelized Onions White Pizza ($7.95/$13.50); Grilled Chicken Portofino ($8.25/$14), with chicken, mushrooms, onions and a three-cheese blend; and Roma Tomatoes & Basil White Pizza ($6.95/$13).

Thin crust pizza not your thing? Johnny Troy’s also offers Sicilian. These 16- by 16-inch pizzas start at $15.25, and toppings are $2.50 each. Several specialty pizzas are served in Sicilian form, as well; try the Meat Lovers ($21), with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs and bacon, or The Flag Pizza ($17.95), which is split in red, white and green sections with a few choices of veggie toppings.

Johnny Troy’s also offers calzones ($8.50-$22), including specialties such as Steak Pizzaiola, Veal Parmesan, and Grilled Chicken & Broccoli.

Review: During our recent visit, we ordered a large thin crust meatball pizza ($11).

The menu promised “extra thin crust,” and Deidre has been on the hunt for more pizzas with this feature. Johnny Troy’s passed this test with flying colors. While it was crunchy on the edges, the middle was a bit floppy, requiring the “New York fold.”

Similar to the crust, the pizza’s sauce was also very thin. Visually, it was hard to detect; the taste of the sauce alone was also hard to find, but when Deidre isolated it, she noted a deep tomato flavor. Andrew thought the sauce was just a bit sweet, which made him wish there was more of it.

The cheese was delicious, spread on in a fairly thin layer. Even though it was thin, the cheese still brought plenty of creaminess.

Sticking with the thin theme, the slices of meatball were very thin, too. But they were also pretty big, so most bites had at least a bit of meatball in it. Andrew was a bit disappointed that the meatball wasn’t very zesty, but it was still pretty flavorful.

The cold pizza was a bit tough, crust-wise, but the toppings provided just enough flavor to enjoy it.

Rating: Deidre: 3.5 / Andrew: 3.5 = 7/10 slices

Johnny Troy’s Italian Restaurant
2075 S. Willow St., Manchester
644-8769, www.jtitalian.com

The skinny:

Valentino’s Kitchen is owned by the same people who run Valentino’s Restaurant in Hudson, and like its predecessor, it has a market in addition to the restaurant. Unlike its predecessor, it also adds a bakery.

Pizzas here come in 12-inch ($6.95) and 16-inch ($9.95) sizes. Toppings add $1.25 to the small and $1.50 to the large. Topping choices are fairly standard, but Valentino’s changes things up a bit with prosciutto, roasted peppers and shaved steak.

Valentino’s has plenty of specialty pizza offerings, too. You can try the Italiano ($12.95, $15.95), which includes tomato sauce, salami, capicola and mortadella. Or you can order up the Abruzzi ($12.95, $15.95), which includes chicken cutlet, prosciutto and balsamic drizzle.

In addition to pizzas, Valentino’s also serves calzones, which start at $7.95.

Review: On our recent visit, we dined on a large Cutlet Caprese ($15.95), which has cut up pieces of breaded chicken cutlet, fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce and a light sprinkling of basil.

The end crust provided a great doughiness and took quite a few chews to get through. The color of the crust made Deidre think that it would have more crunch to it, but the texture worked. Andrew’s only qualm with the crust was that it was relatively bland.

The chicken pieces were lightly breaded and not dried out at all. Some of the breaded pieces offered a nice crunch, which Deidre thought made up for the lack of it in the crust. Andrew thought that while the chicken looked odd (more like pieces of potato), the cutlet bits tasted homemade.

Deidre loved the slices of fresh mozzarella. They were thicker than many other mozzarella pieces we’ve been served, yet they still maintained the meltiness we love on top of our slices.

The pizza was also topped with lots of sauce. If there’s anything Deidre likes a little extra of on her pizza, it’s sauce. It keeps each bite from being too dry. And while the sauce itself was thin, the flavor was big.

Andrew appreciated the small bits of fresh mozzarella sprinkled on top, which were spread out just enough that you got a nice jolt of flavor every few bites.

Andrew thought the cold pizza was pretty good, with the mozzarella maintaining just enough moisture to taste great. The only real downside was that the chicken had dried out quite a bit.

Rating: Deidre: 4 / Andrew: 4 = 8/10 slices

Valentino’s Kitchen
383 E. Dunstable Road, Nashua
888-7400, ValentinosKitchen.com

The skinny:

This almost-100-year-old landmark serves 10-inch pizzas that start at $7.25. There’s only a handful of specialty pies here, such as the Greek Special ($8.50), with spinach, feta, olives and tomatoes, and the Buffalo Chicken Finger ($7.95), with those famous chicken tenders and diced tomatoes.

Toppings are 80 cents each if you’re looking to build your own pizza; mushrooms, anchovies and ham are among some of the usual suspects.

Review: We ordered the Syrian Garlic Bread Pizza ($7.25). It’s rare to come across pizzas with the typical dough, so we jumped at the chance to eat something different. This simple pizza has cheese, marinara and garlic.

When our pie was served, we both noticed how thin it was. In fact, it’s possible this is the thinnest pizza we’ve eaten in all of our reviews. Deidre could see by the crust that it would be seriously crispy — and she was mostly right. Each darkened bite of the crust had a crunch to it. But in the center of the pizza, it was soft and floppy. Deidre thought each end of the bread was tasty, and the two textures made the experience a little different. Andrew agreed on the interesting texture, but disagreed on the taste; given the promise of Syrian garlic bread in the title, he was expecting a more flavorful crust.

The cheese looked like it may have been a little thick (it is, after all, a Greek restaurant), and, technically, it was thicker than the crust. But tastewise, it worked. Andrew enjoyed the blend of cheeses used, which he thought gave the pizza a complex flavor. Deidre noted it was surprisingly more greasy than other cheese pizzas she’s had.

The sauce, as expected, was a little thinner than we would have liked. To the eye, it wasn’t all that detectable, but Deidre definitely noticed the taste. Not a single tomato chunk was found, and we were really digging the thin theme to this dinner.

Then there was the garlic. The Backroom did this part perfectly. So many other pizzas we’ve had with garlic overload the slices and they become close to inedible, or we have to scrape it off to continue eating. Here, we tasted only the slightest notes of it, making the experience much more bearable.

Andrew was a bit ashamed to admit that after some time in the fridge, this pizza tasted just like Domino’s thin-crust pizza … and he liked it. Not a whole lot of crunch left here, but the pizza still had lots of flavor jammed into a little, thin package.

Rating: Deidre: 4 / Andrew: 4 = 8/10 slices

Puritan Backroom
245 Hooksett Road, Manchester
669-6890, puritanbackroom.com

The skinny:

Pizzas at Ken’s come in a 12-inch small ($7.99) and 18-inch large ($13.99). Toppings are $1 on a small, $2 on a large and include standards such as bacon, spinach and mushrooms.

The menu at Ken’s lists 17 classic and specialty pies to choose from. A few of them include the All Meat ($9.99/$18.99), which is covered in meatball, pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, bacon, ham and hamburger; the Southwestern ($9.99/$18.99), with a choice of chicken or beef, and peppers, onions, Jack cheese and southwestern salsa; and the Port City ($9.99/$18.99), with prosciutto, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, black olives, basil and garlic.

Thanks to @tarakaiken and @selachance for the recommendation!

Review: On our recent visit, we ordered a large Sweet Fennel Italian Sausage pizza ($16.99).

The pizza was said to be 18 inches, but it truly looked much larger. That may have had to have something to do with how thin the pizza was. This “New York style” pizza had both thin bottom and end crusts. Deidre found the bottom crust was very easy to get through — as was the end crust. She did think, however, that the crust could have benefited from another minute or so in the oven. Andrew’s biggest qualm was that the crust was too thin to hold itself up, requiring use of a fork and knife — two things Andrew feels should never come between him and his pizza.

While Deidre prefers a spicier sausage (go ahead, start inserting jokes here), she’s not opposed to the sweet variety. In fact, this pizza was loaded with sausage — and that was a good thing. You really couldn’t take a bite without getting multiple pieces in each one. Andrew thought the sausage was sweet and delicious.

Deidre’s main disappointment was with the cheese — there was just too much of it, throwing off the cheese-to-sauce ratio. It was actually heavy enough on the cheese that it was kind of a challenge to lift a slice on to your plate. The top of the pizza was greasy, but we’re pretty sure that had more to do with the abundance of sausage.

Because the cheese was heavy, it meant that the sauce was too light. While Deidre found it hard to detect under all that cheese, Andrew noted a bit of sweetness in the light layer of sauce.

Andrew liked the cold pizza, especially the sausage, but found the pizza even more lacking in sauce flavor.

Rating: Deidre: 3.5 / Andrew: 4 = 7.5 /10 slices

Ken’s West End Pizza
801 Islington St., Portsmouth
431-7500, westendpizza.com

The skinny:

Pizzas here can be ordered in small ($6.99), medium ($8.99) and large ($9.99). Toppings (50 cents/75 cents/$1.10) are standard here and include the usual mushrooms, sausage and pepperoni.

Archeez offers 11 specialty pizzas for the hungry masses. A few of these include the Super Cheese ($7.99/$9.99/$13.99), which is topped with Monterey Jack, mozzarella, Parmesan and provolone; the Chicken Catcha ($8.79/$10.99/$13.99), covered in breaded chicken, onion and green peppers; and the Load It Up ($9.99/$12.59/$15.79), which has green peppers, onion, black olives, mushrooms, sausage, hamburg and pepperoni.

The eatery also offers an 8-inch personal flatbread pizza with two toppings for $6.99.

Review: At Archeez, we ordered a medium Alexandria ($10.99), which consisted of hamburg, bacon and barbecue sauce.

This pizza was loaded with toppings, but the first thing Andrew noticed was how light and fluffy the crust looked. And his eyes didn’t deceive him: the pizza thick and fluffy, and just a bit chewy. As a bonus, the crust had just the slightest crunch. Deidre enjoyed that crunch.

Andrew is a big bacon fan — who isn’t, really? — but the bacon on top of this pizza didn’t seem like anything special to him. The same went for the hamburger topping. Which isn’t to say either was bad, but neither stood out in his mind. Deidre noticed the topping quantity more over the quality: There was quite a bit more bacon than hamburg. She appreciated the amount of meaty goodness on top of each slice.

What did stick out for Andrew was the barbecue sauce on top of the pizza. Instead of replacing the usual tomato sauce, the barbecue sauce was poured on top. That meant the barbecue sauce wasn’t everywhere, and you’d hit small flavorful pockets every other bite or so. Andrew thought the barbecue sauce added lots of great flavor without interfering with the typical pizza flavor. Tastewise, Deidre detected the BBQ sauce moreso than the tomato sauce — which she enjoyed — and she instantly picked up the sauce’s sweetness.

That typical pizza flavor worked well, too, because the ratio of sauce to cheese was just perfect. While the sauce didn’t stick out that much to Andrew, the cheese was great and worked well with the tangy barbecue sauce.

Andrew thought the crust lost a bit of its flair after some time in the fridge, but the bacon and hamburger actually tasted a bit better. And of course the barbecue sauce still had tons of flavor.

Rating: Deidre: 3.5 / Andrew: 4.5 = 8/10 slices

Archeez Pizza & Grill
70 Whittier Highway, Moultonborough
253-8316

The skinny:

We did a little online research prior to our Cristy’s trip to learn about these famous square slices. We knew what — and what not — to expect. And that there are some serious opinions for and against beach pizza.

Cristy’s might have the littlest menu we’ve ever seen. At Cristy’s Pizza, you really can only get pizza. A slice of cheese sets you back $1.75, and with a topping, you’ll need to fork over another quarter. And here’s what Cristy’s offers for toppings: provolone or American cheese, anchovies, pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms. That’s it. For real.

Need a little more ‘za? A large box of eight plain slices is $12, or $14 if you choose one topping. Have even more hungry mouths to feed? A full tray (20 slices) will cost you $30, and adding a topping will bring you up to $35.

And even though summer is starting to come to a close, don’t fret: Cristy’s is open year round.

Review: Normally we order a whole pie, but since we were at the beach, we thought we’d do what we assume most customers here do: Order a couple slices, and get right back to the beach.

Andrew opted for two plain slices, while Deidre added provolone, one of her favorite cheeses.

As we took our first bites, it was clear the crust was a winner. Deidre was gushing over the super crispy crust after the first bite. As soon as she picked up her first slice, she just knew it was going to offer the perfect amount of crispiness without being dry. She then worried that the end crust would be too crispy, but she was surprised again: It was the ideal balance of crispy on the outside and a slight chew on the inside. Andrew and Deidre agreed the crust could have been a tad more flavorful, but the crispy factor was done so well, we let it slide a little.

Deidre wasn’t sure about the sauce upon first glance — it looked like the thinness of it may not have been ideal for the perfect pizza ratio. Again, the first bite changed all that. She was happy that the sauce slightly oozed a bit with each bite. Visually, she detected a few herbs on her slices, but none of them stood out to her during the review process. Andrew thought the sauce was fairly tart, which combined with the seasoning, made it really stand out.

While Andrew went for plain slices, Deidre watched as a large slice of provolone was placed on her slices by the staff, then placed in the oven to warm up for some ultimate meltiness. Deidre took a bite of the plain slice to compare, then concluded that the provolone gave her slices the better balance. Though Andrew didn’t compare the two, he liked his regular cheese slice just fine.

No cold pizza to review this time around — are there ever leftovers to take home from the beach?!

Rating: Deidre: 4.5 / Andrew: 4.5 = 9/10 slices

Cristy’s Pizza
1 Riverview Terrace, Hampton
929-4496