NoonEats: Slices at Prima Pizza

Getting into Prima Pizza at lunchtime can be a chore: Almost hidden behind Dunkin Donuts, Prima Pizza is set so far back, one can drive down Mountain Avenue and miss it. The parking lot is not easy to navigate either. On my first trip, I worked my way to the back of the lot, only to find every space filled. Cornered and facing several cars finding themselves in the same situation, I navigated a 6-point turn and parked on Mountain Avenue. After this obstacle course, the food better be good.

Prima Pizza's menu is filled with pastas, hot Italian entrees, sandwiches and wraps. But before I could see the menu, several pies under the glass counter greeted me.

Several times I've found myself engrossed in Slice's comprehensive list of 21 regional American pizza styles. I have a difficult time placing the style of pies offered at Prima and, say, Saporito on Route 22. Most of the pies are thick, topped with several traditional – or sometimes nontraditional – toppings. It's certainly thicker than Neapolitan American or New York-style slices, but not like the deep-dish slices Chicago is known for.

A traditional margherita, for example, is little more than fresh San Marzano sauce, buffalo mozzarella and basil on a thin crust.

At Prima, the margherita is a thick slice, topped with a generous amount of diced tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. I usually prefer a thin, crispy crust (see tavern-style pizza, or Midwest-style pizza on the Slice list), but the thicker, doughy crust at Prima has a lot of flavor, as did the tomatoes and basil. It may not fit traditional definitions, but I enjoyed this so-called margherita slice more so than the Grandma's slice or the sausage and pepperoni slice.

The Grandma's slice was a basic, thin, crispy, square slice, with sauce, mozzarella and a fresh basil leaf. The sausage and pepperoni slice was full of toppings, and more sweet than spicy.

A regular slice and a Grandma's slice at Prima makes for a good, filling lunch. Two regular slices, on the other hand, are almost too filling.

In comparison to other pizza options in town, Prima falls somewhere between Jolly's and Saporito. Saporito has the edge in overall taste and quality, and with a convenient location, the lines and the slices move about as quickly as the cars speeding by on Route 22. Prima has more of an old-school, mom-and pop vibe, with more than one generation of Italian-American owners working the counter, serving not just slices but wide range of Italian dishes. While not bustling like Saporito's, Prima is more lively than Jolly's, and the slices are much better.

A final note on the change of season: As I sipped my cream soda and waited for my order, I realized I was probably visiting Prima at the very beginning of summer vacation. I listened to a group of girls at the next table talk about who's going with whom to the shore, who announced a relationship on facebook and who made fun of whom at graduation – as if life or death depended on these events. Ahh, the sounds of summer.