Bada Bings, Norton St.

Bada Bings opened a few weeks ago, in the space formery occupied by Perri's and Piatza's on Norton St. Is it a cursed space for a pizzeria, or will the third time be the charm? Time will tell.

I stopped by last week and got two slices, one pepperoni and one plain. I guess I should've asked how big they were first, because these were huge, and two slices was way more than I wanted. Oh well.

It seems to me that "big slice" pizza is almost a style unto itself. There are some places, like Pontillo's, that offer big slices that don't fit the mold, but most of these places offer a style of pizza that's thin, screen baked, and floppy. I can't really call it New York style, because it lacks the crispness of NY pizza, and because NY pizza generally never touches a screen, in my experience.

There are probably logical reasons for this. Maybe if you're making a truly enormous pizza you almost have to use a screen, since the pie might be wider than the average pizza peel, and I suppose it makes sense to make it thin, for reasons of cost and convenience. But I can't see why the crust has to be so pale and soft.

As with any style of pizza, though, some big slices are better than others. These fell somewhere in the middle. The underside was screen baked and pale (*sigh*), but it was at least a little crisp after rewarming in the oven. And it seemed to have the basic makings of a good crust, with some bready flavor and a chewy texture.

The sauce and cheese were added in proportion to the crust, making these well balanced pizzas. The sauce was tomatoey and slightly sweet, and the mozzarella was well melted and chewy. It was a little more browned on the cheese slice, and seemed to have been unevenly distributed, or perhaps migrated a bit on the pepperoni slice. (Oddly, it migrated away from the tip - ususally it seems to head for the center of the pie, which is usually thinner. I was pretty careful to keep the slices horizontal, so I don't think it was anything I did. But no biggie.)

Bada Bings offers pizzas in sizes ranging from small (8 inches) to the 28-inch-diameter "King," which I assume was the source of my slices, as well as sheet pizzas. They have 20 toppings and four specialty pizzas, plus calzones, wings (8 sauces, if you count the various gradations of heat with the Buffalo sauce), hot subs, burgers and dogs, pasta, a Friday fish fry, and sides. It's pretty much a takeout place.

Well, this was OK pizza. It wasn't greasy, and the flavor was pretty good overall. I can't give it a rave review as the crust was just a little too lifeless for me, but you could do worse for three bucks. I'll put it right at average, for a grade of C.

Bada Bings Pizzeria, 1733 Norton St. 14609. 323-BING (2464)

Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 3 a.m.