BOP (Brick Oven Pizza)

Review by Contributing Writer John DeCampos

So times are tight at my job place right now and they're watching our hours pretty close, so the other day I was forced to take a half hour break. "And what did you decide to do with your mandatory break?" you ask...EAT PIZZA!! So I strolled on down to the nearest pizza parlor, a local fells point favorite known as B.O.P. which stands for Brick Oven Pizza. As I entered I was met with a 7 to 8 person line, I thought at the time that it should decrease quickly and decided to stick it out. The line took about 15 minutes, but I tried to soak in all the atmosphere B.O.P. had to offer. First off, the oven seems to be made out of metal not brick, however it was heated by a wood fire. Also they have a flat screen T.V. for you to watch while you wait though the lunch rush line that features screen after screen of their menu items. Okay, so I was close to the end of the line and I was planning on getting the lunch special which was a 8in 2 topping personal pan pizza, a soda and salad for $7. But as my allotted time whittled away, I found that I had to go with what was readily available. So i decided to get the lock and stock of the pizza industry, 2 slices of peperoni pizza. This ran me about $6 but I somehow managed to get 2 slices fresh out of the oven.  Okay, so the pizza itself was pretty much perfect: Now keep in mind this had no fancy toppings or specialty items, just pepperoni, cheese, sauce and crust. The crust was thin, a tad bit chewy, had a slight bit of crunch and was flavored nicely by the wood fire oven. My only complaint is that the crust didn't have the structural integrity to hold up during the classic "fold" maneuver. The cheese was stringy and flavorful, sauce had just the right amount of spice, and the pepperoni was ample and tasty. All in all a fine pizza indeed. The price was a little steep, but for 2 classically delicious slices of fresh oven pizza, it's hard to complain.