# @rifoodfights on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DDdVTwbxCXT
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/59925372-rifoodfights-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/a5865a365a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-12-12T00:33:03.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** RI FOOD FIGHTS (@rifoodfights) — https://gondola.cc/rifoodfights

## Caption

🍕Who has the BEST Pizza in Rhode Island?

During the entire month of November, Rhode Islanders criss-crossed our great state to answer that question. A record FORTY of the BEST pizzerias vied for the prestigious title in the 11th Annual LORD of the PIES!

Tonight we honor the JUDGES' CHOICE Winner voted on by our panel of pizza experts. CONGRATULATIONS to merlinospizzeria located at 889 Dyer Ave in Cranston! 

Let's let rifoodfights own Pizza Laureate, Tim Chace, tell the story:

"Merlino's sits in a Cranston strip mall like a secret waiting to be discovered. This is the kind of place that makes you question every assumption you've made about where great food comes from.

The pizza here performs a kind of physics that shouldn't be possible in a space this modest. The crust - crisp enough on the bottom to satisfy New York purists, but maintaining a pillowy chew around the edges - speaks of someone who understands dough on a molecular level. It's the kind of excellence that comes from endless repetition and attention to detail.

The sauce tells its own story - whole tomatoes broken down with just enough intervention to make them better without losing their essential character. No dried herbs trying to cover up mediocre ingredients, no sugar masking subpar tomatoes. Just pure, honest flavor that reminds you why tomatoes became sauce in the first place.

Behind the counter, Carmine works with the kind of quiet confidence that comes from knowing exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it. He's part artist, part scientist, part neighborhood character - the kind of person who makes a place transcend its function as just a pizza shop. 

Carmine is someone who cares deeply about his craft and the business of feeding the community the best way he knows how.

Merlino's isn't just serving pizza - they're making the case for you to need to move into the neighborhood."

CONGRATULATIONS to owner jeffrey.merlino, Carmine, and the entire Merlino's team on winning the 11th Annual LORD of the PIES Judges' Choice Award!

#rifoodfights #401eats #pvdeats #rhodeislandeats #401love #rieats #rhodyeats #ediblerhody #bestpizzari

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## Tags

rhodyeats, rhodeislandeats, ediblerhody, 401love, rieats, pvdeats, rifoodfights, 401eats, bestpizzari

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