By Elijah Kirkland-Andrews

Whether you like it or not, Jeff Varasano has forever changed the pizza landscape of Atlanta. The former Rubik’s Cube champion has channeled that same dedication to the art of pizza making at Varasano’s Pizzeria.

His has long chronicled his attempts at perfecting his pizza at his website.  With the exception of his sauce, every step of his recipe is posted online. Though much has been said about the variability of his pizzas, at the time of tasting it was very good. On all of Varasano’s pizzas, the crust is extremely light, though perhaps a bit unstable. The char marks are visible on the bottom of the pizza and add a nice flavor. The crust definitely wasn’t gummy like most and set the tone for the whole pizza.

I ordered the Caramelized Onion and Emmenthaler cheese pizza with an extra prosciutto topping, and sampled the Margherita di Bufala and the Chica Bella. Out of the pizzas, the Chica Bella was by far the most impressive. The ricotta and mozzarella were very smooth together, and the lemon provided enough bite to keep it from being bland. The Caramelized Onion pizza was a bit dry, but the Emmenthaler was pungent and sharp. The Margherita was also excellent and had great flavor with the basil.

Overall, I enjoyed Varasano’s. Does it live up to the hype? Definitely yes. Is it the best pizza in Atlanta? I’ll have to try Fritti and Antico’s before I make a call. Varasano’s is at 2171 Peachtree Road. www.varasanos.com.