Best Pizza

 This one’s tricky. First of all, pizza’s such a subjective edible. One person’s cardboard crust is another person’s heavenly cracker. Some pizza eaters will eat any pie and say yum. Others will belly up to a fancy flat delicacy at a fancy non-pizza-specific joint (Folie Douce, Hurricane Kate’s, Brick and Fire), or to a tasty wedge from some donut-pizza-Thai combo hole-in-the-wall (yes, Don’s Donuts) and shamelessly declare it the best, knowing full well that PIZZA actually comes with certain trappings not generally found in these establishments: scary dramatizations on the TV or a ball game; black-and-white photos of New York on the wall or, alternatively, local art; beer on tap; maybe a soda dispenser; and a group of kids in soccer uniform cheering up half the room.

In that category, the one with the most winners by far was Live From New York. Now here’s the tricky part: Most folks just wrote “Live From New York.” But we all know there are two by that name in the county, with different owners: Live From New York in Arcata, and Paul’s Live From New York in McKinleyville (note: Paul’s LFNY is opening a new outpost in Eureka). Some people did specify, however. Of the ones who did, the overwhelming majority said “Paul’s” LFNY or “the one in McKinleyville.” You decide.

Best choose-your-friends-named-Laura-well  answer: “Laura Birshan’s house! Hands down best BBQ pizza!” (she got two votes) and “Laura Cangas’ house!” (one vote)

— Heidi Walters

The Breakdown: Live From New York 24.0%, Big Pete’s 14.6%, Smug’s 14.5%, Big Louie’s 9.2%, Babe’s 5.9%, Voter Turnout: Second.

This article appears in Best of Humboldt 2011.