I made the quarterly pilgrimage down to Hot Springs for my fix of Deluca’s pizza last Friday afternoon with a few friends who happened to be first timers. It was the same old story … still the best pizza around.

Then in dawned on me, I’ve been coming to Deluca’s for a year now and I’ve never had anything that wasn’t spectacular. And I mean everything, from the salads, to the meat plate, to all of the pizzas, and even the cannoli. It’s all been truly fantastic.

But you already know that.

At this point, you’re sick of reading all of the foodgasms from writers and fans. The addictive pizza and owner Anthony Valinoti’s larger than life personality make dining at Deluca’s an experience like no other in this state.

So, let’s be real … all you really care about is, “When can I get my ass down there to eat this pizza?”

If you can manage to match your schedule up with the restaurant’s fairly limited hours, I can almost guarantee it will be worth the drive down to Hot Springs.

Why?

Consistency.

I’ve been 6 or 7 times and it’s always great–every single time. A lot of credit not only goes to Anthony and his pursuit of perfection, but also to his loyal staff, including, but not limited to his right-hand man, Willy Whitelaw.

There is only two minor hitches. Deluca’s is super popular now and Anthony only makes 75 pies per day, so when he runs out of dough, that’s the end of the show. Also, he only has so much space in that oven, so if you go during peak times, you may possibly be in for a wait.

No worries, however, perfect pizza tends to put you back in a great mood.