For all those who haven't ventured out lately in the Boca Raton area, or haven't read my previous posts, Red Rock Pizza has closed down recently.  Although we all loved the taste and quality that came along with Red Rock, you will be happy to know that Tucci's picks up where they left off.

When I first entered the new Tucci's Pizza place on 50 NE 1st avenue in Boca Raton, near Mizner (561) 620-2930, I immediately noticed how cleaned up the placed look.

It had a modern chic feel to it, and just seemed brighter.  Red Rock used to have this gigantic bar area that really served no purpose, the new owner "Albertotucci" saw no need for this wasted space and shrunk the bar which enabled him to add some tables.

Even though we ate outside, I had walked in to go wash my hands.  What used to be a frightening experience, has also been changed.  Red Rock had some of the ugliest, grossest bathrooms in town.  Tucci has redone them (nothing extravagant) and cleaned them up, making them usable.  They almost feel bigger, even though they are still tiny.  I used to feel like I was walking out of the bathroom wishing there was a sink on the outside so my hands would feel clean from washing them in the old sink.

Another thing that was instantly evident, was that Tucci took care of that horrendous noise that used to constantly hum throughout this place.  It was worse by the back tables, but it rattled through my body when I would eat, almost like when someone puts a window down in the car and your ears start to pop.  He said it was a simple fix of removing some debris from the air conditioning vent.  Thank goodness he did this!

Alright, enough about the ambiance and crap that nobody here cares about.  Let's get to the pizza.  Big G came along for the ride today, and he ordered a meatball/rigotta small pie, and I ordered a large plain pie.  The owner Alberto came out and spoke to us for a while and recognized me as the PizzaExpert.  Luckily I hadn't given his place a bad review!  How can you give a bad review though to a place that tasted awesome.

Big G's pizza came out first and he started to dig in.  Right after his first bite I could tell he enjoyed it.  He looked at me and said, this is seriously good, and I am happy we came.  After a little while my pizza came out.  Although the pie was a little soggy, after cooling down it got firmer.  My first bite was delicious as well.  One thing you might notice at Tucci's Pizza is that they do not use the ridiculous amount of chunky sauce that Red Rock used to use.  Although the sauce tasted relatively the same, they use less of it, and it makes much less of a mess.  When picking up a slice of Red Rock Pizza, the cheese and sauce would slide off and you were left having to use a fork and knife.  This is no longer the case.  Alberto has figured out the perfect ratio and the cheese and sauce stays on.

You could get your pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella if you wish, but we choose the Fresh Mozzarella for our pie.  The Fresh Mozzarella does not come pre-grated, they grate it themselves, and is not the way many other local places do this.  The sauce and dough are made daily and not frozen.  Alberto explained that he uses white oak in his oven, and even throws in some coal to keep the heat.  Out of all the other coal fired, wood fired, wood burning, coal burning blah blah blah burning places that have opened up in Boca Raton/Delray Beach lately, this place definitely takes the cake on taste.

Please note, at $18 for a pie, without toppings, this place is not cheap by any means.  But at least when you eat here for that price, you don't feel like you are getting robbed, like at some of the other local places.  The quality stands out at Tucci's.  Do yourselves a favor and try this place.

Tucci's Pizza gets 7 out of 8 slices.  We wish you success Alberto