'Taste of Fayetteville' could use better taste in pizza

I've been down here for three and a half years now and it's time to go back to civilization. I've decided to return to the mid-Hudson Valley in New York for a number of reasons. I'd like to share them with your readers in the hopes that some eyes will be opened, seeing as you are in the process of unbridled growth and doing nothing effective to slow it down.

I've been through that a couple of times and don't care to spend my declining years witnessing the spoilation of another beautiful region by profiteering developers and politicians. I don't like the six month summers, nor do I care for the chain food cuisine prevalent in this area.

This week the reason for the letter is food.

The food here is a special sore point for those of us who come from the Northeast, north central states and the West Coast. That is based on conversations with the majority of customers over the last couple of years.

I opened a restaurant in Peachtree City which made Atlanta Magazine three times in its first year and was reviewed by the Atlanta Constitution favorably after nine months of existence. We were selected as "The Best of Peachtree City" by Atlanta Magazine the first two years of our existence. I say this not to brag but to establish my credentials.

I find it highly ironic that pizza should finally trigger this letter. I decided to locate here because friends we were visiting took us out to eat four times, and each time the food was at best acceptable, but usually mediocre. Pizza was especially bad because it was mainly pizza chain restaurants.

I was told 'You can't get good pizza because "the water is bad." I went to the local supermarket, bought all the ingredients, and came back and baked an excellent pizza from scratch. What that proved was that the local pizza places were just poor quality.

Now that we have sold the restaurant and our home and are scheduled to move in June, a new pizza restaurant has opened on Ga. Highway 54 between Peachtree City and Fayetteville. Ventura's Pizza sells the first authentic New York style pizza I've tasted down here. This pizza tastes like you are up in New York or New Jersey; it's the real thing. Since I found it two weeks ago, I've tried it for lunch two or three times and taken a pie home for dinner. It's for real.

I was glad to hear that they were going to be in the "Taste of Fayetteville" celebration so I was greatly surprised when I walked into the store yesterday to get a late dinner pizza. Long faces announced that they had placed second to a "national pizza takeout chain."

I will not mention the name of the chain, but I will tell you that this chain opened a store in the town we came from in New York. It lasted two months and died because where we came from and where we are going back to, people know the difference between real pizza and junk.

I have a suggestion for the Taste of Fayetteville people. Try getting some judges who are qualified and have good taste.

I know on the face of it, that may sound like a gratuitous insult, but you had better be cognizant of the fact that more and more of your audience comes from places that are used to better things than chain food.

You keep telling people something is great when it's mediocre and you will lose your credibility quickly.

Michael P. Mazzola

Peachtree City