I'm generally of the opinion that there is no such thing as too many options when it comes to pizza. I grew up in the pre-Dominos era when Shakey's, Carmen's, Fletcher's and Obie's were pretty much it for most Nashvillians. There was a Sir Pizza here and there, but I always thought that they used bacon bits instead of pepperoni. After the first (dozen) Domino's opened in town, suddenly there was a boom of chains and local options like Michaelangelo's, DaVinci's and several other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
But I can't remember anything like the current pizza boom going on now in the Midtown neighborhood. Starting at the original stalwart Pizza Perfect across from Vanderbilt on 21st Avenue, here's the list of a half-dozen Midtown pizza joints that I can think of off the top of my head that we have covered here on Bites in the past few years:
(And not that far from Midtown are Porta Via Italian Kitchen, Five Points Pizza and two chef-driven dining spots that feature wood-fired pizza ovens — City House and Lockeland Table.)
Even with the closing of Pie in the Sky around the corner from Soulshine and Two Boots, there are a whole lot of new pizza choices for Midtown diners. But Keith Hayman, the owner of 12th & Porter, isn't scared about oversaturation. He has announced plans to open Music City Pizza in the lounge side of the 12th & Porter bar and music club before the summer is over.
