Michael Bauer launches his quest to find the Bay Area's best pies with Pizza Friday, a weekly multimedia feature on his blog. But first he samples some of the nation's best.

According to a news report from sfgate.com, "As I bit through a slice of pizza at Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, the tomato sauce and cheese seared the roof of my mouth. But that didn't stop me. I continued to eat until I had devoured every last bit of the blistered, chewy crust."

"This was my pizza epiphany. I've had a lot of pizza in my years as a restaurant critic, but I certainly never considered myself an expert or thought much about what makes one different from the other. This pizza was different, and got me thinking about why this seemingly innocuous dish engenders so much passion," said the story. "Every time The Chronicle writes about pizza – whether it was rating the best pizzas in the Bay Area two years ago or the more recent story about the pizzaiolo at Pyzano's Pizzeria in Castro Valley who won a major Neapolitan pizza contest in Naples, but doesn't have the oven here to make the pie – reader responses pour in. I just had to find out what makes such a simple creation – flour, water, yeast and heat – so captivating. Quickly, my exploration turned into an obsession. Now, I simply had to find the best."

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