We’ve got a wood-burning pizza oven in the garden – a luxury, I know, but it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made. ~ Gwyneth Paltrow

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell sang it well: “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, Baby.”

They were talking about a romantic relationship, but the same goes for good pizza.

GOOD PIZZA = Pizza Parlor Pizza

And chain restaurant pizza is most of what L. and I found soon after settling into Las Cruces. But undaunted and hungry for the “real thing”…

… we began looking and asking around and more than one spoke favorably about Zeffiro’s pizza.

Actually, there are two pizzerias in Las Cruces that carry the name, Zeffiro. One is located near the New Mexico State University campus on University Avenue (naturally) and the other is downtown.

So, I checked them both out – in the interests of being thorough. Here is what I found:

Zeffiro New York Pizzeria. This is a thick-crust pizza reminiscent of what you would find in New York City, hence the restaurant’s name. So you can carry out a pie as we did

or order an individual slice and be on your way – just as if you were in the Big Apple. 1 1/2 thumbs up. Way better than any of the chain restaurant pizza in town.

Zeffiro Pizzeria Napoletana. Mamma mia, this is good pizza. This is the thin-crust version I first encountered and devoured in Naples. Since I did not want to veer too far away from the basic ingredients in my all-time favorite kind of pizza, a red pie with pepperoni – so as to compare apples to apples – I ordered a “Zeffiro” – a pizza made of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni.

About those little green bits – the “Zeffiro” is also topped with Hatch green chiles.

Aaay, this is New Mexico. The chiles turned out to be a real treat for my taste buds. If you don’t mind a little heat, I recommend you try it. Only about a 3 out of 10 on the burn scale.

2 thumbs (and a big toe) up!

Who needs to walk? I’m happy enough already, eatin’ good pizza!

What kind of food are you really particular about?