Considering the strength of the pangs of hunger I felt before picking up both orders from South Toledo’s PizzAroma, you could take this entire review with a grain of salt.

But, I’d argue my positive feelings about the family-owned pizza joint come from more than just an at-last full stomach.

It just might be the best pizza I’ve had in Toledo.

You can always find a reason to have a pizza party — but it’s all the more justifiable during the holiday season.

BILL OF FARE

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I placed my first order online to enjoy a comfy New Year’s Eve at home. After clicking which of the three locations (Holland, Maumee, and Swanton) I wanted delivery from, I quickly found that they don’t deliver to my downtown Toledo location. That meant I’d have to step out into the cold and rain to make the 17-minute drive. My friend and I (no, not my New Year’s kiss) drove out together and listened to a chapter of our audiobook.

The joint isn’t hard to spot when turning into the Crosstowne Shoppes at the corner of Angola and Holland Sylvania roads — the Italian-flag logo stands out, even after dark. The rest of it, however, is a bit underwhelming. There’s no space to eat-in and the interior is a full view into a dull, beige kitchen area, typically staffed by a few teenagers.

I was greeted by a friendly woman who generously checked each of our boxes to make sure the food not only matched the order but met her standards.

I casually asked about their delivery radius and mentioned that I was coming from downtown for the pick-up.

Next time, she advised, don’t order online; instead, call for delivery and you’ll get a 10 percent discount to pick up because of the distance. Noted.

Once settled back in at home, we dug into the specialty pizzas, stuffed breadsticks, and boneless wings.

One small bite proved we couldn’t spare even a second to sit down and eat; we ate straight out of the boxes while standing at the counter.

BILL OF FARE

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The Nuhf Daddy Special ($14.24 for any small specialty pizza), an ode to owners Lee and Angela Nuhfer, was a BBQ delight of ham and bacon bits, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and drizzled with a sweet barbeque sauce.

The new jalapeno popper pizza also had the crispy bacon bits and was made complete with a thin layer of cream cheese beneath the mozzarella. Perhaps unexpectedly, the cream cheese was not too heavy, but instead a perfect balance for the hot-pepper-topped pie.

We really enjoyed the wings, too — we opted for garlic parm ($9 for 10 boneless) — but thought they very well might have been frozen chicken nuggets. But that’s no issue to this kid-at-heart.

For another (belated) holiday get-together with some friends, I again ordered a wide variety of bites to try.

The hit for one of my companions was the pickle bread ($8.25). It’s a twist on your classic cheesy bread that’s covered with dill pickles. I was surprised by the thick (though airy) dough, compared to the thin crust of the pizzas, which did leave the bread seeming a bit dry. I might have preferred instead trying the pickle pizza ($11), but was satisfied by dipping the bread into the tasty side of ranch ($0.50).

The hit for another companion was the Italian sub ($7.50 for a 6-inch). While it looked quite unappealing when unwrapped from the foil, he felt it was really good, the ingredients were fresh, and the bun was nicely toasted.

Some minor issues arose on the pizzas this time around.

When a topping was requested on just half the pie, it spilled over into a decent portion of the not-so-empty side. And we noticed the sauce on our basic cheese-and-pepperoni pizza was pretty unevenly spread. One slice might have been dry while another was super saucy.

We also tried the oven-baked chocolate chip cookie and double chocolate chip brownie. I personally found these two pies underwhelming, but my companions all enjoyed the desserts, which yielded six slices for $6 each.

Also for just $6, the joint offers a take-home pizza kit, which sounds like such a fun activity for a family, couple, or group of friends — and for almost unbelievably affordable.

The Nuhfer family announced on Facebook on Jan. 2 the decision not to raise its prices for 2025 — the second year they’ve stuck to a promise of affordability.

For a slight upcharge, you can substitute gluten free or cauliflower crust.

PizzAroma may not be the place for a basic pizza, as our slices of cheese and pepperoni were only mediocre. But it’s certainly the place to go for a specialty pizza — of which you have nearly 20 options to choose.

My biggest critique is not having a more central Toledo location.

My biggest critique on myself is not having tried PizzAroma sooner.

‘Nuhf’ said.

First Published January 9, 2025, 2:00 p.m.