Papa Santi's - Bringing Little Italy to the East Side

Papa Santi's opened up a couple of month's ago in a small storefront on Chagrin Road across from Village Square (map is here).  From what I hear and after getting a pizza, Papa Santi's is a direct relation to Mama Santa's the much beloved heart of Cleveland's Little Italy (my review is here).  When I got a coupon for a medium pizza for $2 I had to check out Papa Santi's.  The transaction was easy and the pizza was hot out of the oven in 20 minutes, just as I was told. 

As soon as I got the pizza the Mama Santa's heritage was clear; Papa Santi's has a very similar look, with the pizza well cooked and the sauce, cheese and crust merging into a wonderful greasy gestalt.  I can understand how some will decide this type of pizza is either overcooked or just too greasy, but to me it hits my palate just right.  The medium is a good sized 13" size with cheese almost all the way to the edge.  The major difference I observed with the Papa Santi's pizza is the crust is thinner and flatter then Mama Santa's; the result is a crisp crust with a bit less chewiness.   Also while the sauces seem very close I would guess that Papa Santi's uses a bit less per pizza.  Of course since hand tossed pizzas are individual creations, this could just be that the pizza I got was a bit thinner and less sauce, the next one could be right in the sweet spot. 

Overall, Papa Santi's makes a very good pizza, and while not quite up to Mama Santa's standards, it is very close.   The prices are a bit higher, but Papa Santi's offers convenience for those on the East Side of Cleveland who want a pizza that is not a clone of every other pizza around.