Pizza. There’s nothing quite like it. A meal so unanimously beloved that just about anyone will and has eaten it. The combinations are endless: there’s pepperoni pizza, there’s meat lovers pizza, there’s veggie lovers pizza, there’s pizza bagels, there’s pizza huts, there’s cookie pizza, and there’s even hawaiian pizza.

At the end of the day, pizza is pizza. Even when it is bad, it is still pretty good. Except this one time when I was younger I went to a Pitt basketball game with my brother and father and my brother and I got pizza from one of the vendors and the pizza was absolutely terrible. Every once in a while I think about how bad that pizza was and shudder – could the person who made that pizza still be out there, terrorizing people’s taste buds with atrocious pizza?

Then there’s Mercurio’s, which is the exact opposite of the Petersen Events Center pizza, which is to say that it’s really good. Mercurio’s is authentic, wood fired neapolitan pizza. It’s delicious, an easily the best pizza in the Pittsburgh area in terms of niceness. (Fiori’s is also good, but Fiori’s is not exactly known for being fine dining.)

But this column is not called “Pontificating Pizza,” it is called “Judging Java,” so let’s talk about the real star of the show: Mercurio’s cappuccino. It is very good.

Mercurio’s cappuccino was a bitter espresso roast topped with a relatively dry foam. The drink itself was not overtly bitter, but it was not overtly sweet either. The drink was served with a sugar packet on the side, so if you prefer a sweeter cappuccino they can easily accommodate you.

Mercurio’s is a fantastic cappuccino, but I do not know if I would recommend going there just for the cappuccino. If you want a nice cappuccino after a nice meal, then Mercurio’s is the place for you, especially if the meal that you are craving is authentic neapolitan pizza.

Seriously, their pizza is fantastic, I mean seriously fantastic. I used to work in a semi-local chain pizza shop that made a similar style of pizza and would recommend Mercurio’s over them and any other similar place in the area. Part of the reason that I make that recommendation is because one of the line cooks at the shop I worked at was selling drugs out of the back door and the police dragged him out in handcuffs, but part of the reason I make that recommendation is because I think that their pizza is overrated and that Mercurio’s is tenfold better.

Another thing Mercurio’s offers that I think is fantastic is their gelato. Gelato is like ice cream but allegedly healthier and also soft. Maggie (my girlfriend) got gelato and I ate some of her gelato. One of the perks of being in a relationship is that when you kind of sort of want gelato but do not want to pay for it and your girlfriend wants gelato you can eat some of her gelato. I think that it is important to specify this because if you are planning on going to Mercurio’s alone to get pizza, gelato, and a cappuccino it will probably be too much food, but if you are looking for a nice spot to go on a Fall evening with your significant other (or a non-romantic friend) then this is the place to go.