Aver's + $10 = Dinner

Aver's Pizza defended its title this year and remained Bloomington's best pizza, holding off second place Mother Bear's and third place Pizza Express. \nJunior Tom Cummins said he's not disappointed in the three pizza places ranked in this year's Best of Bloomington, and he's happy the community made such wise choices to acknowledge the locally-owned businesses serving the community.\nCummins says he also knows a thing or two about pizza, and before he came to IU, he made a promise to himself.\n"I told myself I was going to try every pizza in town, and then decide the best," he said.\nAnd so, slice by slice, he ate. Toppings have included everything from basic to cheese to elaborate piles of vegetables and just about every sort of meat they put on a pizza. He dipped breadsticks. He tried sauces. He even saved a single slice to try the next day -- cold pizza, a college tradition. \nAver's, he said, is a solid choice for first.\n"Aver's has a great selection of gourmet pizza," Cummins said. "The barbecue chicken pizza is kickass."\nThe Chicken Masterpiece -- lightly-seasoned chicken, bacon and banana peppers upon barbecue sauce and mozzarella cheese -- is among Aver's selection of signature gourmet pizzas, including the nationally recognized Crimson & Cream (alfredo sauce, red potato seasoned with garlic, bacon, cheddar and gorgonzola cheese), the Parthenon (garlic and herb sauce, feta cheese, red onion, black olive and fresh tomato) and the vegetarian Beckon Desire (lemon pesto and mozzarella, with flavors of artichoke hearts and red onion).\n"You can get regular pizzas anywhere. You have to get gourmet pizzas from Aver's," Cummins said. \nBut for the more traditional, Cummins said you still can't go wrong with Aver's, which offers the Crazy 8 deal -- a medium one-topping pizza, a large order of breadsticks with one dipping sauce (nacho cheese, tomato, ranch, garlic or hummus) and two drinks for $8.88.\n"I love the Aver's breadsticks," Cummins said. "They're some of the best in town, no doubt."\nAver's has been recognized by Pizza Today magazine as one of the busiest independent pizza operations in the United States for the past four years.\nCummins said if he had to offer any suggestion to the winner, he'd suggest a possible make-over for the crust.\n"Their pizza is a little heavy on the crust," Cummins said. "I'd go with something slightly thinner, but otherwise it's a great, nicely-balanced pizza -- not too heavy on anything."\nHe said the runners-up are also good choices that wouldn't let down a college student.\nMother Bear's cult following is well-deserved, Cummins said.\n"Mother Bear's has a great combo: good pizza, great breadsticks, a two-liter of Coke and a brownie," he said. "It's a great way to satisfy that stoner-munchie urge."\nMother Bear's and Pizza Express provide excellent service from their positions immediately off campus, Cummins said. All three offer free delivery service with pizza orders. \n"Pizza Express is great because it has a fantastic location for anyone in the central campus neighborhood," Cummins said. "I like Pizza Express' multi-grain crust and the ability to design your own pizza at reasonable prices"