Milano's: Decent Pizza, Better Paninis

Recently, we posted a "Question of the Day" that got to the bottom of our very deep stomachs:

For a while, it seemed a couple of places were holding commanding leads of about 60, 70 votes over the majority. Then, within two hours, over 1,000 people had voted ... allegedly.

People are passionate about their pizzas.

In light of this surprisingly divisive poll, we are planning on seeking out more and more of the pizza that Morristownians crave. We've been to a few places already, and we went to one more this week.

, on South Street, advertises itself as "gourmet pizza." I'm not sure why, exactly. Their restaurant is pretty ordinary–clean, well laid-out, but nothing screamed "gourmet" when my friend and I stopped in recently.

For some, has come to mean "gourmet." Popularized in our state capital with the legendary DeLorenzo's, .

But, marketing magic means nothing. It's all about the taste. Thankfully, Milano's is pretty good. Is it good enough to make me go back? Maybe, if I'm looking to have a chicken panini.

My friend and I were pretty hungry. So, in addition to her panini and my two slices–one plain, one veggie–we also ordered the last meat stromboli on the counter.

Food service at this off hour–about 4 p.m.–was prompt and pleasant. Think pretty much any of the many pizza joints in New Jersey.

My slices arrived first, followed by the stromboli. The verdict on the stromboli: It's full of meat. If you like meat, you'll like it. Nothing screamed, "wow," but, hey, it's full of meat. Eat up.

The slices were good. The crust-style, however, was not what I usually look for in my pies. It was a little thinner, a lot crispier. If that's your favorite, then Milano's just might have a pizza for you. The cheese slice was better than the veggie. While I enjoy a nice variety of zukes, peppers, onions and mushrooms, the slice lacked a salty kick to put all of these bland veggies together.

The panini was a different story. The Milano's Panini, with grilled chicken, red peppers, mozzarella and pesto mayo, had just the right amount of salty and savory. My friend offered a bite, but made short order of this tasty surprise.

Pizza preferences are clearly subjective. Just look at our survey. With that, one must take what this review says about Milano's with a grain of salt (which, hopefully, will join several others on the next veggie slice). Pretty good stuff, but not our favorite.