The reputation
Its reputation precedes it. If you spend enough time in Charlottesville, you know that many mall restaurant workers pick up a slice before working… or after. If a friend says, “I’m on my way to Christian’s,” it’s natural to assume that he’s referring to the pizza, not an actual person. The site itself is a landmark. The trolley, for example, stops in front of Christian’s– not the movie theatre. Christian Tamm himself is genuinely nice. (And nice-looking.) And any discussion of Christian’s reputation ends in the same question: What happened to Anna’s?
The experience
Its reputation precedes it literally: the building emits the smell of pizza for the entire block to enjoy.
When a friend brought me for the first time, I was intimidated. As I said of my experience of Take It Away, I feel anxious in restaurants with local customs, or where I feel rushed. Even drive-thrus can make me flustered. It’s almost overwhelming: I wait in line and end up face-to-face with at least 10 pizza options, all looking smoking hot, literally. The staff totally plays up the pizza parlor act (the “whaddyawant?”) and keeps the line moving. I don’t mind being asked to decide, because the people behind me in line are just as hungry as I am. On days when I won’t have a lot of social interaction, I am pesto all the way. With friends, it’s definitely avocado, tomato, and feta. And locals know the best-kept secret ever: if you don’t see the pizza you came in for, they’ll prepare at least a half-pizza of your choice, on the spot. The best part is the sprinkle of cheese before it goes in the oven to heat. It is the culinary equivalent of a high-five.
The crowd
Christian’s attracts a perfect cross-section of Charlottesville. Seriously. ‘Nuff said.
The cost
And then it’s so cheap! And I can order a BEER! Dinner for less than $6, and not from a drive-thru. And I don’t care if it’s healthy or not: it has vegetables on it, so it has to be.
The tradition
It’s the kind of place that gets passed down from one friend or family member to another. If you bring friends, walk them through the process before going in. You may want to hold their hand. But I guarantee you: five slices after their first, they’ll bring their friends, too. And that is how it becomes a local tradition.
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Tagged as: Charlottesville, Christian's, college food, cville, Downtown Mall, Italian
I like Christian’s just fine. I think they make pretty good pizza, but it is way over-hyped in my opinion. Its not that it’s bad, it’s just that there is nothing special about the place.
I prefer to go to Vita Nova, just a little ways east on the mall. Everything is basically the same except they let you use debit card if you are spending more than a few bucks, while Christian’s is cash-only (unless that has changed recently and I don’t know about it.)
So anyway, yea, that’s my plug for Vita Nova, which is every bit as good as Christian’s.
And I’m not at all affiliated with the place, I just appreciate places that aren’t stuck in the 20th century and accept cards.
I like Vita Nova over Christian’s for the above reasons, and it tastes a little better. Which isn’t saying much — both pizzas are very grease-laden and nothing special.
Mellow and Crozet both run circles around these guys in terms of taste and quality.
Yea I’ll agree that Mellow has better pizza. I’ve also had better at Basil. But I consider those to be different genres (word choice?) since they are presumably making it after you order it, rather than just heating it up.
Yes, they are very different genres, I think. I also agree on Vita Nova, which I go to because they do take cards and is usually much less crowded. The selection isn’t nearly as good as Christians, though.
Is Christian’s really the mythical beast portrayed in this post? I’ve lived here for the past decade or so, and my opinion, and that of of my chums, is that it’s an OK pizza parlor, nothing more, nothing less.
I don’t really think it has much to recommend it. Just my lowly pizza, opinion, but still.
There was a big discussion of the best pizza in town a few weeks ago on Cvillenews.com.
I think Christians is pretty good and Vita Nova is an okay back up. If you don’t mind a slightly longer wait, Sal’s makes a pretty good pie and if you don’t mind going out of the way a little bit, Mona Lisa Pasta and Pizza Bella are pretty good, too.
wow… pizza standards are appreciably lower south of the mason-dixon. fabios (on high st. near 250) is the best in my book. they dont do exotic toppings, but any place that can fill me for under $5 is a winner. its as close to authentic NY style pizza ive found in cville. any thoughts?
I will admit to having low pizza standards. I don’t think I have ever had a pizza that I didn’t like, including 99 cent frozen ones. I mean I can differentiate between classes and like some more than others, but I probably am not the best critic.
I’ve never been to Fabio’s but I will def check it out now.