BALTIMORE — In December we told you about Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy's visit to Baltimore.
He stopped in town on the way to D.C. for the Army-Navy game.
Anyone familiar with Portnoy knows about his pizza reviews, attracting millions of social media followers.
So his showing up at a local pizza shop is a pretty big deal, usually leading to more business.
Among his chosen spots, Portnoy went to Pizza John's in Essex, and four Baltimore City restaurants including Frank's Pizza & Pasta, TinyBrickOven, Matthews's Pizzeria, and Angeli's Pizzeria.
Portnoy posts his reviews on a website and app called One Bite. It tracks and rates every pizza place he goes.
Four out of five much anticipated verdicts are in.
So far, Frank's takes the pie, literally.
Portnoy gave the family owned business on Bel Air Road a rating of 8.3 out of 10.
The infamous critic was captivated by the story of how Frank's came to be.
During COVID Gerry and Daniel purchased the restaurant from their father, who founded Frank's.
"My dad came here in 1981 with his cousin Frank," Gerry explained. "In 1989 there was an accident, we were the first store in this strip mall, that used to be a pharmacy and it was getting robbed. The pharmacist pulled his gun out and started shooting at him and a bullet went through the wall and it hit Frank in the back of the head and killed him on his 33rd birthday, the dent is still in the oven."
"I was gonna give this pizza an 8.1 to begin with, no story involved, I think it's spectacular pizza," said Portnoy. "So so good, light, crispy."
Portnoy seemed more impressed with Frank's homemade cheese steak sub, giving it a "spectacular" 9 rating.
From Frank's it was onto Pizza John's in Essex, described by some as the "Taj Mahal of pizzerias."
Portnoy had this to say about Pizza John's:
"I think this is just style preference, too cheesy for me — 7.4 — but it's still good, I could hammer the whole thing."
The entrepreneur then headed downtown to TinyBrickOven on Light Street.
Owner William Fagg told Portnoy he was going out of business, prompting the millionaire to ask:
"If there was somebody super rich right in front of your face who is in the pizza business, and by serendipity's like what do you need to stay open for a year?"
A speechless William estimated $60,000.
"Done!" Portnoy said to a round of applause outside the shop.
"I'm gonna cry man, I'm gonna cry," William said in disbelief.
The two men exchanged personal phone numbers, with Portnoy promising the money by Christmas.
MORE: A "Christmas miracle" on Light Street
As for TinyBrickOven's pizza rating, Portnoy graded it a 7.9.
"There's no way this place should be going out of business, none!"
It's not the first time Portnoy came to the aid of area restaurants.
During COVID he set up the Barstool Fund helping places like Claddagh Pub, Don’t Know Tavern, and Doughboy Fresh Pretzel Company.
Matthew's Pizzeria on Eastern Avenue was next up for a review. Portnoy said he was told they serve "Baltimore Style pizza."
"This is a bar pie, a good one," Portnoy says after taking a couple bites. "I like the spot, I'd highly recommend it — 7.9 review."
"Give it an 8.9," a neighbor speaking through a basement window tells an unsuspecting Portnoy.
After a brief conversation with the neighbor, Portnoy appears to change his mind, saying "I screwed these guys, this is an 8.1."
It should be noted Portnoy, a New England Patriots loyalist, may have lost some brownie points with Ravens fans, calling the team "chokes" during his review of Matthew's.
Portnoy has yet to post a review for Angeli's Pizzeria in Little Italy.
Click here to read more about his trip there.
