I can appreciate any pizzeria that tries to cook as authentically as possible. Smokin Oak is a brand new pizzeria in the area, but it is attached to a franchise, which made me hesitate to even try the pizza to begin with. This place reminds me a lot of Blaze Pizza and Mod Pizza. Even though I don’t drink alcohol, I can appreciate that they have a taproom as well. It adds to a very nice social environment with friends and/or family.

Of all the pizzas I’ve had in Washington, Missouri I would put this place at the top of my list of favorites. I do have a few criticisms, but nothing that would turn me away from trying this place again. It is my tradition to attempt any pizzerias offering of the classic Margherita pizza, which is the classic Neapolitan style pizza offered at any self-respecting pizzeria. One thing that lacks significantly is the availability of fresh mozzarella. Many restaurants in the US are bringing this staple of Italian cuisine into their offerings and it isn’t even that expensive to find fresh mozzarella. Having fresh mozzarella from Bel Gioioso or Galbani would immediately improve their offering substantially. Shredded mozzarella just does not give the same flavor profile that one hopes to get from this pizza, especially if it’s highly pasteurized and extremely dense.

The only other criticism I have is the handling of their dough. The dough itself tastes great, and has the perfect Ratio from what I can see. I don’t however appreciate how they press the dough down and handle it it shouldn’t appear as a thin membrane by the time you are attempting to launch it into the brick oven. I ideally you wanna work your way from the center pushing all the air out to the edges so that you have a nice soft and crunchy outer crust. Also, tossing so that the dough spreads out as a disk parallel to the floor is better than a perpendicular toss because it allows for a more uniform distribution outward and does not create an oblong shape.

In summary, adding fresh mozzarella and handling the dough better would significantly improve the pizza offering. The sauce seems fine but I would recommend switching to something like Cento which is more flavorful if you are using canned tomato sauce. That being said it’s still a great pizzeria, better than anything I’ve tried so far in this area. I’m always in the search for a great pizzeria so that I can take a break from making my own at home. I thoroughly enjoy it, but it’s nice to have others do the work for you and still get a reasonably similar result.