If you’ve ever moved, particularly if you’ve moved from state to state, you know how challenging it can be to find good pizza.

I grew up on Long Island, New York, and good pizza was so common there, it was more a matter of choice between which good pizza you wanted that day. Of course, my love of pizza began as a kid, and I remember being able to walk up the street (a bit less than a mile) when I was about 10 to Delicious Pizza (I think that was the name, it’s been a while!), and being able to just go with a friend to order a slice. I also remember my dad taking me up there on Sunday nights because we had such an early dinner on Sundays, and I got hungry around 7pm. The one thing I remember about this place was that they were heavy-hnaded on the oregano, and it was so good. To this day when I make homemade pizza, I always sprinkle oregano on it. I also remember a place called Siderno’s Pizza, which used little tomato sauce but like twice the cheese as anyone else. Man, was that good.

Then I moved to Cleveland, Ohio. The pizza was different there, and I especially noticed that the slices were much smaller no matter where you ordered from. And while the choices there (as in most places now) are dominated by chains, I found great pizza in Cleveland on both the east side (Mama Santa’s, Tasty) and west side (Santo’s, Antonio’s).

Then we moved to Nashville in 2003. I knew going in that this barbecue-driven city would offer mostly chains like Papa John’s (sorry, but BLECH). But alas, we found a coupon for a local pizza place called Sal’s, and it said “New York style pizza.” Bingo, it was just as good as the pizza parlors I came to love back home. A few years later, we discovered another family style Italian restaurant about 20 minutes away called Mafiaoza’s. YUM. This place made fabulous pizza because the crust was crispy, chewy and awesome to start with.

Fast forward to now. We moved to Madison, Wisconsin in April 2010. We have a pizza place very close to us called The Glass Nickel. Their pizza is delicious, and they even make thin or thick crust depending on your preference. We ordered from there several times over the course of a few months, and finally realized that it messed with our insides. Sorry, Glass Nickel, but you give me and my wife indigestion. There is great pizza at a restaurant downtown called Paisan’s, but it’s not exactly convenient. We’ve tried a few others, but nothing quite did it for us. Where were the family style, casual Italian eateries that served pizza?

Well, we found one this past Friday called Avanti. Bingo! The pizza at Avanti most closely resembles Santo’s in Cleveland—nice, chewy yet crisp crust (on the thicker side) and just the right amount of cheese and sauce. Of course, I know there have to be more great options, but for now, we have one that can be our go-to. And if and when you move next, you’ll know what I mean, especially if you love pizza as much as I do.