The sauce was the best part of the pizza I sampled here. It was pulpy and had a good tomatoey flavor, but wasn’t domineering. The crust was a perfect thickness, not too thick and not cracker thin. But it was a bit too soft and doughy. I attribute the slight sogginess to the moisture buildup in the take-out box. I wouldn’t call the toppings ample but neither were they skimpy. I had sausage, pepperoni, onions and mushrooms. I would have liked a little more sausage than what landed on top.

A closer-in location for the popular UCF pizza joint. The signature here is the comically large slices.

When I visited the original location, a couple of years ago, I was fairly underwhelmed. No, that’s not quite accurate. I had to list the pizza I ordered as one of the worst I had ever had. How bad was it? I threw most of it away. Even lousy pizza usually gets saved for a late night leftover.

The new Moon is a bit farther down University Boulevard. The space is larger, maybe three times the size of the old place. And it’s prettier, too, with less of that student milieu funk. But it hasn’t gotten too fancy. The place still operates in the same way, which, at least in one instance, is a bit of a problem. But more on that in a moment.

The best thing I can say about the new Lazy Moon is that the pizza is much improved over the one I tossed. In fact, I liked the slice I had on my recent visit rather well. I was told by LM fans after my visit to the old place that my mistake had been in ordering a whole pie and not just a slice. And, it should be noted that the whole pies are really big. No, I mean enormous. I had difficulty getting the box into my car.

So I didn’t want to make that mistake this time — or discard all that pie if it was the same.

But the slice I had, with sausage and mushroom, had a nice thin crust, just the right amount of tomato sauce and plenty of the ordered toppings. One complaint: the slices are, as mentioned previously, so large that it is nearly impossible to lift one and eat it with one’s hands the way God intended for pizza to be consumed. It’s just too unwieldy. And I feel like an idiot eating pizza with a knife and fork. It’s just so wrong.

The dining area of Lazy Moon is spacious and has a good hum about it when full, which it was when I visited. Tables are wood with a stainless steel topper, which gives it an industrial look. But then there’s a plant wall with greenery tucked into pouches, sort of like the vegetation wall at Winter Park’s Prato, but bigger. That softens the look a bit.

An immediate contender for one of the best pizzas in town. A near perfect crust, thoughtful toppings, balanced seasoning. Makes a darned good meatball sub, too.

Pretty good pizza that can stand up to some New York City shops.

The concept here it that you direct each aspect of the pizza-making process, beginning with the type of crust you’d like, the variety of sauce, cheese choice, and the myriad of toppings. A staffer assembles your pie at your whim and tosses it into a glass-front oven for baking. Pies are pretty good. Also serves a variety of salads and pasta dishes.

An “Italianish” restaurant from the owner of Pig Floyd’s Barbacoa. There are some barbecue and Italian fusion items but fewer than you’d expect.

A quick-serve restaurant that not only serves a decent slice of pizza pie but also has very good sandwiches.

Good pizzas have been coming out of the oven at this address for years, but only recently as Ragazzi’s. The crust — so important to a proper pizza — was just thick enough to hold the weight of the toppings, which were considerable. Besides pizza, Ragazzi’s does some pretty delicious Italian specialties, as well. I loved the meatball appetizer, which really could have served as an entree all on its own. Not only were the meat orbs well formed and firm, they also were simmered in a red sauce that was thick and tomatoey and worth spooning on its own. also had the eggplant parmigiana, a nicely done slice of eggplant dipped in egg wash and dusted with flour, fried to a golden crisp and then topped with melted mozzarella. Even better: it included a side dish of pasta with more of that wonderful marinara.