If you’ve lived for any length of time in Memphis, you know that Memphis Pizza Cafe is THE place to go for pizza in Memphis.

Until now.

A co-worker ordered pizza for a business meeting and got it from The Pizza Shack. I was absolutely floored by the quality of the pizzas. The Pizza Shack has fresh, homemade pizza dough that tastes like you made it yourself—or rather how you WISH you could make it yourself. The toppings are generous (but not overwhelmingly so) and of superior quality. The sauce (also freshly homemade) was quite tasty—a good pairing of tangy and zesty. I like a lot of sauce on my pizza, but The Pizza Shack has about the usual amount—so if you love sauce (like me) you’ll want to request extra on your pizza when you order.

Surprisingly, all this homemade quality and taste don’t come at a wallet-gouging price: The Pizza Shack’s pizzas (and other foods) are quite reasonably priced. You could spend as much at a chain pizza place, but you’d be insane to do it when you could have TPS pizza instead.

The Pizza Shack isn’t a large restaurant, but it uses its space well and has a “cozy” atmosphere. It’s clear that they’ve put some effort into making the place look nice, clean (98 and 99 on the last two health inspections!!!), and welcoming. Also, they’ve got delivery service, which helps reduce the potential load on the dining area.

My co-worker’s kids loved the restaurant’s “build your own pizza” feature. Basically, kids can put their own toppings on their own personal pizza and then have it cooked to perfection for them. (Perfect for the fussy eater!) As an adult, I also find that kind of customization intriguing—and I don’t think there’s any other restaurant in Memphis that offers anything like this.

In summation, I don’t think that The Pizza Shack dethrones Memphis Pizza Cafe as being the best pizza in Memphis. MPC is great for cracker-thin crust pizza and TPS is great for a good, thick and chewy pizza crust. They’ve each got their own merits depending on what you’re in the mood for, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in either.

If you’re sitting on the fence as to where to get pizza, give The Pizza Shack a chance. It’s only been open since the end of March 2009, so it’s not well-known…. yet. Go there. Have a pizza. Then go tell your friends and become a regular. This is a new business that’s well worth supporting.

There is a downside to the store: it’s in a very hard-to-find location. It’s actually behind some other business off of Summer Ave. near N. Perkins. It’s easier to find if you just go to the Lowe’s off of N. Perkins and park in the northwestern corner of the Lowe’s parking lot.