Des Moines' Best Pizza: Jersey Guys Pizza

Good barbecue at a pizza place? It can be done, and Fia’s Pizzaria is proof.

Opened in 2010, Fia’s is relatively new to the pizza-heavy south side. It recently expanded its menu to include barbecue meats smoked in house. It all comes together on Fia’s pulled pork specialty pizza.

The pie features slow- smoked pulled pork on a homemade barbecue sauce topped with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses and bacon (because why not?). It’s a tender, tangy and meat-heavy pizza that could fill you up after a slice, but you’ll likely want to reach for a second, third and fourth.

Fia’s offered gluten-free pizzas before they were common around town. Yet it manged not to become some trendy eatery. It’s your standard pizza place that also can accommodate your food allergies and barbecue cravings.

The barbecue helps Fia’s set itself apart from other pizzerias on the south side and makes it a destination for pie lovers.

Some frozen wings or onion rings are no longer enough to make a pizza place stand out, but a rack of ribs? That, a pizza and a few friends will go together very well.

—Joe Lawler