Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy puts 6 Pittsburgh pizza joints on the map

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Six pizza shops in the Pittsburgh area are going to need more dough after a popular pizza reviewer dropped by their restaurants unannounced.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy popped into six pizza shops around the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday to give ratings on his popular ‘One Bite’ pizza reviews.

KDKA-TV’s Jessica Guay visited a few pizza shops to find out how they’re handling all the attention even before their scores are out.

Sean Jefairjian, who owns A Slice of New York in Murrysville, makes running a busy pizza joint look easy, and things are about to get even crazier.

Jefairjian said he’s been petitioning to get Portnoy to try his artisanal pizza with New York bones for several years.

“We were his first stop off the plane, and it was a pretty cool experience him coming in,” he said. “I always said if Dave ever came in, we would get either a 7.9 or 8.1, depending on how long the pizza sits in the box, and let’s just say, we did better than I thought I would,” Jefairjian added.

Portnoy also visited Ianni’s Pizzeria in Delmont.

“I was like, ‘That’s Dave Portnoy. He’s probably here to review the pizza.’ It’s just like, we’re all shocked, and that he would just come here and recognize the pizza,” said Chad Kaylor, general manager of Ianni’s Pizzeria.

Owner of Ianni’s Pizzeria, Wesley Harris, said he was excited to have Portnoy try his pizza. He said they focus on specialty pizza, with different sauces and creations his father came up with.

“I was pretty excited. It’s an honor to have him come all the way out here and try our pizza. I know he likes New York style,” Harris said.

Rockaway Pizzeria in White Oak was another stop for the pizza influencer — where owner Josh Sickels specializes in pizza similar to what you’d find in the northeast, including Brooklyn.

“To my knowledge, it’s the highest score he’s ever given out in Pittsburgh. He posted a picture of my building, and it’s been nuts, like chaos. We sold out at 5:30 today on a Friday, and we were ready to go with dough, more than we’re capable of,” Sickels said.

And the reviews aren’t even out yet!

KDKA-TV confirmed Portnoy also went to Pizzeria Davide in the Strip District, Pizza Lupo in Lawrenceville, and Iron Born in Millvale.

It was an experience that can’t be topped. A lot of nerves and excitement are at the six pizza joints, as they could be flooded with even more pizza lovers — all because of that one bite.

“We are preparing for war. It’s going to be pizza-pocalypse in here for at least the next month or so, but we’ve been training for this,”  Jefairjian said.

Most of the owners know their scores, and some don’t. They expect the videos to start coming out on the ‘One Bite’ YouTube page as early as next week.