Carmelo's Marketplace

Being a native to the Northeast and half Italian, pizza is one of those things that is almost a religious experience.  When I first moved to St. Augustine it was hard for me to find pizza comparable to New York thin crust or homemade mom and pop shops from my area in PA.  Finding Carmelo's was the closest I could get to the style of pizza I knew and loved from up north.  My first Carmelo's experience was this past summer when a friend of mine suggested grabbing a slice or two for lunch on our break from work.

We walked down the street to the Shell station/ Carmelo's Marketplace conveniently located on West King St. across from the Flagler College FEC dorms, walked in and I was surprised to see how many people were in line to order lunch.  Until now I hadn't really seen a pizza place this packed or offering this many options for reasonable prices.  As soon as I walked up to order I noticed they not only offered MASSIVE slices, but also had Sicilian as well as white pizza which is one of my favorites. They also offer fresh deli sandwhiches, wings, and a full menu of Italian favorites.  Carmelo's also offers table service in the next room if you have a little bit more time for lunch or dinner.

I opted  to order the daily lunch special of two XL slices and a medium drink for $5.99.  When I got to the front of the line to order and the friendly cashier suggested the special (which I of course ordered) but with one slice of white pizza and a slice of cheese.  She said they could do it but it would be an extra $.60 to get specialty slice.  It only took about 5 minutes for my slices to be done and we sat down to eat.  Hands down it was one of the top five pizzas I've ever had.  The other members of that group are located in Manhattan, Denville, NJ and Williamsport, PA all well known areas for good Italian food and pizza.  I usually end up doing take out or delivery for an alternative to cooking or a quick bite between classes and work.  I definitely recommend Carmelo's for anyone looking for a place to grab a quick slice or a nice place to sit down, have some of your favorite dishes like grandma use to make and just relax.