It is no secret that I have a thing for pizza. I make our weekly pizza from scratch every Friday. And remember the story about the time the pizza guy came to my apartment when I hadn’t called for a delivery? He was so used to coming to my place (and I lived alone) that he knocked on my door on auto-pilot, when a neighbor had actually called for a pizza.

So it was no surprise that our friends Emily and Bob wanted to introduce us to what they consider to be the best pizza in Jacksonville, at Picasso’s on the Southside. They told us about the St. Louis-style pizza and said it was absolutely a must-try.

From the menu:

This style of pizza has been voted “best in St. Louis” every year for over 40 years. It has a very thin crust and a special blend of cheeses that mixes with our homemade tomato sauce and creates a unique cheesy, creamy base for this pizza. The emphasis is on the taste and quality of each and every ingredient you select to put on it. It is unlike any pizza you have ever tasted.

We ordered the meatball pizza on the St. Louis crust.

Just know that the photo does not do this pizza justice, and that every word of the menu description is accurate. It was amazing! Fiance and I agreed that we couldn’t ever go to Picasso’s and not get the St. Louis pizza.

We also tried the New York style crust. From the menu:

Straight out of Manhattan. Our super-hot brick oven produces a bottom crust that’s not too thick or too thin but has a nice crunch with each bite. We load it with plenty of high-quality cheese, pile on your choice of toppings, and paint the edge with garlic butter as it comes out of the oven to complete the perfect “Big Apple” experience.

I really, really liked this crust, too, but I wasn’t wild about the fried eggplant topping. The New York style is great, but I really recommend the St. Louis.

We couldn’t resist splitting another St. Louis specialty for dessert: gooey butter cake.

It’s gooey, it’s buttery and sugary, but it’s not very cakey. I’ll just sum it up as delicious.

The decor at Picasso’s added to the restaurant’s laid-back, funky feel, and I liked the giant wooden booth — it was really comfortable, especially for just four people. My only complaint would be that the server was a little flakey, but it was a busy night. I’m sure we’ll be back every now and then — when we just can’t fight the craving for that cheese-y, crispy St. Louis crust anymore.