The streets of Baltimore might get a little busier after Dave Portnoy, the infamous pizza critic and founder of Barstool Sports, made his rounds at local pizzerias for his One Bite reviews. Portnoy is known for his succinct and candid critiques, often dished out in front of a loyal online audience that hangs on his every word—or bites, rather. As reported by WMAR2 News, his recent tour of Baltimore included stops at well-loved establishments such as Pizza John's in Essex and Angeli's Pizzeria in Little Italy.
The city now holds its breath waiting for Portnoy's all-important verdict, which can either provoke a surge in clientele or leave eateries in a status quo limbo, his judgments made all the more powerful by his millions of followers on social platforms like Instagram and TikTok where he shares video reviews, alongside running his One Bite app that rates every pizza joint he's sampled, following a trip to the city that's nestled between the nostalgia of old-school pizza joints and the buzzing excitement for what might be a pizza renaissance in Baltimore, kindling local pride and hopes for economic uplift.
During his visits, Portnoy is known to utter his signature line, "one bite, everyone knows the rules," a nod to the supposed ethos of his reviewing strategy, even though, as Baltimore Fishbowl pointed out, he often partakes in several bites before giving his score, a score which hovers in the decimal range and often sparks debates on a restaurant's pizza prowess.
Portnoy, a Boston native who moved his company to New York in 2016, gained fame for his pizza reviews. Known for his tough critiques, he has the power to make or break local pizza spots.
