Any pizza/calzone place located just outside a university campus is more often than not worth visiting. Case in point is Pete’s Pizza – The Calzone King on Sharp and Hamilton. Only a few blocks north of the Gonzaga campus (alongside David’s Pizza – one of my favorite pizza places), Pete’s has a great 70s-run-down-like quality about it.

The best part, however, is the calzones. Made from scratch there might be a thirty minute wait, but it’s well worth it – the end result has a great flavor and is piping-hot. The sauce (‘home made’ as the menu proudly states) in particular adds a lot to the calzone, yet there’s not too much of it and it doesn’t over-power whatever filling you go for.

Extra bonus-points for having a Ms. Pac Man arcade game!

Pete’s truly is “The Calzone King.” I’ve never had anything other than a calzone from them and I don’t know why anyone would. The dough is probably my favorite part and due to the nature of calzones, this is a really good thing. The toppings are extremely fresh and variety is well above average. The dining experience is modest if now spartan but I go there for the food, not the ambiance. I recommend ordering ahead for take-out. Nothing like a piping hot calzone on my desk while my co-workers nuke last nights casserole.

Yuck. The one one NW blvd is disgusting. I have never had worse pizza. The atmosphere reminds me of an old burger joint built in the 1970s. Has a general dirty feeling, very run down. Food was gross.

having eaten at Pete’s more times than i can remember all i can say is that… They are stinkin awesome!!! I was upset to see that the valley location had closed, but the good news is that we still have the nw blvd and sharp places open. I think they are the best calzones in Spokane. Long Live the KING! (of the calzone variety of course)

Empty dusty front room. Sticky table. One dude working the kitchen and register. Heavy metal blaring from the back. The Pepsi tasted like the machine hadn’t been cleaned since 1974. This usually means good things to come when it comes to neighborhood pizza joints that have been around forever. I like Pete’s run-down atmosphere over the more flashy David’s. But I think the Sicilian Calzone from Pete’s may have David’s excellent Stromboli beat as well, although not by much. Like my previous Stromboli at David’s, my Calzone at Pete’s was made to order, about a 30 minute wait. The dude who made it was very proud of his dough. The sauce added just enough tang to the extremely rich mess of ricotta, meatballs and sausage. Interspersed with all of that were huge glops of stretchy melted mozz. A bit spendy (but a bargain based on the quality) and heavy for a lunch, but sometimes you gotta treat yourself right.

I have never, I and mean Never had a more sick Calzone in my life…... Truth is I have never had one from anywhere but Pete’s. Pete, the man, the myth, was my neighbor. As a kid I could never figure out that when Pete came home from work at “the plant” he almost always had pizza. His son was a friend of mine, Vinnie, but I just never put it together. Give me a break, I was like 10. The first time I ate at Pete’s was when I was about 17 or so. My brother took me and some other guys who worked for him. That was almost 30 years ago. I liked it so much I have, really, never eaten a Calzone from anywhere else. I don’t eat there all the time, but I still try and take the kids there or get take out once or twice a month. The current owner has done a good job of “keeping the faith”, however I do miss seeing Pete’s kids running the different locations. Not to mention you would never hear “Tool” coming from the kitchen in the old days. Not sure if that is good or bad.

Our calzones from the NW Blvd location were saltier than the dead sea. I think someone poured a whole tin of Morton’s into the dough. I drive by there every day to go home and it is always more vacant than an STA bus. We will never go there again.