2011 Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs: Judges choose Antonio's in Amherst over Joe's Cafe in Northampton

It was a split decision victory for Antonio's in the North Region. Watch video

In a split decision, The Republican's three judges in the 2011 Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs chose Antonio's in Amherst over Joe's Cafe in Northampton in the North Region portion of the competition. Antonio's now moves on to the semifinals, where it will face the winner of the West Region in mid July.

Judges Pam McCray and Don Treeger gave the nod to Antonio's as they were blown away by the house choice, BBQ chicken with bacon and ranch dressing. Judge Ray Kelly enjoyed the specialty, but said he could not get past the bland sauce and cheese used on Antonio's cheese pizza.

"Our first decision as judges might very well be our most difficult," Treeger said. "I preferred the cheese pizza at Joe's Cafe, and I liked the specialty pizza at Antonio's more. In the end, it was the crust at Antonio's that won my vote."

McCray echoed Treeger's sentiments. "I think the deciding factor for me was the crust. I do like thin crust pizzas, but the crust was too soggy for me on the house special at Joe's."

"Although I liked the cheese pizza better at Joe's, Antonio's specialty pizza was great. So flavorful and picture perfect," McCray said.

She added, "I did love the shrimp scampi pizza at Joe's, but on the house special, the toppings were too much for the crust. I ate the cheese first and by the time I got to the house special the crust was really soggy. Antonio's pizza held up nicely and had a great crust to it."

Kelly disagreed with his fellow judges' decision.

"To me, three elements are essential to a great pizza: Crust, sauce and cheese," Kelly said. "To be blunt, Antonio's was lacking in two of those three."

"While I am not a big fan of thin crust pizza, it was done so well at Joe's Cafe that I had no complaints," Kelly said. "It is true that the crust on the specialty pizza there was a tad soggy under the pile of superb, generous toppings. I found that easier to forgive than bland sauce and cheese."

Next week, Kelly, McCray and Treeger will visit the two West Region competitors, Liquori's Pizza in West Springfield and Pizza Guy in Agawam.

The judges are visiting the "Elite Eight" selected by online readers. The competition began on May 9 when the call for nominations went out. There were 117 nominees, which were reduced by readers to 64 contenders in four regions for tournament style voting.

Online readers whittled that field down to the "Elite Eight" that judges are comparing.

As always, visit www.masslive.com/pizza to keep up with where the judges have been and where they are headed next.

Elite 8 Bracket: