Robin Godwin: New York’s ‘Bob’s Pizza Tour’ Launches in Baltimore

Bob’s Pizza Tour, a pizza tour company that started in New York City in 2019, is now doing tours in Baltimore. Bob Hanlon, founder of Bob’s Pizza Tour, relocated to Baltimore last year and spent recent months getting more familiar with the pizza scene in Baltimore.

The pizza tours, during which attendees walk to different pizza venues within one neighborhood, take place on Saturdays or Sundays. Bob’s Pizza Tour is offering separate tours in Hampden, around Patterson Park, in South Baltimore, and around Harbor East. There will be one tour for each area a month as the company gets started in Baltimore.

The first tour in Baltimore was this past Saturday in Hampden and the Patterson Park tour is scheduled to follow on February 19th. The first South Baltimore tour will take place on Sunday, February 26th at 1pm.

Hanlon is looking to include pizzerias such as Pizza di Joey, Barfly’s, Hersh’s, and Diamondback Brewing Company on the South Baltimore tour.

The Hampden tour featured Paulie Gee’s Hampden and Arthouse for pizza, and Dangerously Delicious Pies for dessert pies. The Patterson Park tour will go to Matthew’s Pizza, Verde, and Johnny Rad’s Pizzeria Tavern. Hanlon hopes to inlcude places like Joe Benny’s and Harbor East Deli on the Harbor East tour.

Tours still take place in three locations in Manhattan, New York.

“As someone who relocated from New York City down to Hampden, they are definitely two different pizza cities. There are certainly not as many pizzerias in Baltimore as New York, but there is a lot to try,” said Hanlon. “It’s great that there’s history here. We have places like Matthew’s that have been around for many decades and generations and continue to make amazing pies that people love to go out and try.”

“Recently we got new places like Underground Pizza which opened up during the pandemic. It really exploded onto the scene and was able to quickly expand into Towson and Silver Spring. Then you have Paulie Gee’s in Hampden which has been around a few years and continues to bring new offerings including a slice offering to accommodate the lunch crowd in the neighborhood,” said Hanlon.

“Across the board there a lot of great places and different styles of pizza. New York-Style, Neapolitan, Detroit-style pizza, pan pies, anything and everything you can imagine in the pizza world, it’s happening in Baltimore,” he continued. “With the pizza tours, I’m really excited to be able to get people out of their house and their comfort zone, and take them to new places they haven’t been to before as they try new pizzas and really expand their palate.”

Tours cost $60 per person and cover the pizza. Guests can buy their own alcoholic beverages or soft drinks separately.

During the tours, Hanlon gives history and pizza baking details at all the places and asks guests to rank the pizzas.

The first rule of the tour is “phones eat first.” Hanlon encourages people to post their pictures to social media, which has led to a large Instagram following for Bob’s Pizza Tour of more than 38,000.

“It’s basically a bar crawl, but for pizza,” said Hanlon. “There’s no better way in my opinion to experience a city than by trying the food. And pizza, in my humble opinion, is the best food to eat.”

“I’m excited to continue to meet a lot of new Baltimore friends and take them out on a really awesome afternoon or evening in the city,” said Hanlon.

Photos courtesy of Bob’s Pizza Tour