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Bless Italy for many reasons, but bless the Mediterranean nation especially for giving the world pizza. Where would we be without this simple concept — flatbread, sauce, cheese, bake, eat in large quantities? Lost, that’s where. Marlo and Jason Dilks have shown South Philly the way with their pizzeria, SliCE, 1180 S. 10th St., whose fresh thin crust and well-done slices have a city-wide reputation for being the best purveyors of pie, including gourmet pizza offerings.
They hit the jackpot with the location of their first shop, which turned eight this February.
“We bought the building because it had apartments upstairs on a corner that we didn’t realize was going to be a great location,” Marlo, a former Urban Outfitters accountant, said.
They didn’t have a following. They weren’t food service professionals. Jason, who, like his bride, was a 2014 South Philly Review Difference Maker, was a mechanical engineer, and they were looking for a side project to earn additional income.
“And then in August [of 2008, PhillyMag’s] Best of Philly came out, and we won and instantly our sales doubled. That was the beginning of people really getting to know us,” Marlo said.
What we know now is that the Dilks, Queen Villagers, don’t do anything that isn’t fresh.
“The whole concept was going to be based on freshness — there’s nothing canned and we don’t freeze anything. We wanted it crispy and cooked well-done and crispy all the way to the edge,” Marlo said.
Not having culinary expertise, they relied on a longtime friend and pizza guru Tony Skartsilas, to help develop the right stuff. Marlo said it was like learning music by ear.
“We would taste it and feel it and say [to Skartsilas], I want it crispy like this, I want it to look like this,” she recalled. “Since that point on, the recipe hasn’t changed, since we nailed it.”
With a Rittenhouse location that opened in September 2010 and a Washington Township one that followed tow years later, their name recognition has offered them the ability to expand. But there’s nothing that fancy about what the Dilks do — it’s clearly all in the pies, the magic in them has made them pizza professionals. One doesn’t mess with what’s already perfect.
“It’s not something you change eight years later,” she said.
Pizzeria Pesto finished second, while Uncle Oogie’s placed third.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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