Saying you don’t like pizza is like saying you don’t like puppies or springtime or the music of Prince. Every opinion you offer after that will be side-eyed. And there’s a decent chance you’re not a human at all but an A.I. chatbot gone awry.

That said, what you personally consider to be Prince’s best album, the cutest breed of puppy and the best place in the world to enjoy spring weather, those opinions are valid. Just as valid as mine or anyone else’s.

Similarly, your personal list of top five Huntsville pizza places is just as legit as ours at AL.com. For the purposes of our HSV pizza list, we’re sticking to ventures with a Huntsville address. Otherwise the heavyweight pies at Valentina’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Madison would be on here, and they’ll be a strong contender for our statewide best Alabama pizza list this Thursday.

Our Birmingham pizza list went live Monday, and Mobile’s up to bat Wednesday. Now it’s time to slice up Huntsville’s top five.

5. TERRY’S PIZZA

7900 Bailey Cove Road S.E., Huntsville, terryspizza.net

It’s not easy for a reboot to live up to nostalgia. But Terry’s Pizza has done a solid job rising to that challenge. Since returning in 2018 at a new South Huntsville location, Terry’s has served unfussy pies from an era before pizza toppings included foodie flash like avocado and beansprouts. Lou Pejza, an IBM typewriter repairman who’d relocated from Chicago, opened the first Terry’s Pizza in 1959, on Governors Drive. Pejza co-founded the original with his sister Theresa (for whom the restaurant was named) and brother-in-law. Other locations opened later. For decades, Terry’s Pizza, said to be the city’s first pizzeria, was central to Huntsville food culture, until shuttering in 2006 after Pejza’s death. Like soon-to-be-revived dive Tip Top Café, Terry’s was something many locals never thought would return. Yet here we are.

Order this: Terry’s signature item, the Sticky Fingers is sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms under a blanket of extra cheese on a crisp, thin and sturdy crust.

READ: Does the new Terry’s Pizza live up to the legend?

4. VENICE PIZZA

6610 Old Madison Pike, Huntsville, venicepizzahsv.com

It’s the pie that matters most, not the location or space. And their pie is the why Venice Pizza makes our list. Venice opened about three years ago in a humble commercial strip located near Bridge Street Towne Center. Their dining room is small and nondescript. But their pizzas, cooked in a stone deck oven, are gooey, chewy and savory. Nice, foldable crust and tangy sauce. At Venice Pizza, you can go as small as by-the-slice or as big as their battle-shield size party pizza, the latter available on rectangular and circular chassis. The emphasis is on populist and traditional specialty pies, think Margarita, Mediterranean, pineapple, buffalo chicken and barbecue chicken.

What to order: The house special delivers a satisfying balance of sausage, pepperoni, ground beef, green peppers, mushrooms and onions.

3. PANE E VINO

300 Church St SW, Huntsville, paneevinopizzeria.com

Pane e Vino is a case where the food and atmosphere are equally terrific. Part of Boyce Concepts — the restaurant group helmed by local celeb chef James Boyce that also includes fine dining faves Commerce Kitchen and Cotton Row – Pane e Vino sits inside downtown’s Big Spring Park. Their space is actually below the Huntsville Museum of Art. As such, Pane e Vino pies take their names from famous artists. There’s the Michelangelo (fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, garlic), the da Vinci (pesto base, Roma tomato, mozzarella, arugula, balsamic reduction), Georgia O’Keefe (mozzarella, Romano, pesto, chicken, tomato, red onion), etc. They also do elegant versions of a caprese salad, bruschetta app and some bodacious meatballs.

What to order: Several masterpieces at Pane a Vino, but I’m partial to the Jackson Pollock, an expressionist work of mozzarella, Romano, pesto, chicken, tomato, red onion.

MORE: 11 creative Alabama pizzas that go way beyond pepperoni

2. INNERSPACE BREWING COMPANY

2414 Clinton Ave. W., Huntsville, innerspacebrewing.com

The nerd-culture force is strong with Huntsville, see the popularity of pop-culture cons, arcade-bar mashups, and other geek-chic goings about here. InnerSpace Brewing makes Huntsville’s nerdiest pizzas. And some of the city’s most delicious and creative. Opened in 2018, InnerSpace slings pies with sci-fi nod appellations such as the Silent Running (goat cheese, sweet peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olive) and Millennial Falcon (touted on the menu as “Hotter than the Kessel Run!”). All served by friendly wicked-smart staff (the bartender who took our food order is a space science grad student at UAH) in a cozy, funky space outfitted with celestial furnishings like moon landing posters, a Death Star blueprint and a Lt. Uhura portrait. If you’re a craft-beer enthusiast, signature brews here include a blueberry shake fruit ale and an, ahem, IC3PA India Pale Ale.

What to order: Not sure if consuming the Warp Core on the regular will help you live long and prosper. But this vessel of spicy sausage, Soppressata salami, Gorgonzola, mozz, red onion and siracha drizzle tastes like a journey to pizza’s final frontier.

READ: The best Huntsville beers for college football season

1. EARTH AND STONE WOOD FIRED PIZZA

2600 Clinton Ave. W., Huntsville, earthandstonepizza.com

Earth and Stone didn’t take the easy or quick way to pizza prowess. Owners Tina Ford and Stan Stinson launched it as a mobile food vendor at Huntsville’s popular Greene Street farmer’s market. They affixed a wood-burning stove attached to a towed trailer. After caring for her parents in their twilight years, Ford decided she’d follow her food passion from then on. She teamed with Stinson, whose background in advertising and regional management imparted branding and efficiency savvy. Earth and Stone quickly became a vanguard in Huntsville’s vibrant food-truck scene, winning national honors. Six years or so in, Earth and Stone made the leap to brick-and-mortar, as an embedded pizzeria in Yellowhammer Brewing. Their pies strike a rare mix between artisanal and accessible, with everything from pepperoni to roasted sweet potatoes in play The magic is in the crust though. Bendy, crispy, delicately charred and transcendent.

What to order: Take it back to Earth and Stone’s roots with their Greene Street featured pizza. A satisfying harvest of red sauce, mozz/provolone mix, baby spinach, baby bellas, red bell pepper, red onion and Kalamatas.

READ: The scrappy origins of Earth and Stone Wood Fired Pizza

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