balboa pizza company.

Update: Pie Town Pizza has closed.

The best pizza in Las Vegas is actually in Henderson.

Though the Review-Journal's annual readers' poll typically results in a Vegas mainstay like Metro Pizza getting the honors, Settebello is the obvious choice. But it's not the only great pie in the city of Henderson. While I tend to believe Henderson is a little behind some of our other suburban communities when it comes to great food in the neighborhood, Vegas pizzerias have some catching up to do. Grimaldi's on Eastern is great. Pie Town on Green Valley Parkway allegedly has the best Chicago deep dish around. And while it's hard not to hit Settebello if you're in the vicinity of The District at Green Valley Ranch, it has another completely respectable joint in Balboa Pizza Company.

The District, that walking-and-shopping destination connected to the Green Valley Ranch Resort, seems to be dying with the rest of the retail world. That's not good news for the mostly franchised restaurant options here, and Balboa always has been kinda sleepy. But it does boast an easygoing surf shack vibe, a small but comfortable patio and an adequate bar. Most everything on the newspaper-print menu is tasty. Pizza here is thin crust and individually sized, but one pizza is the perfect size for sharing, especially if you're augmenting your meal with some of the best chicken wings in town: Big, meaty, slightly crispy on the outside and available in some fun flavors like Thai Peanut and Hawaiian BBQ. Pizza toppings are pretty standard but also reflect some California Cuisine weirdness -- barbecue chicken, roasted vegetables, etc. The Tostada pizza has ground beef and sausage, pico de gallo, refried beans, guacamole and cilantro. There's also the Wedge pizza, more or less a calzone.

In simple straight-up pizza comparisons, Balboa's reminds me a lot of the thin crust from Rosati's Pizza, an Illinois-based franchise that has taken hold in Vegas over the last year and was the staff pick in the previously mentioned Best of Las Vegas poll in 2009. Crust is important, and it seems more and more local pizzerias are discovering that crispy/chewy balance.