WHERE TO FIND PIZZA THAT’S A CUT ABOVE

Which pies are worth a slice of your time and money?

Pizza is a fast food. That doesn’t mean it should be treated the way we tend to treat fast food, the cheap, industrial, artless junk that barely resembles sustenance. A good pizza deserves to shine with fine ingredients and the careful touch of an artisan, but this isn’t slow food. Fast is the perfect word for it. In fact, few foods happen as quickly as pizza does. The best pies spend only a measure of seconds in rip-roaring hot ovens.

Over the past year and into the coming months, a bevy of new pizzeria competitors have opened and are opening (those coming soon include the Local Pizzaiolo, Harry’s Pizzeria and Blaze Pizza) in the metro area in a fast-casual style. That is to say, they marry the kitchen of a proper restaurant with the simple counter service and shared seating of a fast-food joint. It’s a perfect fit, so long as the pizza is actually good.

We checked out a few of the restaurants aiming to fight the latest battle in Atlanta’s long-running pizza wars.

MOD entered the Atlanta market in June when doors unlocked at its outbuilding at Kennesaw Marketplace. Decatur will get a MOD in late September, and Sandy Springs will join the club in October.

A colorful industrial interior lends MOD personality that belies its category as a chain restaurant. However, there is a busy feel to the place that can induce fast eating. The $7.87 price for an 11-inch pizza is easy on the pocketbook, but MOD comes up short in pleasing the palate.

Minuses: The super-thin crust is not the problem. It is the gloppy, floppiness of the pie — which happened in the case of build-your-own (MOD also offers unlimited toppings for the same price) and with some of the specialty combinations on the menu. Perhaps another minute in the oven would have made a difference. It would also be nice if the staff would cut all the way through the pizza rather than forcing customers to wrest apart each slice.

Best pick: Ella, a seasonal pizza made with white sauce, mozzarella, spicy chicken sausage, diced tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lemon wedge and Sriracha.

Insider tip: The Mega, a double-decker of dough separated by your choice of sauce, is a waste of dough (both kinds).

1945 Cobb Parkway, Kennesaw. 470-264-0050, Modpizza.com.

CONTRIBUTED BY ELIZABETH LANDT / ELIZART DESIGNS

PHOTO BY LIGAYA FIGUERAS The Ella holds white sauce, mozzarella, spicy chicken sausage, diced tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, a lemon wedge and Sriracha.