The aroma of pizza fills the air in zpizza as you might expect. The small new pizza joint next to Jamba Juice on Shepherd and Champlain uses a modern Italian feel but does not stray far from that familiar pizzeria aroma.

While the place is a little boring looking with nothing on the walls except yellow paint and a few paintings in the back of the shop, I was impressed by the how fast I got my personal pepperoni pizza and the friendliness of the staff. I was eating my pizza within 10 minutes of ordering.

The pizza was a little greasy but not too bad. Also the sauce tasted fresh and had little slivers of tomato in the sauce.

Despite the small amount of grease, zpizza brings a healthier alternative to pizza than other pizza parlors; they use a fresh organic sauce and MSG-free pepperoni.

The prices vary from about $7-$20, depending on what you order. For an oversized personal pepperoni pizza, you will plunk down about $10–a little expensive but definitely delicious.

Zpizza not only has pepperoni pizzas but also cheese, pineapple and ham and sausage and mushroom. If those do not appeal to you, they also allow you to create your own pizza. You choose between a variety of crusts, sauces, cheeses and toppings.

Also if you do not have the appetite for an entire pizza, you can buy individual slices for $2.70, including tax.

If pizza is not your first choice for a meal, do not be turned away, zpizza does not just serve pizza. They also provide a variety of sandwiches, calzones, salads and desserts.

Zpizza also has a catering service that serves from six to eight people, and you can order up to a week in advance.

Zpizza has 69 locations in the United States; to find the one closest to you visit their website at zpizza.com (www.zpizza.com).

For more information about the zpizza on Champlain and Shepherd, call (559) 433-9995.