Bites Nearby: Geraci's Restaurant

 — There are few justifiable reasons for engaging in a fistfight with a friend or acquaintance. But one of them is when arguing about who has the best pizza in town.

And once you eat a pie at Geraci’s Restaurant, you may be ready to come to blows defending them. Occupying the same Warrensville Center Road location almost since they opened in 1956, the Geraci family still assembles their pizzas with passion.

Utilizing homemade dough and sauce, and featuring thick-sliced Margherita pepperoni (if that's how you like it) for that authentic blast of Italian flavor, each portion is a little slice of pizza heaven.

But there are many more dishes that beckon a guest at Geraci’s. These include their house specialty toasted meat or cheese ravioli, nine different veal preparations using top-quality Provimi veal, and a wide selection of seafood.

Founders Michael and Fran Geraci, now 92 and 88, respectively, still stop in to help out their daughters, Marti and Fran, who run the place.

Whether you partake of their menu in the comfy dining room or order take out, Geraci’s will likely make you a believer. And maybe, every so often, a fighter.

2266 Warrensville Center Road, 216-371-5643. Open Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Prices: Pepperoni Pizza (lg.), $12.05; Toasted Ravioli, $11.95; Veal Parmigiana, $20.95.