Dave Portnoy reviews Rockaway Pizzeria in White Oak

When Josh Sickels, owner of Rockaway Pizzeria in White Oak, discovered the rumors about Dave Portnoy coming to try his pizza were true, he said his “blood ran cold for a minute.”

“I had heard through the grapevine,” said Sickels, 42, of Wilkins. “A lot of people have been asking him to for a long time.”

Portnoy, founder and owner of Barstool Sports, randomly appears at pizza joints around the country for his own reviews. He has been in and around Pittsburgh before.

He generally orders a cheese pizza. The pizza is then judged on a scale of one to 10.

“He’s notoriously very strict,” Sickels said. “Anything above a seven is considered a really good pizza.”

According to Sickels, who is familiar with Portnoy’s pizza reviews, an eight is considered “fantastic,” and Portnoy has only given out a “handful” of nines ever. When trying the pizza, Portnoy typically stands outside of the building and reviews it on camera, Sickels said.

“Man, all I could think of was just don’t give me anything below a seven,” he said. “I’ve been working hard for a long time.”

Update: Portnoy’s video posted Sept. 19. The rating was 8.2.

Rockaway Pizzeria is set to move from White Oak to Regent Square this fall.

The Barstool Sports founder sued Insider after it published stories detailing accusations of sexual misconduct and assault against him, but the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2022, the Washington Post reported.

“Whether you care or not … whether you like this guy or not … him coming to the pizza shop is like the president visiting you,” Sickels said, as it’s the “pinnacle of critical acclaim” in the pizza world.

Sickels said he while he doesn’t really care about Barstool Sports, Portnoy’s platform for pizza is nationally recognized.

“His opinion on a personal level isn’t as important to me, (but) on a level of notoriety, he’s the biggest name in the world on pizza,” he said. “To kind of have a score up there in the ballpark with the rest, that’s more important.”

Portnoy was the first call of the day on Tuesday, according to Sickels. The call came from a Massachusetts phone number, which is where Portnoy grew up. Sickels said the fake name matched up with what Portnoy has allegedly used in the past for pizza reviews.

“There was nothing special about the pizza he got,” he said. “All I can say is he really, really liked it — and he gave out, to my knowledge, the highest score he’s given ever in Pittsburgh.”