Congratulations to the Café at the Bowling Alley presenting Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza for being voted Indiana’s Kosciusko County’s best pizza.

Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza received enough votes on Facebook to place them in the bracket wars. In the first round, the Café at the Bowling Alley – Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza was up against Danny’s Sports Bar & Pizzeria with their People’s Choice. The Café at the Bowling Alley’s Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza won moving them on to the final round.

In the final round it was the Café at the Bowling Alley’s Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza up against The Frog Tavern’s “The Wawasee.” The Café at the Bowling Alley’s Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza won 88.6 percent of the votes to 11.4 percent of the votes.

On Friday the voting begins in the Regional Bracket War. The Café at the Bowling Alley’s Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza will be up against Duneland Pizza from Porter County.

Help Kosciusko County’s the Café at the Bowling Alley – Bib’s Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza move on to the next round by visiting our website: www.livewellinthemoment.com and vote once daily.

This round of voting will go from Friday, June 12, until Monday, June 22.

The Northern Indiana Tourism Development Commission has added a new, special ingredient to the Pizza Wars: Critics Choice. This weekend, travel guide author and journalist Kate Silver will journey to eight Pizza Wars contenders and choose the crème de la crust.

Dan Bearss, executive director of NITDC, said this is a chance for an outside expert to judge the local competition.

“Every great sporting event has an official of some sort, whether it’s an umpire, referee or some other professional maintaining a standard of play. As a professional travel writer and guidebook author, Kate Silver will score each pizzeria, add new depth and raising the stakes in the competition.”

Silver, who is based in Chicago, is the author of the 2015 Frommer’s EasyGuide to Chicago. A freelance journalist, her food, travel and lifestyle pieces appear regularly in Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and other publications. As a self-described “professional eater with a writing habit,” Silver has explored the thick and thin of the Chicago and international pizza scene, and says she’s thrilled to experience a piece—or eight—of Indiana pie.

“You could say I’ve spent my life preparing for this job. I’ve eaten my weight—and then some—in pizza in Chicago and other cities across the world. I’ve learned the difference between styles—Neapolitan vs. New York vs. the different Chicago styles vs. Detroit vs. St. Louis and the list goes on. But the bottom line is, a great pizza transcends style. It’s all about the melding of flavors and textures. I’m excited to check out the most beloved slices in Northern Indiana and cast my vote.”

Silver will be visiting the following eight competing pizzerias Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14:

• Elkhart County – Rulli’s, Iechyd Da Brewing Co.
• Kosciusko County, Café at the Bowling Alley
• LaGrange County, Iannarelli’s
• LaPorte County, Albano’s Villa
• Marshall County, The Wooden Peel
• Porter County, Duneland Pizza
• St. Joseph County, Giannetto’s Pizza

At each location, she’ll rate the pizza using a scorecard. The winners will be announced in conjunction with the winners of the popular vote.