Pizza at your door from Conans, Hoboken, Mangia, Rounders and Whole Foods

Does anybody get pizza delivered just because they like the way it tastes?

I think we do it to feed our culture of complaint. It's soggy, it's cold, it tastes like cardboard, it costs too much, it's half an hour late.

Well, no kidding. When we choose delivery instead of pizza that's straight out of the oven, it's like we're punishing ourselves for something. 'Here's your circle of self-loathing, sir. That'll be $18.50.'

Nobody expects a steakhouse or a burger joint or a Tex-Mex place to deliver, even though those foods might suffer less in crosstown traffic than a pizza does. Pizza's a delicate thing. Getting it right is a kind of miracle even under the best of circumstances. Yet somehow we're OK with having somebody stuff it in a box, cram that box in a bag, then take it on a joy ride to our front door.

The pizza phones will light up next week, electrified by the finales of 'Lost,' 'American Idol' and 'Dancing with the Stars' (admit it - you've watched), not to mention the NBA playoffs.

To help keep you fed while you're camped out in front of the flat-screen, I borrowed an apartment in the 78701 ZIP code and ordered pizza from four national chains and five local pizzerias this month. I also worked a shift at Pizza Nizza (story here.)

You might not see your favorites here. Maybe they don't deliver to Central Austin. Maybe they don't deliver at all. Or maybe 19 pizzas was about all I could handle in one night. (One of the greatest nights ever.)

What follows are reviews of the local places, from which I ordered two pizzas apiece. One was a thin-crust pepperoni, the other a freestyle pick based on vague memories, Internet menus and the body's occasional need for vegetables. The shops are listed in alphabetical order, because in this tangle of pizza styles, no clear winner emerged. But the good news - at least in 78701 - is that you're only about 45 minutes away from a knock at the door and the chance that this time, your pizza will be great instead of just convenient.

Let me know the best delivery pizzas in your part of town at msutter@statesman.com. Maybe I'll come over with a six-pack.

msutter@statesman.com; 912-5902

Conans Pizza

603 W. 29th St., 478-5712; 2438 W. Anderson Lane, 459-3221; 2018 W. Stassney Lane, 441-6754; www.conanspizza.com.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays-Saturdays.

Delivery time: 57 minutes

Delivery fee: $2

The experience: I've been eating at Conans since Conan had less to do with O'Brien and everything to do with Schwarzenegger and Frazetta. I remember watching my college girlfriend's dad sweat through the jalapeños on the meaty Chicago-style 'Savage.'

Pepperoni: Conans is known more for its deep-dish pizzas, but the thin-crust pizza was elegant, like a pepperoni painting: a golden crust with a braided collar and perfect deployment of bright red circles. Solid taste and texture but not spectacular. Price: $14.90 for a large.

Freestyle: I wanted to get the Savage, but pizza is one of those foods where the vegetarian options are just as good. With artichoke hearts, spinach, garlic and sliced tomatoes, the deep-pan 'Don't Choke Art' was a CSA basket of bright garden flavors ringed by a whole-wheat crust like a crisp loaf of artisan bread. Price: $21.50 for a large.

Something extra: Still want to watch her dad sweat? Jalapeños are only 35 cents on any pizza.

Hoboken Pie

718 Red River St. 477-4256, www.hobokenpie.com.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Mondays-Fridays. 3 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Saturdays-Sundays.

Delivery time: 53 minutes

Delivery fee: $2

The experience: Hoboken is an excellent example of how place matters. With its neo-Soviet agitprop graphics and majestic red pigeon, Hoboken is a muscular punk-rock bastion of the Red River experience. I had a slice from the oven there one late Thursday, served by a tattooed guy with a stegosauraus haircut, and it was a bubbly, crunchy revelation. The delivered version was a pop song in a mosh pit, a stage dive with nothing to break the fall.