Boston and New York enjoy a number of (mostly) good-natured rivalries. When it comes to baseball, of course, any New Englander would deem the Sox superior. When it comes to pizza, though — even many lifelong Hub dwellers would hesitate to claim the crown.

They shouldn’t, say Giancarlo Natale and Raffaele Scalzi, founders of the inaugural Boston Pizza Festival. The best friends and ardent pizza lovers believe that Boston-area restaurants, contrary to conventional wisdom (and the opinions of our Yankee-endorsing rivals), turn out tremendous pies that stand up to those in larger cities like slice-happy NYC and deep dish-devoted Chicago.