I can always detect fellow Northeasterners by their love and scrutiny over pizza, more so than by the long, flat vowels in which they talk. Particularly obvious are those transplants from cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston or any area of New Jersey, who can literally break into expletives over faulty cracker-crust pizzas dressed with herbless sauces and low-moisture mozzarella.

“You just don’t encounter those kinds of pizzas back East,” says a New York friend of mine.

Only a decade ago, San Diegans were hard pressed to find many mom-and-pop pizzerias that cranked out classic pies worthy of such critical New York palates. Instead, gourmet pizzas topped with barbecue chicken and – God forbid – pears and Gorgonzola began taking the dining scene by storm.

But what exactly constitutes a good back-East style pizza? And where have San Diego kitchens gone wrong in making them?

The experts say success starts with a yeasty crust, which requires soft or filtered water for making the dough. One need only take a whiff of San Diego’s algae-infested tap water to understand why the flavor of yeast is quickly upstaged.

Secondly, the sauce should contain rich amounts of oregano, garlic and, in some cases, rosemary or fennel. The clincher, however, is the cheese. If it isn’t whole milk mozzarella, consumers miss out on the gooey, buttery essence that gives pizza its rich and toasted flavor. Also, pizza should always be cooked in a high-heat oven set at 550 degrees to achieve a crispy bottom, airy center and bubbly surface.

Below are some favorite picks for pizzerias that hit the mark or come close to back-East excellence.

111 Washington St., Hillcrest

Owned and operated by Bronx natives, some of whom outgrew careers in boxing, the team has been serving up addictive thin-crust pies with wild success since 1997. Filtered water, whole-milk mozzarella and excellent sauce give these pizzas pure New York flair. The “white” pizzas made with plops of ricotta are also noteworthy. But if you’re looking for sacrilegious toppings such as ham, pineapple, chicken or jalapenos, you’ll need to call Pizza Hut.

1237 28th St., South Park

George Mason and his wife, Carrie, opened their little corner lot a year ago, bringing to the neighborhood an old dough recipe that originates from south New Jersey. Mason says he uses a secret ingredient that makes his pizza crusts airier than most and evenly golden. His sauce recipe has also traveled a long timeline. “I’ve been making it for 30 years, and the people who I got the recipe from were doing it this way for 60 years,” he said. The sauce contains plenty of oregano, enough to last on the palate for a while.

2345 Fenton Parkway, Mission Valley

Pizza made by big companies normally tastes like garbage in my book, although the jumbo pies baked at Costco might fool you into thinking the dough was stretched and topped by Sicilian immigrants. The medium-thick crusts are slightly chewy and offer a hint of yeast – a fine match to the slices of crisp pepperoni that curl at the edges from high oven heat. The cheese is appropriately stringy, and shifts around the thin layer of sauce at every bite, just like it did when we were kids.

1747 India St., Little Italy

Somewhere in the history of American pizza making, families tucked the toppings beneath the cheese. Today, it’s mainly Canadians who uphold the rebel concept along with occasional pizza makers like Filippi’s. Yet with a decent crust at work and some excellent meatballs used for topping, which taste even better here than pepperoni, the transposed layering scheme is easily forgiven.

3448 30th St., North Park

Chicago has great pizza too, as reflected in the deep-dish pies served at Lefty’s. These sumptuous crusts are given time to rise a little, which is worth the wait when ordering in. Chunky tomato sauce combined with some cornmeal in the dough gives these pizzas their terrific flavor and hearty texture.

5608 Mission Center Rd., Mission Valley

Camouflaged in a Ralphs plaza food court, the eatery uses fresh meats, real cheese and sauce made with vine-ripened tomatoes. The dough is made with purified water and results in a thin crust that is perhaps more delicate than traditional East Coast pizza, but pleasing nonetheless. Even better, the 18-inch pies can cost as little as $10 when they’re on special.