Dave Portnoy, the controversial media mogul described by the New York Times as “the most influential person in the American pizza scene,” has come to weigh in on Baltimore’s pie.

Portnoy was spotted in mid-December at several Maryland restaurants, including Pizza John’s in Essex, Angeli’s Pizzeria in Little Italy, Matthew’s Pizzeria near Patterson Park and Frank’s Pizza & Pasta on Bel Air Road in Baltimore.

The Massachusetts native and founder of the blog Barstool Sports began filming his pizza reviews in 2013. His pizza review channel One Bite has more than a million subscribers on YouTube and has since grown to include an app and a festival of the same name. He rates pizzas on a scale of 1 to 10, often with decimals.

Portnoy uploaded his first review of a Baltimore pizzeria on Monday. He gave TinyBrickOven on Light Street in Federal Hill a 7.9, and after learning the store was closing on Christmas Day because of problems getting a liquor license, Portnoy committed to giving them $60,000. In the video, Portnoy said the company should receive the money before Christmas.

“Wow. I’m going to cry, man, I’m going to cry,” pizzeria owner Will Fagg told Portnoy, according to a video posted Monday night. “Listen, the whole neighborhood is so crazy and wants us to stay open. Like we pay the pay -It Forward program (for those in need)… We have fed the homeless so many times. We have done all these things and when our politicians just turn their backs on us, it is really disappointing.

Portnoy replied, “Well, Karma, this is a good time for us to get in here.”

While Portnoy is popular — he has 4 million followers on TikTok — his approval comes with an asterisk. He has doubled down on racist and misogynistic statements he has made in the past and lost a defamation lawsuit in 2022 against Insider.com, which published two stories quoting women accusing Portnoy of sexual assault and misconduct, according to The Washington Post.

Still, even a mediocre rating from him can give small businesses a boost. Or it may leave the owners wishing he wouldn’t come in at all.

In 2023, he called a New England store “the worst pizzeria in America” ​​and posted a video in which he exchanged profanities and insults with the business owner, who later said he had received threats and feared for the safety of his children.

Should Baltimoreans expect similar behavior in Maryland, or will Portnoy find enough praise in Charm City’s pizza scene to keep things collegial? We’ll be following his reviews, published daily at 6pm, below.

“Good chassis.”

“Very good. Thin New York style. I really like it. … This place definitely shouldn’t go broke. None,” Portnoy said in his online review. “None.”