After much demand from friends and readers, I again visited Big Ed's for the third time to find a few changes.  Finally I had a decent pizza here with a slightly browned crust and much more edible than the two previous times.  The place is still packing the dining room with eager diners.  The staff still ignores the customers and you will receive little attention unless you flag your waitress down.  Since visiting this time, I will and have raised the rating on Big Ed's, but what I consider room for improvement, loyal customers demand that "it's all part of the atmosphere."  I just don't get it???

-L.R. Drecker (of Knoxville)
 

I love Big Ed’s. My general preference runs more to the goat cheese/crispy crust end of the pizza spectrum, but for just plain ol’ pizza, Big Ed’s can’t be beat. The tiny plates and microscopic napkins add to the atmosphere, as do the giant scissors they use to cut the pizza and the cameras that keep an eye over the sports memorabilia (as though they can catch anything in the barely lit room). Your choice of ingredients is limited, and perhaps sparse as mentioned, but it doesn’t matter to me, since it’s all about the sauce and the crust, the music and the mood. I wouldn’t choose Big Ed’s if I was in the mood for gourmet fare, but I’d pick it over the chains any day.

-J. Barnett (of Knoxville)
 

The two previous reviewers do not get it. Well, that's a mystery to those of us that have grown up at Big Ed's. It is dimly lit. The service is colloquial. The juke box is almost a waste because you can't hear the music with all the "laughter."  Notice all those kids waiting to put their quarters in the slot? Notice all those kids with their faces pressed against the glass hoping they get a handout of cheese, dough or pepperoni? Those aren't store bought accolades on the wall. NBC, NFL, CNN, the U.S. Marines, the local high schools, etc. The graffiti in the bathroom comes from around the world. While Big Ed was alive he was one of the most genteel giants in our region. A stern man with a huge heart. That really is his  caricature on the plate glass.  Oh, by the way, the pizza is very good. It has a sweet, flavorful crust with a sloppy fold up texture, the way my Dad taught me Italians eat. The best choice is the Special with plentiful ingredients. No one I know seems to have a problem with the flimsy paper plates or plastic
utensils.  Nearly every night of the week and especially on weekends there is a line waiting to the door and outside hoping to dine at Big Ed's.  The two reviewers may never get it but they can't deny the loyalty of diners that flock to Big Ed's.  My dearest friends consider a trip to Big Ed's as a pilgrimage. Obvious by the masses that do also, Big Ed's cannot be dismissed so lightly as
have other reviewers. There's more to the place than corporate style pizza.  As I have explained to new converts every time...the pizza is good, but you come to Big Ed's for the ambiance!

- S. M. Klyce  (of Knoxville)