Looking for the best pasta on the Island? What about the best place to conduct a business lunch? In an occasional series over the next few months, the Taste section will survey the Island's restaurants in a variety of different food areas, covering everything from pasta and burgers to the most impressive (and cost-effective) place to seal that contract or merger.

In the first installment -- the result of a random and anonymous sampling of various central eateries -- Taste looks at the local incarnations of one of Italy's best-loved exports: pizza.

* * * Two weeks ago, members of the Italian-based Naples Pizza Association gathered in New York City to decry the debasement of what they felt was the one and only way of making the well-loved flat, round pie.

According to the group, whose stated aim it is to "protect the art of making pizza,'' the true Neapolitan pizza should always be round in shape, no bigger than a dinner plate, comprised of the freshest ingredients and baked, unwaveringly, over a wood fire in an 800-degree oven.

Needless to say, trendy French-bread crusts and fanciful toppings like pineapple or clams hold no weight with NPA members.

In fact, the association's standards would seem to suggest, a truly Italian pizza could never really be made in any country outside of Europe (so exacting are those standards).

The mozzarella cheese, for instance, that the pizza brigade advocates must always be of the hand-worked snow-white variety that comes from special Italian cows -- a requirement that if followed would make the cheese some three days old by the time that chefs on this side of the world got their hands on it.

And since Bermudian pizza-makers have generally espoused the North American method of baking pies, the pizzas that are sold locally would no doubt fall under the "crimes to humanity'' that the NPA lumped non-traditional pizzas with at their conference.

Even so, the average local pizza lover is more than likely to find at least one concoction of interest among Bermuda's pizza choices.

The following is Taste's report from the frontlines: FOUR STAR PIZZA A true Bermudian success story, Four Star Pizza has built a significant following over the past few years on the basis of reliable service, an aggressive marketing strategy and some genuinely tasty pizza.

During a recent anonymous Taste test, for example, a panel of dedicated pizza reviewers was pleased to note that its order was delivered within the stated time, that the deliverer was polite and professional and that a purposely lengthy selection of toppings was successfully carried through.

On a previous occasion, one panelist noted, one topping -- olives -- had sadly been omitted, though this, the reviewers agreed, was a rare occurrence at Four Star, which generally deserves its favourable reputation.

Highlights of the Four Star experience: almost any one of its ten or 14-inch Local pizza waris heating up From Page 27 bases of operation (in Hamilton, Somerset, Warwick and Flatts); its frequent-custome r coupons for such bonuses as $3 off a pizza or a complimentary six-pack of soda. Drawback: occasional lapses in communication.

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN Is Colonel Sanders rolling over in his grave? Probably not, but the KFC foray into pizza that began late last year has proven to be something of a disappointment. During an early sampling that stemmed more from sheer curiosity than from any overwhelming desire to try pizza-by-way-of-Louisville, the product in question -- a medium-sized Super Supreme -- turned out to be heavy, greasy and (at more than $20) tremendously overpriced. The product, moreover, doesn't seem to have improved over time.

Highlights of the KFC experience: novelty; great product variety; convenience.

Drawbacks: mediocre pies; comparatively high prices.

PIZZA DUDES Though it's the newest kid on the pizza-making block, the hip and happening Pizza Dudes on South Shore Road in Paget has already developed a loyal clientele for itself, especially among the pizza cognoscenti who live in the area.

But while there are those who have sworn by the deliciousness of a Pizza Dudes delivery, a recent take-out experiment, conducted by a pair of Taste spies, proved to be no more than average.

For one thing, it took a Pizza Dudes staffer an inordinate amount of time to explain to the spies that the on-the-spot slices were available with only cheese and pepperoni on top (nothing else). Furthermore, the spies regretfully noted, the pizza that ultimately did make it into their hands turned out to be reheated fare slightly on the greasy side.

All in all, dudes, it was a less than stellar experience.

Highlights: a tremendous product variety that includes four different sizes of pizza and close to 40 different topping choices, including a few that would probably drive the Naples Pizza Association to distraction (jalapeno peppers, baby shrimp, steak). Drawbacks: limited delivery service; less than animated counter staff.

PORTOFINO Portofino, on Bermudiana Road in Hamilton, makes what is arguably the best pasta on the Island, but can it do pizza too? The answer, Taste must report, is yes -- and no.

During a recent sit-down meal at the popular Italian eatery, for instance, one of Taste's recruits ordered Portofino's Pizza Hawaii (complete with pineapple, mozzarella, tomato sauce and ham). Although it arrived hot and on a crust that the diner found appropriately thick, he also found it to be mushy in the middle and uninspired generally.

Highlights: a plethora of pizzas to choose from; excellent dining atmosphere.

Drawbacks: product inconsistency; long waits for sit-down meals.

TUSCANY Nestled off Front Street in Bermuda House Lane, Tuscany, a close competitor of Portofino's in this particular area, gave its rival a run for its money recently when Taste ordered a Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons) pizza for take-out. Though the baking time took slightly longer than the ten minutes that were quoted to the buyer on the telephone, the resulting pizza (which featured artichokes, mushrooms and a nicely thin crust) was light as air and very fresh in taste -- and quickly devoured by two the Taste testers.

Highlight: light, fresh pizza at a reasonable price. Drawback: none of significance.