PORTSMOUTH — West Main Pizza maintained its Best Specialty Pizza dynasty when it took top honors in the category for the third consecutive year at last week's Pizza Cook-Off in Newport. This was the competition's third year.

The victory was especially sweet to shop manager Kathleen Sullivan. As winners of the competition's grand prize, West Main Pizza was awarded a five-day all-expense-paid trip for two to the Sole Melia Resort in Rome. Owners Gary and Emily Rahilly handed the prize to Ms. Sullivan.

"She's been with us from the start so she's the one who will go," Ms. Rahilly said. Actually, Ms. Sullivan was on hand before West Main Pizza got its start — she was there back when the business was Sully's.

For the competition, whose winners are picked by the visitors, West Main served up eight specialty pizzas. These included such offerings as Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Billy Goat Pizza (with spinach and goat cheese), and Gourmet Pizza, loaded with Portabella mushrooms, red peppers and other exotics.

West Main brought 150 pizzas to the cook-off. Any that weren't consumed there were donated to a Newport shelter.

Winner of the other big prize, for best cheese pizza, was Newport's A-1 Pizza. For that, A-1 earned a trip to Cancun, Mexico.