Bellagio’s pizza is the first of a three-part epicurean/entertainment powerhouse.

I bet y’all thought the Weekly was expanding to Sin City, but nope. Bellagio’s is a new pizza restaurant in downtown Monterey. It’s part of a hybrid actually, with a Mexican bar/restaurant next door named Habanero. Same owner, swinging barroom doors in between, different kitchens. The adjoining Vegas-named nightclub Luxe comes next in the former Doc’s Lounge – and will serve food from each eatery. But I’m here to tell you about the pizza.

Today, there are so many varieties of pizza that it’s impossible to compare them all. Hey, we’re talking about a piece of bread with stuff on it, baked, produced in a zillion different ways.

Oh, that sounds so soulless.

We all know good pizza, or at least have our favorites. If your standards are set by what is shoveled out the door of the nationwide chains or what you find in the frozen food sections of the supermarket, um, here’s an opportunity to expand your horizons.

What makes a good pizza? Toppings can contribute, but the crust and the sauce are the crucial factors. The crust should not be doughy. It should have its own flavor and texture and be more than merely a platform. The sauce should have body and piquancy and not be overshadowed by any other flavors.

The greatest pizza ever was made at the late Rocky Lee’s ChuCho Bianco on Second Avenue at Fifty-Second in New York. They served a 20-inch pie on a soft crust so thin that you could roll it up and actually eat the whole pizza. Uno’s Pizzeria – the Chicago restaurant that claims to have invented deep dish variety – uses a thicker crust but it’s flavorful and not heavy. Up north in the other Bay Area you might try Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria.

But now that we have Bellagio’s you don’t have to leave town to get a good-tasting pizza. Bellagio’s offers a thin crust in myriad sizes, starting with a “dietetic” 7-inch, and more than 20 toppings. They make their pizzas with five different sauces: zesty red, barbecue, creamy garlic, pesto, and garlic and olive oil.

You get to choose, of course, and they also have their own suggestions, including the Bellagio Supreme with pepperoni, salami, linguica, Italian sausage, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes and red and green peppers. A 10-inch is $13.99.

Slices are $3.25 for one topping and $3.75 for combination or the meaty Godfather, which honors the same sausage-pepperoni-salami arrangement that was so popular for the Croce’s Pizza people who previously occupied the spot.

Important for those who love pizza but find that wheat disagrees with them, Bellagio’s has gluten-free selections made with a crust using rice flour and corn starch. For instance, you might try the “Pisa,” which uses garlic and olive oil and is topped with mozzarella, spinach, garlic, feta, artichokes and tomatoes. It tastes very fresh, and the small size for $13.99 provides enough for a second meal at home.

And holy mozzarella, Bat Man, October is National Pizza Month! They are celebrating here with slices for only 99 cents and a large one-topping pizza for $9.99 on Sundays and Mondays. On Mondays and Tuesday you can get a one-topping 7-inch for just $3.99. Plus there’s a great deal on children – no, not as a topping – as those celebrating their birthdays this month get a freebie.

Bellagio’s has more than pizza. They have a few pasta dishes ($7.99; $4.99 for kids) and oven-baked sandwiches ($7.95), plus a variety of familiar appetizers like chicken wings, jalapeño poppers, fried zucchini ($4-$10) and some desserts like store-bought cheesecake ($3.50) or cinnamon breadsticks ($5.95). Bellagio’s also has a great salad bar with lots of fresh leaves and a score of different, also-fresh fixings, plus (yum) marinated artichoke hearts. They provide two basic dressings, neither too interesting. I should add that it is the cleanest salad bar I’ve seen in some time.

You can quench your victuals-induced thirst with just about anything. There’s a full bar with multitudinous beers next door in the Mexican restaurant.

Since Bellagio’s hasn’t been open but a few months and they are working out the kinks, I humbly offer some suggestions. More sauce, please, on the pizzas and less cheese on the sandwiches. And very important: Make sure that when the food gets to the table it is hot. A rule about good pizza is that it should arrive almost too hot.

There is seating for about 20 in Bellagio’s, and more tables in the Mexican restaurant through the swinging doors should the need arise. You can have whatever you want to drink from Bellagio’s or from the bar next door. Soft drink refills are free. If you are on the go, there is take-out, and if you don’t want to go out, they also deliver.

Bellagio’s is a great late-night spot, and I do mean late. For post-party-goers, cops, cab drivers, night owls and pregnant women with a middle-of-the-night craving, you can satisfy your gastronomical needs until the wee hours. They’re open until 3am weekdays and 4am on weekends.

And speaking of mornings, this final comment. If there is an ultimate test of a pizza – OK, not ultimate but important – it’s how it tastes the next morning… and cold. Bellagio’s passes that test.

BELLAGIO’S 404 Tyler St., Monterey • 11am-3am Sun-Wed; until 4am Thu-Sat • 643-9500.