We tried pizza from some of the hottest fast-casual chains - and the winner was clear

The winner was unmistakably clear.

Overall, Pieology's cheese was heavenly, Blaze Pizza had an overpowering sauce, and MOD Pizza excelled in two core criteria — the crust and the bake.

Here's how much I spent

Pieology: $17.05

Blaze Pizza: $16.82

MOD Pizza: $18.42

The mad dog was unparalleled. Though I could have used a bit more sauce, a perfect storm of flavorful meats, abundant cheese, and a springy crust made this slice easy to devour.

MOD Pizza's "mad dog" comes with pepperoni, ground beef, and a mild sausage. The toppings appeared to be swimming in pools of melted mozzarella.

An overly aromatic, slightly bitter sauce was again Blaze Pizza's downfall. While the red onion added a nice crunch, the pepperoni and meatball tasted bland. Sorry, LeBron.

I wondered if the "meat eater" from Blaze Pizza could make a comeback in the second half. It was the only pie to feature red onions, which I like, and meatball instead of sausage.

When I bit in, a charcoal taste filled my mouth. I turned over the slice and discovered the bottom was burned black. The toppings were, in fact, delicious, but it wasn't enough.

Pieology's "butchers choice" pizza looked great from the start, with glistening pepperoni slices and a strong cheese-to-topping ratio. Again, the crust curled up at the edges.

Moving onto the meat-lover's pizza round, I felt confident that Pieology and MOD Pizza would duke it out for the title. And as a meat-lover's pizza fiend, the stakes were high.

While the copious amounts of cheese did not disappoint, the crust couldn't hold its own weight. The slice reminded me of the melting clocks in a Salvador Dali painting.

Gooey mozzarella was cooked to perfection. And look at those air bubbles in the crust.

My salvation appeared to be this cheesy pie from MOD Pizza. Founded by a former Starbucks executive in 2008, the chain more than doubled in size over the past year.

The sauce was so overpowered by oregano, I couldn't taste the mozzarella, which hardly pulled apart.

Isn't that all anyone wants in life — to watch cheese cascading over the edges of a slice of pizza?

Next up is Blaze Pizza, which was earlier this year named the fastest-growing restaurant ever after going from two to 200 locations in four years. It's backed by LeBron James.

In 2015, King James walked away from a $14 million endorsement deal with McDonald's to become part of Blaze Pizza's marketing campaigns. He's also an early investor in the chain.

The crust lifts off the plate around the edges, making the slice easy to hold. But it's still thin and flavorless. The right amount of sauce and a whole-milk mozzarella saved this slice.

This cheesy beauty came from Pieology, the fastest-growing restaurant in the US in 2015. Cheeses arrive in wheels and blocks and are grated fresh, according to Pieology.

Source: Pieology

Our test had two categories: the classic cheese pizza and a meat-lover's rendition.

Not all fast-casual pizza is created alike. We stopped into the three fastest-growing chains.

Fast-casual pizza should terrify legacy brands like Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's.

Three out of the five fastest-growing restaurant chains in 2016 were fast-casual pizza concepts, according to Technomic. Their sales accounted for 37% of US fast-casual business last year.