I’m no snob*, but I can’t stand a lot of chain pizzas. Pizza Hut. Domino’s. Papa Gino’s. They’re all awful in their own unique ways. Either it’s bad toppings or crust like cardboard or cheese like wet cardboard. I do like some chains, Papa John’s isn’t bad and here in Boston the Upper Crust is a decent place to get an overpriced specialty pizza.
I’ve just lived places where I had better close by. When I lived in Kansas City my parents and I would hit Big Cheese every other week, it seemed like. Big Cheese is long gone (and anything that still has the name is a pale forgery) but when I moved to Council Bluffs, IA there was a place called Pizza Counter that believed you when you asked for extra cheese. Now that I’m in Boston I’d rather go to the Brookline Spa or Big Daddy’s in Watertown for a slice than get a whole Pizza Hut.
Despite what I said in that other thread, Godfather’s isn’t actually that bad. Though most of my experience with Godfather’s was in Omaha at their flagship stores, so it’s possible that at a Godfather’s in Bismarck or Salt Lake City you’re going to get some nasty crap.
So pizza snobbery aside, I think the national chains are still pretty dire. If you like Pizza Hut pan pizza, Jet’s (a regional chain) does a similar thing, but just a lot better – crispier crust with better cheese and toppings. So do a handful of other places that deliver to me that maybe only have 2-3 locations.
If you just want a basic round pizza, I can get lietally 8-10 places that will deliver one to my house, all of which are better than Papa John’s/Pizza Hut.
And I emphasize here that I’m not talking about pizza snob places. I like pizza snob places – Gino’s East is great, Lombardi’s was good, there’s a local place that has excellent New Haven-style apizza – but these are just your bog-standard American-style pizza delivery places that I’m talking about, the kind that has coupons in the local ad flyer for two large 1-topping pizzas plus breadsticks for $19.99 or whatever.
EDIT: Of course, I know that not everyone lives in a place where a dozen pizza places will even deliver to them. The Detroit suburbs are weird that way.
The Papa John’s near me makes a decent thin crust meat lover’s pizza. But it’s not better than say, three local mom and pop shops that I can think of. And if you like thin crust pizza, Spunto in the Village is out of this world.
Truth! My neighbor takes the kids to Cici’s every now and then and they all enjoy it. But then for whatever reason my kids have some strange love of all things buffet.
Yes to Cici’s. We’ve also got Pizza Inn, Pizza K and Stevie B’s that all do the cheap buffet pizza. Stevie B’s even lets you request pizzas get made for the buffet, and they’ll bring the fresh pizza to your table so you can get a couple slices before they put it out for everyone else.
Shakey’s owned. I was so sad when the one by my house where I grew up closed.
Man I used to like Pizza Hut and I’ll still order it from time to time but it’s not really a clear winner anymore. I dunno what happened but they changed something. Whereas Dominos as we know definitely changed something and their pizza is much improved IMO.
I still look for a local joint, though. Vegas had Metro Pizza for awhile and it was good, but those seem to be closing down. Rosati’s isn’t bad.
Man, I wish there were a Shakey’s near me! They all went away a few years ago.
One from my childhood that I really liked was Straw Hat Pizza. Thinking on it, I’d guess that it was because it had the best arcade with all the newest stuff.
I guess to be fair there’s a pretty significant difference between “pizza snob” and “someone who has had a lot of pizza that’s much better than chains,” which can just be a question of a local place doing pizza really well for a competitive price.
I live in a suburb and delivery options are limited from in town. There are probably 5-6 one-off pizza/deli type places fairly near, some of which might deliver; but when I was younger my Dad used to be fairly ecumenical about going to whatever place had a sale on, and I actually got the impression that local “generic pizza shops” usually had something that tasted half-assed.
Oh man, Shakey’s and Straw Hat. Along with Round Table Pizza, those were like the holy trinity of pizza chains where I grew up. Pizza Hut and Little Caesar’s didn’t invade until later, and then the Domino’s conglomerate spread. But the original three (Round Table > Straw Hat > Shakey’s, solely based on having awesome arcade games) still hold a special place.
Local shops are going to be better than chains almost universally. Here in Cincinnati there is Papa Dino’s in Clifton and Bruno’s in Oxford, two college pizza parlors that server up tasty slices (especially at 2AM). We also have a local chain called LaRosa’s that’s been around since the 1950’s. They make delicious pizza that’s unlike anything a national chain would make.
That said, there are perfectly good national chains. Often it depends on the way chains handle franchises as to the quality of the pizza. A chain that allows franchises to buy their own ingredients and does not strictly monitor quality is going to have some stores that make good pizza and others that make crap. National Chains I like include Marco’s Pizza, which makes a tasty “Big Square Deal” pizza that has a garlic butter and parmesean crust and is a steal at only $9 for a large. I also like Papa John’s, but only for certain types of pizza and only at certain locations (seems they may have the franchising issues I noted above). Finally, and this goes againt all logic, there is a Little Caesar’s near me that makes a decent pepperoni pizza. It’s not as good as others, but at $5 it’s perfect for tailgating, parties or any other occasion when you need to feed kids or a lot of people.
No offense taken. It’s Pizza Hut we’re talking about, after all!
I’m not sure why I dislike Pizza Hut so much to be frank. I don’t harbor this kind of antagonism towards Little Caesar’s $5 pies and I think objectively that’s a pizza made with worse ingredients. Something about seeing that grease pooled up in the center of the Hut pie really disgusts me.
I still like Round Table, though I seem to be in the minority. Pizza Hut is way too greasy. Papa John’s tries hard, but the crust and sauce is terrible. Dominoes and Little Caesar’s, the less said the better.
We have a chain in California (and I think Oregon maybe) called Mountain Mike’s that does a pretty decent pizza for a chain. The toppings are fresh and plentiful anyway and the sauce isn’t too sweet.
I dislike Papa John’s because they can’t figure out how to do pizza crust right. I hate the tightly-rolled rock-hard edges of the pizza, but the balloon-like inflated crust is even worse.
I’m not understanding the love for Pizza Hut in this thread. Maybe they’re different regionally, but around here they are dropping premade, frozen crusts into their pan pizza pans. The end result is nasty, spongy cafeteria quality pizza.
There are so many local mom and pop places making better pizza that deserve your business more than the giant chains do.
I grew up right next to a Pizza Hut restaurant in CA. An actual restaurant, with a salad bar, thick block wood tables, brick walls, hard tile floors, and cozy warm atmosphere. The pizza there was phenomenal, and bares no resemblance to the cardboard shit they’re stuffing into boxes now days. The restaurant in still there, but I haven’t been back in 20 years (I haven’t lived there in 30).
I almost never get Pizza Hut. I think it’s ok but for delivery I like Dominos better. They always have a good sale price, and they have the pizza tracker.
The pizza tracker lets you know when it’s time to put your pants on because the pizza guy is close! I love modern technology!
It must be local, then, because I’ve never had that experience. Granted, it’s been a few years since I ordered any (they refuse to acknowledge that my subdivision exists, or they did the last time I called, so they can burn in hell), but when I was eating it regularly it was greasy, chewy, crisp, and delicious. And terrible for you in every way it could possibly be. It never tasted particularly wet (when fresh - after a night in the refrigerator the sheer volume of grease that accumulated in the bread could get impressive). Maybe their crust sucks now. Most of the pizza that I’ve had since I moved came out of Double Dave’s, a local joint called Barry’s, and Star, none of which I would recommend on the strength of their pizza (Star is cheap and easy, Barry’s makes these marvelous little fried raviolis and they’re friendly to large groups, and Double Dave’s has a good buffet).
I think it’s a location based thing. Pizza from the two Papa John’s locations I’m apt to order from never has the bubble inflated crust, and the edges are pretty much like any other pizza. They have a nice sauce with a hint of spice to it, and they aren’t afraid to put a liberal amount of said sauce on my pizza. I also love the peppers they include in the box. It’s not as great as local shop pizza, but it’s better than Dominos/Pizza Hut/Cici’s/Ceasar’s.
