Next Door Pizza in Chino Hills, CA

The Facts:

Pizza: Next Door Pizza
Business Category: Single Store
Website: https://www.thenextdoorpizza.com/
Location: 15941 Pomona Rincon Road, Suite 110, in Chino Hills, CA (at California 71, exit 7)
Date of Review Visit: February 2024
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with pepperoni and Italian sausage, fountain drink
Price: $17.78 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Next Door Pizza is fairly thin but super hard, more hard than crispy.  My pizza seemed slightly overbaked.  The crust had too hard of a texture for my liking, so I can't rate this crust too high.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: Next Door has several sauces to choose from, but I chose the traditional red sauce.  The pizza does not have a lot of sauce, but the sauce has a fresh tomatoey flavor.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: This pizza has a nice blend of cheese that includes mozzarella, provolone, and a couple of others.  A mandatory deduction for too much grease applies.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The toppings are large slices of pepperoni and smaller pieces of crumbled up sausage.  Both toppings have nice pork flavor with just a little spiciness.  The toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 10/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: This pizza has a nice well-balanced appearance.  The dining room has a bar, a few TVs, but no chairs!  All seating is bench seating with no backs, which is very hard on people with back problems such as myself.  The service was quick and friendly.  Score: 7/10.

Value: Next Door is on the expensive side, but the quality is high.  Therefore, the value is not that bad.  Score: 6/10.

Taste: The overall taste is rather flavorful, but the grease and the crust keep this score lower than it really should be.  Score: 16/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Next Door makes a pizza that is a better crust, some grease, and some better chairs away from being elite.  Whether it is next door to your house or not, it is worth coming here at least on occasion for some pretty good pizza.  Score: 61/80.

Round Table Pizza in Southern California

The Facts:

Pizza: Round Table Pizza
Business Category: Local Chain (8 locations, all in southern California)
Website: https://www.roundtablepizza.com/
Location: 2506 E. Chapman Ave. in Fullerton, CA (in College Plaza beside Subway)
Date of Review Visit: February 2024
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with pepperoni and Italian sausage
Price: $16.25 (includes tax but not drink or tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Round Table Pizza is on thin side.  It has a nice crispy texture.  The pizza looks overbaked, but it's actually baked perfectly for this kind of pizza.  This is a great crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a fresh tomatoey taste and comes in plenty of quantity.  Perfecto!  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of cheese, which is a tasty blend of several kinds of cheese.  The cheese produces quite a bit of grease, which leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni appears in thin slices with just a little spice.  The Italian sausage appears in medium-sized chunks with just the right amount of spice.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 10/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: Round Table Pizza has a well-balanced appearance dominated by the toppings.  They have a nice casual dining atmosphere with retro games such as skiball and Golden Tee Golf.  The service was quick and friendly on my visit; I was the only customer at the time.  Score: 10/10.

Value: Round Table Pizza is not cheap, but it has high quality.  Hence, the value is not as bad as you might expect.  Score: 4/10.

Taste: Everything comes together well to produce a fresh taste with a crispy crust, but the sauce is what really makes the taste.  Score: 18/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Round Table Pizza calls themselves pizza royalty, and they are not far off.  For royally good pizza and a royally good time, Round Table Pizza deserves a spot in your pizza rotation, and it makes a great party destination.  Score: 70/80.

Gino's Italian Restaurant in Palmdale, CA

The Facts:

Pizza: Gino's Italian Restaurant
Business Category: Local chain (2 locations, both near Palmdale, CA)
Website: https://www.ginosofpalmdale.com/?utm_source=gbp
Location: 819 W. Palmdale Blvd. (in strip center at corner of Palmdale Blvd. and 10th St. West)
Date of Review Visit: February 2024
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $20.95 (includes tax but no drink or tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The pizza at Gino's Italian Restaurant has a thick bready crust.  The crust has a fresh bready taste and is full of body.  This crust is not good if you only want a light snack, but it is great for the hearty pizza eater like me.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in sufficient quantity but tastes overspiced.  This is not my kind of sauce, but some people might like it.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of cheese that does not produce much grease.  Perfecto!  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni has a nice pork taste with just enough spices, plus the slices of pepperoni are huge.  The sausage is way too spicy for my taste palette.  Both toppings appear in very high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: This pizza looks like the yummy, robust, thick-crust pizza it is.  Gino's has a nice dining atmosphere with cloth napkins and glass drinkware to add a touch of class.  The service was quick and helpful on my visit.  Score: 10/10.

Value: "Good" this pizza is, but cheap it isn't.  Hence, the value is not the best.  Score: 3/10.

Taste: The overall taste has too much spiciness from the sauce and the sausage for my taste.  Get the glass of water ready if you eat here.  Score: 15/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Gino's is better than nearby Gezzinny's, but it is also more expensive.  The overwhelming spiciness keeps this pizza from being elite in my book.  Score: 63/80.

Gezziny's Homemade Pizza in Palmdale, CA

The Facts:

Pizza: Gezziny's Homemade Pizza
Business Category: Single Store
Website: https://www.gezzinyshomemadepizza.com/
Location: 38750 Trade Center Dr. in Palmdale, CA (strip mall at corner of Trade Center Dr. and Palmdale Blvd.)
Date of Review Visit: February 2024
What I Ordered: large (14") pizza with pork pepperoni, Italian sausage, and ham
Price: $16.52 (pizza only; includes tax but not drink or tip)

The Micro:

Crust: Gezziny's Homemade Pizza has a not-too-thick not-too-thin crust.  The texture of the crust is a little on the hard and crispy side.  The crust is also brushed with a garlic glaze, which I don't particularly like.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: This pizza has sufficient sauce, but it is overspiced with a heavy garlic flavor.  I don't like garlic flavor, especially in the sauce, and hence I don't like the taste of this sauce.  Score: 4/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in sufficient quantity but produces quite a bit of grease.  Hence, the mandatory grease deduction applies.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: None of the toppings have a lot of flavor.  The ham is especially unappetizing: it is burnt black and too crispy.  All toppings appear in average quantity.  Score: 6/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: This pizza's appearance looks a little bare, especially for a 3 topping pizza.  Gezziny's has no dining area, so atmosphere does not apply.  The service was quick but not friendly or helpful.  Score: 5/10.

Value: I got this pizza on special, but even at the regular price it is fairly inexpensive for a decent quality pizza.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: The garlic taste dominates everything else, so the overall taste is rather unappealing, at least to my taste palette.  Score: 13/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Gezziny's is the local garlic king.  I don't like the taste of garlic, so I would prefer pizza from the garlic pawn than the garlic king.  Score: 49/80.

Little Italy Pizza & Pasta in Abilene, TX

The Facts:

Pizza: Little Italy Pizza & Pasta
Business Category: Single store
Website: https://www.littleitalyexpress.com/
Location: 620 Ambler Ave. (corner of US 83 Business and Ambler Ave. on the north side of Abilene)
Date of Review Visit: February 2024
What I Ordered: personal (10") pizza with pepperoni, pork sausage, and Italian sausage
Price: $10.81 (pizza only; includes tax but not drink or tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Little Italy Pizza & Pasta has medium thickness.  The crust has a crispy texture, but some people would say it is a bit too stiff.  This crust has a nice fresh bready taste that I like quite a lot.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza is slightly undersauced, but what sauce does appear has a nice fresh tomatoey flavor.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese does not have much flavor, but it appears in sufficient quantity and does not produce much grease.  Thus, this cheese is better than most.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pork sausage is the horrible pellet of grease that disintegrates on contact with your mouth.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  The Italian sausage is the star of the show: it is a sliced link sausage with some pork flavor but not too much spiciness.  All toppings appear in sufficient quantity.  Score: 8/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: This pizza has a balanced appearance.  I ordered to-go, but the tiny dining area with a few tables and chairs is nothing more than functional.  The service was quick but not helpful when I asked about toppings, which is why I ended up with the pork sausage described above.  Score: 6/10.

Value: The price is for the pizza only, but this pizza is still very inexpensive for a quality pizza.  Score: 10/10.

Taste: The overall taste would have been very bland except for the Italian sausage.  They need some other tasty toppings to go with some of the other good things on this pizza.  Score: 15/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Little Italy Pizza & Pasta is a solid pizza option that could be elite with some better toppings.  If I lived in Abilene, maybe as a student at nearby Abilene Christian University, I would come here often.  Score: 64/80.

Pizza Buffet of Anderson, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: Pizza Buffet of Anderson
Business Category: Single store
Website: https://pizzabuffetofanderson.com/
Location: 3420 Clemson Blvd. in Anderson, SC (beside the Shell and in front of Ollie's)
Date of Review Visit: January 2024
What I Ordered: adult buffet and drink
Price: $14.00 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: Pizza Buffet offers 2 types of crust: regular and pan.  The regular crust is hard and crispy, and it is of the low quality you typically find on buffet pizza.  The pan crust is thicker and has a nice spongy texture.  The pan crust is better than you would expect for buffet pizza.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: the sauce comes in sufficient quantity, but it has an almost bitter taste.  I like sweet tasting sauce, so while I can see why some people would like this sauce, it isn't for me.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: this pizza is somewhat undercheesed, and the cheese produces quite a bit of grease.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: of course the quality of the toppings varies by the type of pizza chosen, but the options are actually quite limited (see "Taste" below).  The sausage is of the horrible pellet variety.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  At least the toppings appear in decent quantity.  Score: 3/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: this pizza looks like the low to medium quality pizza it is.  Pizza Buffet has a large but somewhat dated dining room.  The service was excellent: they refilled my Dr. Pepper regularly.  Score: 9/10.

Value: pizza buffets usually shine on this metric, and this one is no exception.  In a world where $14 will barely buy you a small pizza and a drink, to get all the pizza you can eat for that price is a real bargain.  Score: 10/10.

Taste: the overall taste is not the best due to the toppings and the sauce.  Bafflingly, there were basically only 3 types of pizza on the buffet: cheese, pepperoni, and sausage.  Most pizzas on the buffet were some variation/combination of those three.  Thus, there was little variety in pizza choice, and there were no "signature" pizzas (ham and cheddar, barbeque, etc.) that made me want to come back.  Score: 11/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Pizza buffets always seem to sacrifice quality for quantity, and this one is no exception.  That said, I like Pizza Buffet better than Pizza Inn, another pizza buffet in this area.  While I prefer higher quality pizzas for regular pizza eating, for the occasional mandatory self-gourding via pizza, Pizza Buffet gets the job done.  Score: 49/80.

Napoli's Pizza, Pasta, and Subs in Marietta, OH

The Facts:

Pizza: Napoli's Pizza
Business Category: Local Chain (9 locations, mostly near Parkersburg, WV)
Website: https://www.napolis.com/
Location: 335 Pike Street in Marietta, OH
Date of Review Visit: October 2023
What I Ordered: small (8") pizza with pepperoni and sausage; 20 oz. Pepsi to drink.
Price: $16.32 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: The crust on Napoli's Pizza has a light and flaky, almost airy, texture.  The crust is quite crispy, but it is not as thin as many crusts of this type.  I don't usually like thin crusts, but I like this crust.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a nice tomatoey taste, but the pizza is slightly undersauced.  Thus, a mandatory deduction applies.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, but the cheese does not produce much grease.  I've had worse cheese than this.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni is standard commercial Hormel pepperoni, and the sausage comes in tiny flavorless bits.  Honestly, these toppings are terrible.  At least they appear in decent quantity.  Score: 3/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: Napoli's Pizza has a very average unremarkable appearance.  The dining area at their Marietta location is tiny and purely functional.  The service was quick and friendly.  Score: 6/10.

Value: For only an 8" pizza, this pizza is very overpriced relative to what you put in your mouth. Score: 1/10.

Taste: The toppings really ruin what could be a very tasty pizza.  Unfortunately, on any pizza the toppings are one of the main taste contributors.  Score: 14/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

There are elements of a tasty pizza here, but the toppings need a major upgrade and the price is unreasonable.  In Marietta, I like East of Chicago Pizza better.  Score: 49/80.