Hungry Howie's Pizza

The Facts:

Pizza: Hungry Howie’s Pizza

Business Category: National Chain (based in Michigan; locations in 21 states)

Website: http://www.hungryhowies.com/

Location: 1601 S. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, SC

Date of Review Visit: December 16, 2014

What I Ordered: small (10”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage

Price: $5.52 (on special; regular price is $8.19)

The Micro:

Crust: Although Hungry Howie’s is based in Michigan, they do not make the thick pan crust we often see from that part of the world.  Instead, the crust on this pizza is flat with only medium thickness.  I found the crust very chewy, possibly because my pizza was slightly overbaked.  This crust is solid, but it does not really stand out.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: This criterion is a tough call.  The pizza is undersauced, but the sauce that does exist has quite good taste, not too sweet and not too spicy.  I don’t like a lot of sauce, so I will lean toward the positive side on this criterion.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in good quantity and has good taste, but it also produces a fair amount of grease.  The grease is always a warning sign and always prevents a high score.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: There is a good bit of variation in topping quality.  The pepperoni has a nice crisp, almost old-world taste.  The sausage, on the other hand, is pretty tasteless and nondescript.  This criterion is another tough call, but I will go slightly better than middle.  Score: 6/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The service and atmosphere are purely functional.  The pizza’s appearance is better than average.  Score: 7/10.

Value: Thanks to the special they were running on my visit, the value for me was fantastic.  You will rarely find pizza this good for this cheap even if you have to pay the full price.  Score: 10/10.

Taste: Everything comes together pretty well here.  This score would be higher but for the grease.  Score: 16/20.

The Final Judgment:

For this price, you will not find better pizza hardly anywhere.  Hungry Howie’s gets 1.5 thumbs up from Hungry Big Dave the Parker.  Score: 60/80.

Pizzeria Opa in Irmo, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: Pizzeria Opa

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pizzeria-Opa/660302254065538?sk=info&tab=overview

Location: 7320 Broad River Rd. in Irmo, SC (beside Publix)

Date of Review Visit: December 9, 2014

What I Ordered: small (10”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $14.17 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: As its name suggests, Pizzeria Opa makes Greek-style pizza (opa is a Greek dancing term).  Thus, the crust is the typical Greek-style thick crust: crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The crust has a fresh bready taste, and my pizza was baked to perfection.  Greek-style is not my favorite style of pizza, but this crust is pretty good for what it is.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce comes in decent quantity, but this sauce is strongly seasoned with garlic and herbs.  I guess some people like this much seasoning, but the garlic/herb taste comes across way too strong on my taste palette.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in good quantity, and the lack of piles of grease on this pizza speaks to its quality too.  The server even brings some parmesan cheese that you can sprinkle on if you want to (and of course you want to).  Overall, the cheese is probably the strength of this pizza.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: The toppings are pretty non-descript.  The pepperoni has very little taste, and the sausage suffers from the same herby taste as the sauce.  Overall, this area really needs to be better.  Score: 5/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza looks like the good Greek-style pizza that it is.  The dining room, complete with some photos from Greece, evokes a nice, dimly lit, quiet atmosphere that I really liked.  The service was a little slow considering I was the only customer in the restaurant, but I had no serious problems with the service.  Score: 9/10.

Value: Now here’s where the real problem lies: the first topping on a small pizza costs $3.  $3 for one topping on a 10” pizza!  In spite of some of my comments above, I actually kind of like this pizza, but the small pizza is way overpriced relative to what you put in your mouth.  Score: 2/10.

Taste: The garlic/herb taste of the sauce really overpowers everything else, which is a shame because there are some other good things going on here.  Score: 14/20.

The Final Judgment:

If you want fairly good but overpriced Greek-style pizza, then Pizzeria Opa is for you.  I would come here occasionally, but I would not become a regular.  Score: 52/80.