Shakey's Pizza Parlor

Basic Information:

Pizza: Shakey’s Pizza Parlor

Number of Locations: about 50, mostly in southern California

Location Reviewed: 2437 E. Glenn Ave. in Auburn, AL (Update: this location is now closed.  Only locations in California and Washington remain open.)

Website: http://www.shakeys.com/

Date of Review Visit: January 2016

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

Price: $12.19 (includes drink and tax)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Shakey’s offers two crust options: traditional thin and sourdough pan. As regular readers of this blog would expect, I chose pan.  The crust has a near-perfect texture: crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  I could not taste the sourdough, but the crust tasted like good quality bread.  I like it.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza is very undersauced.  When I did get a lick of sauce, it had a sweet taste similar to Papa John’s, which I liked.  Overall, this sauce is good, but the pizza needs more of it.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: This pizza is definitely not undercheesed: a nice layer of mozzarella or provolone blankets the pizza.  The cheese does not produce too much grease, so it is good quality.  Sprinkling on some parmesan only enhances the flavor.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The Italian sausage is downright terrible: it comes in large pellets that dissolve into grease when you bite them.  The pepperoni is a little better: it comes in thin slices that are only slightly spicy.  Overall, the toppings need improvement.  Score: 3/10.

Overall Taste: The good and bad really clash here.  This pizza tastes like good quality pizza if your bite includes only crust and cheese, but you learn otherwise when you bite into the toppings.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is fine except for the pellet sausage.

Dining Atmosphere: The restaurant has a nice casual dining atmosphere, but the dining area is too large: I was the only customer in the building at 5:30 pm on a Thursday.

Customer Service: Shakey’s offers counter service rather than table service, but I had no trouble ordering.

Monetary Value: The price is reasonable, but the quality is only OK.  Thus, the value is only slightly better than average.

The Final Judgment:

Shakey’s is a decent pizza option, but there are better.  It could be a real winner with some better toppings.  Score: 78/100.