OPS Pizza Kitchen and Cafe in Kingsland, GA

The Facts:

Pizza: OPS Pizza Kitchen and Cafe

Business Category: Regional Chain (3 locations, all in northeast Florida or southeast Georgia)

Website: https://www.opspizza.com/

Location: 1378 Boone Ave. in Kingsland, GA (just east of I-95 exit 3)

Date of Review Visit: December 19, 2018

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

Price: $12.40 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: OPS bills its pizza as a New York style thin crust pizza, but while the crust is indeed thin the pizza looks and tastes more like a wood-fired pizza.  The thin crust has a nice crispy texture.  Only a lack of flavor leads to a minor deduction.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza has almost no sauce, which is typical for a New York style pizza.  What little sauce it does have tastes slightly spicy almost like salsa.  This is not my favorite style of sauce.  Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in high quantity and does not produce much grease.  The 100% mozzarella cheese “blend” also does not have much flavor.  Even sprinkling on some parmesan helps only a little.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in decent quantity, but that’s where the good news ends.  The sausage is slightly spicy but comes in flavorless tiny ground chunks.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices and is also fairly flavorless.  Score: 6/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza has a solid appearance with an even cut.  The dining atmosphere resembles a sports bar with lots of TV’s big and small tuned to sports programming and 80’s rock music blaring through the speakers.  The service was attentive and fine.  Score: 9/10.

Value: The price is fairly expensive for a 10” pizza, and the quality is not that great.  Therefore, the value is not that great.  Score: 3/10.

Taste: The overall taste is rather lackluster, as nothing really adds any distinct flavor.  Score: 13/20.

The Final Judgment:

A decent regional pizza option but nothing more, OPS is OK in my book (but only OK).  Score: 49/80.

Dolce Vita Italian Bistro Pizzeria in Anderson, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: Dolce Vita Italian Bistro Pizzeria

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: https://www.dolcevitasc.com/

Location: 3823 SR 81 in Anderson, SC (2 miles south of I-85 exit 27)

Date of Review Visit: October 10, 2018

What I Ordered: Three Little Pigs Pizza (14” pepperoni, sausage, and bacon pizza); Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $18.73 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Dolce Vita has medium thickness, but what really steals the show is the crust’s texture.  It is thin and crispy underneath, while it is crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside around the edges.  The pizza looks underbaked due to the white sauce described in the next criterion, but in fact my pizza was baked to perfection.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: Dolce Vita uses an odd white garlic sauce rather than the usual red tomato-based sauce.  The sauce did not taste the least bit garlicy, which for me is a plus: I do not like the taste of garlic.  The flavor was zesty for the most part, but occasionally I got a bite that was too spicy for my taste palette, probably due to spices in the sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: This pizza’s tasty cheddar and mozzarella blend appears in great quantity but does not produce much grease.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: All toppings have a fresh taste, but none of them are even slightly spicy.  The sausage even had a little pink in it.  The bacon was not too crispy or salty, which is rare.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza has a very white appearance due to the white sauce and the large amount of cheese.  The dining atmosphere has a touch of upscale class: real metal silverware and Italian music playing through the speakers.  Alcoholic beverages are a main feature on the menu, so the dining room might get loud later in the evening.  Note that Dolce Vita is only open 4-10pm on most days.  The service was a little slow to refill my Dr. Pepper but fairly attentive overall.  Score: 9/10.

Value: The quality is excellent, but it is expensive even for a 14” pizza.  They only make one size of pizza (14”), so bring a friend or be prepared for leftovers.  Score: 4/10.

Taste: The overall taste is quite different due to the sauce but also quite good.  The occasional over-spicing in the sauce is all that holds this score back.  Score: 19/20.

The Final Judgment:

Anderson just got a nice new entry in the upscale pizza space.  I may not come here weekly due to the price, but Dolce Vita is an excellent if slightly different choice for those special pizza occasions.  Score: 69/80.

Monical’s Pizza Restaurant

The Facts:

Pizza: Monical’s Pizza Restaurant

Business Category: Regional Chain (locations in 4 states, based just south of Chicago)

Website: https://www.monicals.com/

Location: 850 W. Main Street in El Paso, IL (I-39 exit 14)

Date of Review Visit: August 10, 2018

What I Ordered: 8” pan pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $9.46 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: Monical’s offers 2 crust options: thin and pan.  As will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog, I chose pan.  The pan crust is thick but not super thick, and it has a nice crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside texture.  Overall, this is a pretty good pan crust.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The tomato in the logo suggests that the sauce will be the strength of this pizza, and the tomato tells the truth.  The sauce has a thick consistency, appears in high quantity, and has a nice tomatoey taste.  What more could you want?  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza does not have a ton of cheese, but it produces a lot of grease.  As good as the sauce is, the cheese is equally bad.  Score: 3/10.

Toppings: The sausage appears in small chunks but has no flavor whatsoever.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices with just a little spice.  There is also a “topping” of spices sprinkled all of the pizza; I never care for this many spices.  The two real toppings appear in decent but not overwhelming quantity.  Score: 6/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: Monical’s has a nice dining room with antique sports equipment hanging on the walls, but the entire room smelled like beer.  The independent Baptist I am does not like that smell.  The pizza has a nice crust-dominated pan pizza appearance.  The service seemed rushed even though they were not super busy on my visit.  Score: 6/10.

Value: This is not the best pizza around, but it is pretty cheap.  Therefore, the value is pretty good.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: The overall taste is very underwhelming.  The sauce saves what could be a disaster.  Score: 13/20.

The Final Judgment:

Monical’s is definitely not elite, but it has some things going for it.  I would stop at Monical’s again if I found myself near one.  Score: 53/80.

Sal’s on Fifth in Minneapolis, MN

The Facts:

Pizza: Sal’s on Fifth

Business Category: Locally owned

Website: http://salsonfifth.com/

Location: 10 N. 5^th St. in Minneapolis, MN (near the corner of 5^th St. and Hennepin Ave.)

Date of Review Visit: August 7, 2018

What I Ordered: 2 slices of meatlovers pizza; Coke to drink

Price: $12.05 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: Like many downtown pizza places, Sal’s sells reheated pizza by the slice.  The pizza has a thin but crispy crust.  Reheated pizza usually has a very tough crust, but this crust has just the right amount of crispiness.  Crust is never the strength of this kind of pizza, but this crust scores better than most in its category.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have a lot of sauce, but the sauce does have a nice, fresh, tomatoey flavor.  Again, this criterion is better than you would expect for this kind of pizza.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: This pizza does not have much cheese, and the cheese does not have much flavor.  This pizza does have a lot of grease, but the extra toppings on the meatlovers pizza might contribute to that.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni and sausage are pretty tasty with just the right amount of spice.  The ham is nice and tender.  The bacon adds very little.  All toppings appear in good quantity.  Score: 8/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: Sal’s serves slices of pizza on paper plates, one plate per slice.  The dining atmosphere is the usual crowded downtown environment, but Sal’s has a larger dining area than most downtown pizza places.  The service was impersonal, and I struggled to communicate with the men behind the counter.  Score: 6/10.

Value: Sal’s has better quality than most reheat by the slice pizza places, but it is also much more expensive.  Therefore, the value is not that great.  Score: 4/10.

Taste: Sal’s offers a lot of specialty pies, and the meatlovers is quite flavorful except for the grease.  Score: 16/20.

The Final Judgment:

The pizza was pretty good but pricey; the service was horrible.  I’m not sure I would come here again, but only due to the service.  Score: 53/80.

Pizza Ranch

The Facts:

Pizza: Pizza Ranch

Business Category: Regional Chain (locations in 14 states; based in Iowa)

Website: https://pizzaranch.com/

Location: 305 E. Main St. in Mandan, ND

Date of Review Visit: August 4, 2018

What I Ordered: 1 adult buffet, drink included

Price: $12.34 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: The different pizzas available on Pizza Ranch’s buffet have different crusts.  The thin crusts such as the crust on the double pepperoni pizza are nice and crispy.  The “usual” crust pizzas are bulky and flavorless.  The sausage pizza even has a Pizza Hut-style stuffed crust.  Overall, I found more to like than to not like among the crusts.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: Most of the buffet pizza options have little sauce, and what sauce there is has little flavor.  The barbecue beef pizza has a nice barbecue-based sauce that reminded me of Cici’s old barbecue pizza that I really liked.  One good sauce is not enough to earn a good score on this metric, though.  Score: 4/10.

Cheese: Again, the pizzas do not have much cheese, and what cheese exists does not have much flavor.  At least there is not much grease either.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The toppings are mostly very tasty, especially the double pepperoni.  The toppings appear in plenty of quantity for the most part.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza buffet is well-labeled and neatly arranged.  The dining room has a western theme with witty sayings such as “the Lord is my saddle partner.”  The service was fine.  Score: 9/10.

Value: Pizza Ranch is more expensive than Cici’s, but you also get more.  They even have some non-pizza items such as fried chicken on the buffet.  Score: 10/10.

Taste: You usually sacrifice quality for quantity at a pizza buffet, but that sacrifice is fairly small here.  Most of the pizzas have enough distinctive flavors to make the taste pretty good overall.  Score: 15/20.

The Final Judgment:

Pizza Ranch is very popular.  I tried coming here twice: the first time I could not even find a parking spot and left.  The second time I had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated.  Pizza Ranch is like a Cici’s for grown-ups with a western twist, and I think its popularity is well-earned.  It gets a big “yee-haw” in my book.  Score: 57/80.

Jammer Joe’s Grill and Pizzeria (Xanterra Travel Collection)

The Facts:

Pizza: Jammer Joe’s Grill and Pizzeria

Business Category: Operated by Xanterra Travel Collection

Website: http://www.glaciernationalparklodges.com/dining/lake-mcdonald-lodge/jammer-joes

Location: Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

Date of Review Visit: August 1, 2018

What I Ordered: personal (10”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Coke to drink

Price: $13.66 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Jammer Joe’s is hard to classify, but I would classify it as a butter crust.  Nevertheless, it has only a slight butter taste.  The crust has medium thickness, but it is very hard, so hard I had a difficult time cutting it with a knife.  Score: 4/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have much sauce, and what sauce there is mixes with grease to form an orange ooze.  Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The cheese produces a lot of grease, and it appears in only average quantity.  Even sprinkling on some parmesan cheese helps the flavor only a little.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: Neither topping has much flavor, but both toppings appear in good quantity.   Score: 5/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: As usual with a butter crust pizza, this pizza has a crust-dominated appearance.  The slices are evenly cut.  The dining room needed some air conditioning on the hot summer afternoon that I came here, but otherwise it was pleasant.  The service was prompt and friendly.  Score: 7/10.

Value: I was expecting the high national parks price, but I was hoping for the high national parks quality that never materialized.  Score: 1/10.

Taste: I remember eating some frozen butter crust pizza a few years ago that tasted suspiciously like this pizza.  I can’t remember the brand of the frozen pizza, but the “frozen” in that statement is what you really need to know about the taste.  Score: 8/20.

The Final Judgment:

The national parks may be America’s best idea (although I tend to think of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as America’s best ideas even if they are not exclusively American), but this pizza does not do our national parks a favor.  Maybe we could improve it by borrowing some ideas from Italy or even Canada (see my previous review).  Score: 31/80.

49-degrees North Pizza in Waterton, AB, Canada

The Facts:

Pizza: 49-degrees North Pizza

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: http://www.49degreesnorthpizza.com/

Location: 303 Windflower Ave. in Waterton, Alberta, Canada (just over 1 block west of the tour boat dock)

Date of Review Visit: July 29, 2018

What I Ordered: medium (10”) pepperoni pizza; Coke to drink

Price: 20.50 Canadian dollars (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: 49-degrees North Pizza says their pizza is unparalleled, a pun on Waterton, Alberta’s location on the north 49^th parallel.  The crust has a crispy texture and medium thickness.  The crust does not stand out as unparalleled, but it does the job and does it rather well.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce, on the other hand, is some of the best I have had recently.  It has a thick consistency with a nice tomatoey taste and comes in plenty of quantity.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in excellent quantity and produces little grease.  The flavor as presented is a little bland, but sprinkling on some parmesan makes it come alive very nicely.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: I only got one topping because of their pricing scheme, but the pepperoni was excellent.  It comes in nice thick slices with just a little spice, and it appears in good quantity too.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza has a nice well-ordered appearance.  The dining room is very small with no frills whatsoever.  The service was friendly but slow even though they were not too busy.  Score: 6/10.

Value: 49-degrees North makes good pizza, but Waterton is a national park tourist town.  Thus, the tourist town price creates a problem on the value metric.  Score: 3/10.

Taste: I wish I had ordered more toppings (costing more money, of course), but the overall taste was pretty good for what was there.  Score: 17/20.

The Final Judgment:

O Canada!  49-degrees North was my first Canadian pizza, and I ate it on my visit to Waterton Lakes National Park.  If you find yourself in the tourist town of Waterton, Alberta, you could find far worse eats than this pizza.  Score: 62/80.

Little Big Men Pizza in Lewistown, MT

The Facts:

Pizza: Little Big Men Pizza

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: http://www.lbmpizza.com/index.html

Location: 630 NE Main St. in Lewistown, MT

Date of Review Visit: July 27, 2018

What I Ordered: Small (8”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Pepsi to drink

Price: $7.55 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Little Big Men Pizza is thinner than you would expect for this far north, but it isn’t bad.  Some cornmeal baked in the crust gives it a nice texture.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a fresh and tomatoey taste, but the consistency is so thick the sauce seems to be pasted on the crust.  Also, the pizza is slightly undersauced.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: This pizza features a tasty cheese blend that appears in good quantity and does not produce much grease.  The cheese is the strength of this pizza.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni comes in thin slices with no flavor.  The sausage is of the horrible pellet variety.  Both toppings appear in good quantity, which is still a good thing, I guess.  This area needs a lot of work.  Score: 3/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza’s appearance is OK except for the pellet sausage.  The dining room has a nice rustic atmosphere with large deer heads hanging on the wall and old lanterns for light fixtures.  The service was friendly and fine.  Score: 9/10.

Value: This pizza has a low price, but it is only an 8” pizza and has horrible toppings.  Little Big Men makes cheap pizza but not pizza with great value.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: The overall taste is very good except for the toppings, which I have already elaborated on.  Score: 15/20.

The Final Judgment:

The toppings are really a shame, because otherwise this is pretty good pizza.  Although I am more of a fat big man than a little big man, I would come here at least occasionally if I lived in the area.  Score: 57/80.

Mesa Pizza in Minneapolis, MN

The Facts:

Pizza: Mesa Pizza

Business Category: Regional chain (3 locations in MN and IA)

Website: http://www.mesapizzamn.com/

Location: 1323 4^th Street SE in Minneapolis, MN (in Dinkeytown)

Date of Review Visit: June 13, 2018

What I Ordered: 2 slices of sausage and pepperoni pizza; can of Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $9.25 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Mesa Pizza has a very hard texture; it is hard to bite and chew.  It tastes reheated, as is usual for pizza by the slice.  I’ve had worse crusts, but this crust does not do much for me.  Score: 3/10.

Sauce: This pizza has very little sauce, although what sauce does exist has a nice tomatoey flavor.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: There is not much to say about the cheese’s flavor: even sprinkling on some parmesan helps only a little.  It does appear in decent quantity.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: Mesa has a wide variety of ready-to-reheat pizza types to choose from.  On my pizza choice, the pepperoni is unremarkable and low in quantity.  The sausage is strange: it comes in big rectangular slices and tastes more like goetta (for those of you from Ohio who know what goetta is) than the Italian or pork sausage you normally find on a pizza.  I really didn’t recognize it as sausage at first.  The slices of sausage cover nearly the entire pizza, which I guess is a plus.  Score: 6/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The block-shaped sausage dominates the pizza’s appearance.  The dining atmosphere is the typical crowded downtown atmosphere except that it was nearly empty at 12:30pm on a Wednesday.  The service was counter service and was fine.  Score: 7/10.

Value: The price is low at 2 slices of pizza plus a drink for less than $10, but the quality is also below average.  Score: 6/10.

Taste: The overall taste is pretty nondescript; enough said.  Score: 10/20.

The Final Judgment:

The Dinkeytown part of Minneapolis has a college town feel, and Mesa Pizza is a college town pizza.  While not the worst, it is definitely not the best.  Score: 41/80.

Punch Neapolitan Pizza in the Twin Cities, MN

The Facts:

Pizza: Punch Neapolitan Pizza

Business Category: Regional chain (11 locations, all near the Twin Cities)

Website: https://punchpizza.com/

Location: 802 Washington Ave. SE in Minneapolis, MN (just east of Oak Street and near TCF Bank Stadium)

Date of Review Visit: June 12, 2018

What I Ordered: Napoli pizza with pepperoni and sausage; soda to drink

Price: $12.21 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Punch Neapolitan Pizza is not as thin as some other hot oven crusts.  It has a fresh bready taste for the most part, but I also tasted burnt crust quite a bit.  A little burning is expected for this type of pizza, but not this much.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: This pizza has very little sauce, and what little sauce there is has very little flavor.  The following score might be charitable: Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The 100% mozzarella cheese appears in decent quantity and produces little grease but also little flavor.  You can add more cheeses as toppings (for a price, of course), but the standard cheese is rather bland.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: The sausage is fresh and yummy with just the right amount of seasoning.  The pepperoni is fairly nondescript.  Both toppings appear in good quantity.  Score: 8/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza’s appearance is nice and robust except for the blackened crust.  The dining area was crowded and noisy when I came here at noon on a Tuesday.  Two large overhead doors at the front of the restaurant open and give a nice indoor/outdoor atmosphere during the summer.  The counter service was prompt and friendly, but the lady calling order numbers had to yell incessantly over the noise.  Score: 8/10.

Value: Punch only makes personal sized pizzas, so this is not the choice to feed a large group with large pizzas. Also, the price is higher than it should be for this quality of pizza.  On the bright side, the counter service saves on the tip.  Score: 3/10.

Taste: The blackened crust really overpowers pretty much everything else except sometimes the sausage.  This is a shame because there are some decent things going on here in the taste department.  Score: 14/20.

The Final Judgment:

Punch is different enough that I can recommend coming here once to see if it suits your taste.  It does not suit mine, and in the Stadium Village area of Minneapolis I prefer nearby Blaze Pizza over Punch: they make similar pizza styles, but Blaze is the rare combination of cheaper and better.  Score: 46/80.

Blaze Pizza

The Facts:

Pizza: Blaze Pizza

Business Category: National chain, based in Pasadena, CA

Website: http://blazepizza.com/

Location: 1000 Washington Ave. SE in Minneapolis, MN (corner of Washington Ave. and Huron Blvd. near TCF Bank Stadium)

Date of Review Visit: June 10, 2018

What I Ordered: Build Your Own 2 Topping pizza with pepperoni and smoked ham; soda to drink

Price: $10.80 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: Blaze Pizza gets its name from its dome pizza oven that can reach up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.  As you would expect for this style of pizza, the crust is thin and crispy.  It is hard to bake this style of pizza exactly right, but they did exactly that with mine.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: You have your choice of sauce, but I chose classic red tomato-based sauce.  This pizza does not have a lot of sauce, and the sauce that does appear only has a very light tomato flavor.  Normally I complain about sauces being overspiced, but this sauce might be a little underspiced.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: You get your choice of cheese, but I went with mostly mozzarella with a little parmesan. The cheese is applied with good quantity, but it produces quite a bit of grease and not a lot of flavor, even with the parmesan.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: Their wide selection of toppings all look good because they have no artificial additives.  Both the smoked ham and pepperoni tasted fresh, but the pepperoni could have used a little more spice and the ham a little more sugar.  The smoked ham does not taste the least bit smoky.  Both toppings appear in good quantity.  Maybe I should have tried my usual pepperoni/sausage combination instead.  Score: 7/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza has a well-ordered appearance with every piece of ham or pepperoni in its place.  The Minneapolis location has a nice casual dining atmosphere with a TV for entertainment.  The counter service was prompt and friendly: pizzas are made to order assembly-line style in front of you, and the pizza maker asked me at every stage if the pizza looked good to me, which it did.  Score: 10/10.

Value: Blaze only makes personal sized pizzas, so this is not the place to feed a large group with large pizzas.  That said, the price for this type of pizza is reasonable, and the counter service saves on the tip.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: I sprinkled on some oregano to add some spice.  Otherwise, the overall taste would have been pleasant and fresh but rather bland.  Score: 16/20.

The Final Judgment:

Similar in style and appearance to Your Pie and Mod Pizza, Blaze Pizza does not quite set me on fire, but it is a competitive entry in the assembly line made-to-order pizza sector.  Score: 64/80.

New York Pizza in Hartwell, GA

The Facts:

Pizza: New York Pizza

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: https://www.newyorkpizzahartwell.com/

Location: 105 W. Franklin Street in Hartwell, GA

Date of Review Visit: June 1, 2018

What I Ordered: large (16”) pizza with sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $16.88 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The Hartwell, GA version of New York Pizza (aside: every town seems to have a pizza place called New York Pizza) has a nice fluffy crust with a fresh bready taste.  The crust is thicker than you would expect for a New York style pizza, and overall I like it even if it is not very New York-like.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have much sauce, but what sauce there is has a nice tomatoey taste and a thick consistency.  On the down side, I found pieces of tomato peel in my sauce, and I don’t like finding pieces of anything in my sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in good quantity, and it doesn’t produce much grease.  I have eaten pizza cheese that has more flavor, though.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage is applied in very low quantity, and it appears in tiny bits.  What sausage does appear has decent flavor with only a little bit of spice.  Still, this area really needs to be better.  Score: 6/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza has a fairly bland appearance, which is mainly a result of the lack of toppings.  The dining area has a nice atmosphere with some TV’s for entertainment.  The service was fine.  Score: 7/10.

Value: Before you balk at the price, keep in mind that I ordered a 16” pizza, and it fed two people, not one like most of my pizza endeavors.  That considered, average price plus above average quality equals above average value.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: The overall taste is fairly bland, held back mainly by the scant amount of sausage.  Score: 15/20.

The Final Judgment:

New York Pizza, Hartwell, GA version is a solid if unremarkable pizza place.  I would come here again.  Score: 60/80.

Paisano's Pizza in Washington, DC

The Facts:

Pizza: Paisano’s Pizza

Business Category: Regional Chain (35 locations, mostly near Washington D.C.)

Website: https://www.paisanospizza.com/

Location: 1500 Central Park Blvd. in Fredericksburg, VA (across the parking lot from the Central Park Walmart)

Date of Review Visit: May 19, 2018

What I Ordered: medium (12”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; fountain drink

Price: $16.78 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust has a fresh bready taste, but the texture is what really makes this crust special.  The light and fluffy texture makes this crust seem thinner than it is, and it is plenty thick enough to support all of the toppings.  This is one of the best crusts I have eaten recently.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a nice thick texture and a nice tomatoey taste.  It appears in good quantity.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in very good quantity, and sprinkling on some of the free parmesan really adds to the flavor.  The decent amount of grease leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni is pretty tasty, but the sausage steals the show: it comes in nice chunks with just the right amount of seasoning.  Both toppings appear in excellent quantity.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza looks like the robust pizza that it is.  Paisano’s Fredericksburg location has a very bright dining area with lots of big windows and nice, white tables.  The service was counter service, and it was excellent.  Score: 10/10.

Value: This is a good quality 12” pizza, but wow do you ever pay for it: I have gotten 16” pizzas for less than the price I paid here.  You could blame the D.C. area’s confiscatory meals tax, but that would be like blaming a stale crouton for a bad salad.  On the bright side, the counter service saves on the tip.  Score: 4/10.

Taste: The overall taste would be a rare perfect 20/20 were it not for the high amount of grease I tasted.  Score: 19/20.

The Final Judgment:

Paisano’s Pizza makes America’s capital proud.  If I lived in the D.C. area, I might not come here every week due to the price, but I would certainly come here.  Score: 70/80.

Gino’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Chesterfield, VA

The Facts:

Pizza: Gino’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ginos-Pizza-Italian-Restaurant-Inc/115696388451249

Location: 6429 Centralia Road in Chesterfield, VA

Date of Review Visit: May 16, 2018

What I Ordered: small (12”) pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $11.56 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust on Gino’s pizza has a fresh bready taste, but it is too thin to support all of the pizza’s toppings.  My pizza was also slightly overbaked.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a nice thick texture and a yummy tomatoey taste.  It appears in good quantity.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, and what cheese exists has no distinctive flavor.  The cheese also produces quite a bit of grease.  This is the weakness of this pizza.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in excellent quantity and have just the right amount of spiciness.  On the down side, the sausage may be the saltiest sausage I have ever eaten on a pizza.  Score: 8/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza’s appearance is nice and tidy.  Gino’s restaurant sports a fantastic but dimly lit casual dining area with some pop music and TV’s for entertainment.  The service was excellent.  Score: 9/10.

Value: For a good quality 12” pizza (not the usual 10” that most restaurants call a small), this pizza is downright inexpensive.  Score: 9/10.

Taste: Everything comes together pretty well, with the saltiness of the sausage being the only real detraction.  Score: 17/20.

The Final Judgment:

Gino’s is a nice pizza place in suburban Richmond.  I would come here often if I lived in the area.  Score: 65/80.

Salvatore's Pizza & Pasta in Birmingham, AL

The Facts:

Pizza: Salvatore’s Pizza & Pasta

Business Category: Regional Chain (3 locations, all near Birmingham, AL)

Website: https://www.salvatorespizzeria.com/

Location: 1594 Montgomery Highway in Hoover, AL (on the west side of US 31 between I-65 and I-459)

Date of Review Visit: March 12, 2018

What I Ordered: personal (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; fountain drink

Price: $13.71 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Salvatore’s is crispy and thin but not too thin.  My pizza was slightly overbaked, thus making the texture of the crust a little too hard and crispy.  This crust is not the best, but it is at least as good as average and maybe better.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: The sauce is applied with sufficient but not too much quantity.  It has some spiciness but not too much to overpower the tomato taste.  Excellent!  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in sufficient quantity and has some flavor, but it produces a decent amount of grease.  Therefore, the usual mandatory deduction applies.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: Both the pepperoni and the sausage were just the right amount of spiciness, and they appeared in excellent quantity.  Some extra spices sprinkled on top may have been a bit too much.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The toppings really dominate the appearance, which is pretty attractive except for the uneven cut.  This pizza is served on a metal tray with a paper covering, which is a problem if you try to cut the pizza with a knife because you will also cut through the paper.  The small dining area is merely functional with some nice TVs, but I did notice some water-stained ceiling tiles and what appeared to be a pile of dirty dishes near the restrooms.  The service was counter service, and the man behind the counter did not even greet me when I walked up to the counter to order.  Score: 4/10.

Value: The price is pretty high for a personal pizza and a drink.  Mitigating factors are 1) the quality of the pizza, 2) this is a 10” pizza rather than the usual 8”, and 3) the counter service saves on the tip.  Score: 4/10.

Taste: This pizza seems to have just the right amount of everything, so the overall taste is pretty appealing.  I do wish the crust was not as crispy.  Score: 17/20.

The Final Judgment:

Salvatore’s presents an interesting mix of good pizza but poor dining atmosphere.  While it is a notch or two below the elite pizza levels, I would sanction coming here regularly.  Score: 59/80.

Bertolo's Pizza in Greenville, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: Bertolo’s Pizza

Business Category: Regional Chain (2 locations, both near Greenville, SC)

Website: http://www.bertolospizza.com/

Location: 3631 Pelham Road in Greenville, SC (in Milestone Plaza)

Date of Review Visit: January 15, 2018

What I Ordered: medium (14”) pizza with sausage; fountain drink

Price: $15.12 (includes drink and tax)

The Micro:

Crust: Bertolo’s Pizza features the nice thick crust that I like.  The crust has a fresh bready taste, and some cheese spilled over onto the crust adds to the flavor.  I like this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce comes in high quantity.  The sauce has a nice tomatoey taste and is not overspiced.  I found bits of onions in my sauce, and I don’t like finding bits of anything in my sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese comes in decent quantity and does not produce a lot of grease.  The cheese has very little flavor.  It is adequate but not much more.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: The ground up sausage comes in decent quantity, but it has no real flavor.  This is not some of the better sausage I have had recently.  Score: 4/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The thick cheese-splattered crust and dark well-baked color dominate the appearance.  The dining atmosphere is purely functional with some water stains in the ceiling tiles.  The service is counter service, and it was fine on my visit.  Score: 7/10.

Value: The price is higher than usual for me, but I was not alone like usual: I came here with my friend and Pastor Dave Rickerd.  Once adjusted, slightly above average quality plus average price equals slightly above average value.  Score: 6/10.

Taste: Thanks to the blandness of the sausage, the overall taste is fairly underwhelming.  The crust and sauce save a disaster.  Score: 14/20.

The Final Judgment:

Bertolo’s is not my favorite pizza in Greenville, but it is a solid if unremarkable pizza option.  It deserves a spot in your pizza rotation, if maybe not a special one.  Score: 55/80.