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.
