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.