Mama Rosa's Pizza in Dothan, AL

The Facts:

Pizza: Mama Rosa's Pizza
Business Category: Single Store
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mama-Rosas-Pizza/117550134937695
Location: 3074 Ross Clark Circle in Dothan, AL (beside Office Depot, near US 84 on the west side of town)
Date of Review Visit: December 9, 2020
What I Ordered: Medium (12") pizza with pepperoni and sausage, Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $17.32 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Mama Rosa's Pizza is on the thinner side of medium thickness, as you would expect for a southern pizza.  The crust has a nice crispy texture.  I would prefer a true thin crust, but this crust is not bad for what it is.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza has a nice thick sauce with a strong tomato taste.  The sauce appears in moderate to high quantity.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese is fantastic: it appears in high quantity and produces little grease.  The cheese blend seems to be 100% mozzarella.  Some cheese even spilled over onto the crust.  This is the best cheese I have had in awhile.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The toppings are horrible.  The sausage comes in tasteless pellets, and the pepperoni is equally tasteless.  Both toppings do appear in high quantity, which might be a good thing.  Score: 3/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza looks like the thin crust pizza with plenty of toppings that it is.  Mama Rosa's has a good-sized dining room that featured lots of Christmas decorations on my visit.  The service was friendly and attentive. Score: 10/10.

Value: The price is not particularly cheap, and the pizza is not the best quality.  Therefore, this pizza does not provide the best value. Score: 3/10.

Taste: Thanks to the terrible toppings, the overall taste is rather bland.  The crust, sauce, and cheese work pretty well together.  Score: 14/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Mama Rosa's is OK but not spectacular.  I could see it as part of my regular pizza rotation if I lived in Dothan.  Score: 58/80.

Guys Pizza in Anderson/Clemson, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: Guys Pizza 81
Business Category: Regional Chain (2 locations, both in the Anderson/Clemson area)
Website: https://guyspizza81.com/
Location: 3622A N. Highway 81 in Anderson, SC (beside Carolina Fresh Farms)
Date of Review Visit: October 18, 2020
What I Ordered: Large (14") pizza with pork sausage and pepperoni
Price: $14.34

 

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Guys Pizza has medium thickness.  It has a soft chewy texture and a fresh bready taste.  Normally I don't like this style of crust, but this crust is better than most for what it is.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a slightly sweet, fresh tomatoey taste, and it is not overspiced.  The sauce appears in high quantity.  I really like this sauce.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, but it still produces a lot of grease.  I am not particularly fond of this cheese.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni has an intriguingly spicy taste, but the spices are not overwhelming.  The pork sausage is of the tasteless pellet variety, and it is among the worst sausage I have had recently.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 6/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service:  The abundance of toppings dominates the pizza's appearance, and the pizza is cut into 10 slices rather than the usual 8.  I ordered take out, but they have a small but nice dining area.  The service was fine after it took them a few minutes to find my order. Score: 8/10.

Value: The price is about average for a large 2-topping pizza, and the quality is slightly above average.  Therefore, the value is above average.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: I really like the blend of sweetness in the sauce with spiciness in the pepperoni, but the bland sausage really holds the overall taste back.  They have a large number of other toppings (including an Italian sausage), and I will try anything other than the pork sausage next time.  Score: 16/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Almost a Papa John's clone, but for some better sausage this pizza would be a real winner.  Maybe I can find a topping combination I like, and then I can become a real Guys Pizza guy.  Score: 59/80.

La Pizzeria in Anderson, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: La Pizzeria
Business Category: Single Store
Website: https://www.facebook.com/lapizzeria3630/
Location: 3630 Hwy. 81 North in Anderson, SC (same building as Subway at SR 81 and Concord Rd.)
Date of Review Visit: August 6, 2020
What I Ordered: large (14”) pizza with sausage; 2 fountain drinks
Price: $18.26 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at La Pizzeria has a nice crispy texture; it is not too bulky.  Our pizza was baked just the right amount.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, and the sauce seemed a little overspiced to me.  I could not taste any tomatoes.  This is not my favorite sauce.  Score: 4/10. 

Cheese: The cheese seems to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in a nice thick layer.  The cheese does not produce much grease.  What more could you want?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in tiny cut chunks that do not have a lot of taste or spiciness.  It appears in only decent quantity.  Score: 5/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza looks underbaked, but it is not: the whiteness is due to the thick layer of cheese.  La Pizzeria shares a dining area with Subway (the big national sandwich chain), so the dining room is purely functional.  The service was excellent on my visit.  Score: 8/10.

Value: Considering this was dinner for 2 (not 1 like my usual pizza endeavors), the price is actually fairly low.  Thus, pretty good quality makes for good value.  Score: 8/10.

Taste: The cheese and crust are the tastiest things on this pizza, which means the overall taste is fairly bland.  While not offensive, this pizza’s taste does not stand out.  Score: 14/20.

The Final Judgment:

Considering it shares store space with Subway, La Pizzeria is a surprisingly solid pizza option.  Among the pizzas near the intersection of SR 81 and Concord Road, it beats Tony’s, but I like Dolce Vita and Guys 81 a little more.  Score: 59/80.

 

Daveto's Restaurant in Delta, CO

The Facts:

Pizza: Daveto’s Restaurant
Business Category: Single Store
Website: https://www.davetos.com/home
Location: 520 Main St. in Delta, CO (near the corner of 5^th and Main)
Date of Review Visit: July 24, 2020
What I Ordered: small (12”) pizza with pepperoni and Italian sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $20.87 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: The crust at Daveto’s has a chewy texture with a fresh bready taste.  It has some body, but it is not too bulky.  I like this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a thick robust texture, but it is very overspiced.  I could not taste the tomatoes for all of the spices.  The sauce does appear in high quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in high quantity.  Unfortunately, it also produces quite a bit of grease, which leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The Italian sausage comes in tiny ground up bits, and it is spicy but has no real flavor.  The pepperoni comes in uninspiring thin slices.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 5/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza has a nice appearance dominated by the cheese and sausage.  The restaurant has a large dining area with some clever Italian sayings painted on the walls.  The service was excellent.  Score: 10/10.

Value: The quality is pretty good, but the price is way too high even before you factor in the tip.  This meal would normally cost me only about $15.  Score: 1/10.

Taste: The spiciness of the sausage and sauce really overwhelms everything else.  I may have liked the taste of the crust the most.  Score: 13/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

More or less the only locally-owned pizza place in Delta, Daveto’s is a solid pizza option, but I would not come here regularly due to the price.  Score: 53/80.

Mannie and Bo’s Pizzeria in Golden, CO

The Facts:

Pizza: Mannie and Bo’s Pizzeria
Business Category: Single Store
Website: https://mannieandbos.co/
Location: 16399 S. Golden Rd. in Golden, CO (at the corner of Golden Rd. and Quaker St.)
Date of Review Visit: July 19, 2020
What I Ordered: small (8”) deep dish pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $14.87 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: Mannie and Bo’s offers two crust options: thin and deep dish.  It will come as no surprise to any regular reader of this blog that I chose deep dish.  What I got was a true Chicago-style deep dish crust that is at least 1 inch thick around the edges.  The crust has just the right amount of crispiness, and my pizza was baked to perfection.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce is a robust tomato sauce that almost tastes like a thick tomato soup.  Usually I complain about sauces being overspiced, but I found this sauce a little bland tasting, so it may be a little underspiced.  Score: 8/10. 

Cheese: The cheese appears to be a blend of several types of cheeses, and it appears in high quantity.  It does not produce much grease.  What more could you ask for?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is homemade and offers a nice balance between flavor and spiciness.  It is a true Chicago-style sausage.  The pepperoni is more mediocre; there is nothing noteworthy about this pepperoni.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The pizza looks like the robust Chicago-style pizza that it is.  The dining room has some nice tables and a bar area.  The service was excellent.  Score: 10/10.

Value: The price is high but reasonable considering the quality of this pizza.  Therefore, while this is not cheap pizza, the value is better than average.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: Everything comes together fairly well, but a slightly tastier sauce would improve the overall taste.  Score: 17/20.

The Final Judgment:

Just shy of Chicago pizza giants Uno’s and Lou Malnati’s, Mannie and Bo’s is a solid entry in the deep dish pizza category.  I would come here regularly if I lived on the west side of Denver.  Score: 71/80.