Cibelli's Pizza in Central Oregon

The Facts:

Pizza: Cibelli's Pizza
Business Category: Regional Chain (6 locations, all in central Oregon)
Website: https://www.cibellis.com/
Location: 820 NW 9th Street in Corvallis, OR (beside Carl Jr.'s)
Date of Review Visit: July 17, 2021
What I Ordered: small (10") meat-lovers pizza (sausage, pepperoni, and bacon)
Price: $12.95 (pizza only, no drink or tip)

The Micro:

Crust: Cibelli's advertises New York style pizza, and this crust is the typical New York style crust.  It is thick on the outside and thin underneath.  This crust has a fresh bready taste; it is a very good crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza has more sauce than you would expect for a New York style pizza, but it is somewhat overspiced.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese does not add a lot of flavor, and it produces quite a bit of grease.  Also, this pizza is slightly undercheesed.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: As usual for an all-meats pizza, the toppings make or break the pizza.  The sausage comes in nice big chunks with just the right amount of spiciness.  The pepperoni comes in big thin slices without a lot of flavor.  The bacon comes in small crumbles and is only slightly salty.  All toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The toppings dominate the appearance, and the big slices of pepperoni catch your eye.  Cibelli's Corvallis location looked like it had a nice dining area even though I ordered take out.  The service was quick and friendly.  Score: 10/10.

Value: This pizza has high quality, but it is fairly expensive, even for a 10" meat-lovers pizza.  Therefore, the value is no better than average.  Score: 5/10.

Taste: The sauce and sausage complement each other well, but the overall taste is somewhat bland even though this is a meat-lovers pizza.  They "only" put 3 meats on their meat-lovers pizza, and some sweet ham would have really added to the flavor.  Score: 16/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Though not without flaw, Cibelli's makes a nice pizza.  I would come here regularly if I lived in central Oregon.  Score: 63/80.

Cirello's Pizza in Corvallis, OR

The Facts:

Pizza: Cirello's Pizza
Business Category: Single Store
Website: http://cirellospizza.com/
Location: 919 NW Circle Blvd. (2 blocks west of SR 99W)
Date of Review Visit: July 15, 2021
What I Ordered: Mini (8") pizza with pepperoni and housemade Italian sausage, refillable Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $15.00 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: Cirello's is advertised as New York style pizza, but the crust is thicker than what I typically think of as New York style pizza.  The crust has medium thickness and a somewhat crispy texture.  It also has a fresh bready taste.  I like this crust even though it was not what I was expecting.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in high quantity.  It has a nice thick texture, but it is somewhat overspiced.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese on this pizza is whole milk mozzarella, and it appears in decent quantity.  It also produces quite a bit of grease, which leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage appears in nice big chunks, but I was expecting more flavor from a housemade sausage.  The overly spicy composition of this sausage overwhelms what is otherwise a nice fresh taste.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  Both toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 7/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The big chunks of sausage dominate the appearance.  Cirello's has a decent-sized casual dining area.  The people working there were very good at ignoring me, even as I was standing at the counter waiting to order. Score: 7/10.

Value: This pizza has pretty high quality, but it is very expensive.  Therefore, the value is not good. Score: 2/10.

Taste: I like what I am eating to taste like what it is, which is why the spiciness of the sausage and sauce really overwhelm my taste palette.  Some people might like the taste of Cirello's, but it is not for me.  Score: 14/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

A somewhat odd entry in the New York pizza space, I see why some people like Cirello's even though it misses the mark for me.  In Corvallis, I prefer nearby Cibelli's over Cirello's.  Score: 54/80.