Johnny's Pizza House in Northern Louisiana

The Facts:

Pizza: Johnny's Pizza House
Business Category: Regional Chain (43 locations, mostly in northern Louisiana)
Website: https://www.johnnysph.com/
Location: 6138 Greenwood Road in Shreveport, LA (west side of Shreveport near I-20 exit 10)
Date of Review Visit: December 8, 2021
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with sausage and pepperoni; fountain drink
Price: $12.80 (includes drink and tax)

 

The Micro:

Crust: The pizza at Johnny's Pizza House has a thin crust similar to Donatos, a pizza from Ohio I like very much.  The crust has a nice crispy texture, and my pizza was perfectly baked.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza features plenty of sauce that has a nice tomatoey taste.  Fantastic!  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, but the cheese still produces a decent amount of grease.  Thus, the mandatory grease deduction applies, plus a little more.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: The toppings appear in above average quantity, but neither topping has much independent flavor.  Score: 6/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: This pizza has a well-balanced square cut appearance.  The location I visited has a nice casual dining area. The counter service is quick and friendly.  Score: 10/10.

Value: Johnny's Pizza House offers pretty good quality for a low price, so the value is excellent.  The counter service also helps save on the tip.  Score: 9/10.

Taste: The cheese and toppings have very little taste, and they keep the overall taste score well below what it could/should be.  Score: 15/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

I really wanted to like this pizza, but the cheese and toppings just aren't elite.  Therefore, this pizza is good but a notch below the best.  Score: 66/80.

Heat Pizza Bar in Tuscaloosa, AL

The Facts:

Pizza: Heat Pizza Bar
Business Category: Single store
Website: https://heatpizzabar.com/
Location: 2250 6th Street in downtown Tuscaloosa (east side of the Transit Authority parking garage)
Date of Review Visit: December 6, 2021
What I Ordered: Meat Lovers pizza (10"); Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $15.66 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

 

The Micro:

Crust: Heat Pizza Bar makes wood-fired pizza, and hence this pizza features a thin blackened crust.  My pizza was baked the perfect amount.  This is not my favorite type of crust, but it is pretty good for what it is.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: The sauce is where the heat is, and it overpowers any tomato flavor in the sauce and pretty much everything else on this pizza.  I prefer sweet sauces to hot sauces, so this sauce does not score well on my taste palette.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: The cheese is 100% mozzarella, so the taste is fairly bland.  Also, this pizza is somewhat undercheesed.  Fortunately, the cheese does not produce much grease.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: Toppings are usually the centerpiece of a meat lovers pizza, but that is not the case here.  This pizza has plenty of toppings, but they have no unique flavor, or maybe the toppings' flavors get overpowered by the spiciness of the sauce.  Score: 7/10.

 

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: This pizza has the usual bare and blackened appearance you would expect from a wood-fired pizza.  Heat Pizza Bar offers a nice cozy but modern dining area.  The service was a little slow, and I was the first person in the door on a Monday evening.  Score: 9/10.

Value: Even for wood-fired pizza, this pizza is way too expensive for what you put in your mouth. Score: 1/10.

Taste: The spiciness of the sauce overpowers everything else, so the overall taste is uninspiring.  Score: 12/20.

 

The Final Judgment:

Based on the number of people who were there on the Monday evening I was, Heat Pizza Bar is popular, but the "heat above everything else" taste is not for me.  Score: 48/80.