Richards Pizza in Butler County, Ohio

Basic Information:

Pizza: Richards Pizza

Number of Locations: 4, all in Butler County, OH
Location Reviewed: 20 American Way in Monroe, OH (on SR 63 just west of I-75, exit 29)
Website: https://richardspizza.com/
Date of Review Visit: October 2025
What I Ordered: small (8") pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $10 (pizza only; includes tax)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Richards Pizza is a thick, bready crust.  The texture is golden brown on the outside and chewy on the inside.  My pizza was baked to perfection.  Yum!  Score: 10/10

Sauce: This pizza has plenty of sauce, but the sauce is very overspiced.  My view is that tomato sauce should taste like tomatoes, and I could not taste the tomatoes at all.  This is not my style of sauce.  Score: 4/10

Cheese: This pizza features a thick layer of yummy cheese that I really enjoyed.  Score: 10/10

Toppings: Both toppings have a mildly seasoned Italian flavor; I was kind of expecting there to be a difference in taste between the sausage and pepperoni.  Both toppings appear with plenty of quantity. Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: The overspiced sauce dominates and therefore ruins the overall taste.  Score: 7/10

Pizza Appearance: Richards Pizza looks like a nice pan pizza, but the appearance is not dominated by the crust like so many other pan pizzas.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered carry out; they have a nice casual dining area.

Customer Service: The server behind the counter was quick and attentive at taking my order.

Monetary Value: I only ordered an 8" pizza with no drink, but the price is pretty inexpensive for a pretty good pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Richards Pizza is a time-tested staple in Butler County, where I spent my first 28 years.  But for more tomato-tasting sauce, this pizza would be a real winner.  Score: 84/100

Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo in Northeast Ohio

Basic Information:

Pizza: Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo

Number of Locations: 16, all in northeast Ohio
Location Reviewed: 4161 Heritage Center Dr. in Copley, OH (just west of I-77, exit 137B)
Website: https://antoniospizza.net/
Date of Review Visit: October 2025
What I Ordered: Half-sheet pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $27.99 (pizza only)
Photo:

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo offers several types of crusts.  I chose the square pan crust, which is the thickest crust they offer for a large pizza.  The square crust is indeed thick, but it is also fairly hard and does not have much taste, bready or otherwise.  Maybe I should have chosen a different crust.  Score: 3/10

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, but the sauce it does have has a yummy tomatoey taste.  Score: 7/10

Cheese: Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo uses 100% provolone cheese.  The cheese appears in sufficient quantity and does not produce much grease.  Therefore, the cheese is excellent.  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage appears in tiny tasteless ground bits; it is horrible.  The pepperoni has a slight spiced pork flavor.  Both toppings appear in average quantity.  Score: 6/10

Overall Taste: The overall taste is a little on the bland side.  This pizza also tastes quite salty, possibly due to the sausage.  Score: 6/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks like a robust pizza that emphasizes quantity over quality.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable because this location is takeout only)

Customer Service: They had some computer problems that made my ordering process glacier slow, but the service was fine otherwise.

Monetary Value: The price seems very high for this quality of pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Normally I really like thick crust pizzas, but this pizza is not normal.  I would definitely order a different crust and some different toppings if I came here again.  Score: 67/100

Rocky Rococo Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Rocky Rococo Pizza

Number of Locations: 31, mostly in Wisconsin
Location Reviewed: Fox River Mall Food Court in Appleton, WI
Website: https://rockyrococo.com/
Date of Review Visit: October 2025
What I Ordered: small pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni
Price: $20.01 (pizza only)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Rocky Rococo Pizza has a thick crust, but it is not quite your typical Chicago-style pan crust.  The crust is very bready; it has a soft texture with a crusty outer edge.  This crust is very good.  Score: 10/10

Sauce: The sauce is on the bitter side, and this pizza is slightly undersauced.  I like sweet sauces, so to my taste palette the sauce is the worst feature of this pizza.  Score: 7/10

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of yummy cheese, and it does not produce a lot of grease.  Excellent!  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage is a sweet Italian sausage that comes in nice large chunks.  The pepperoni has a mild seasoned pork taste.  Both toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: The bitter flavor from the sauce really hurts because everything else combines to make a tasty pizza.  Score: 8.5/10

Pizza Appearance: Rocky Rococo makes rectangular pizzas, so they are bigger than you might think for the size you order.  It looks like the robust pizza it is.

Dining Atmosphere: The location I visited is located in a standard mall food court, and therefore the dining atmosphere feels like a mall food court with lots of people, noise, and other dining options around.

Customer Service: This location has counter service.  The service was quick, but they were not busy when I came here at 5pm on a Monday.

Monetary Value: The price is a mall price, i.e. it is high relative to what you put in your mouth.  Note that the price I give above is only for the pizza; drinks would have been extra.

The Final Judgment:

Rocky Rococo is a remarkable regional reward among Wisconsin pizzas.  I'd rave over this restaurant, but I reserve my regards due to the wretched-to-me sauce and the rocket-high price.  Score: 84/100

LaRosa's Family Pizzeria in Cincinnati, OH: Stuffed Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria

Number of Locations: about 50, mostly near Cincinnati, OH

Location Reviewed: 96 Blackburn Lane in Dry Ridge, KY (just east of I-75, exit 159)

Website: https://www.larosas.com/

Date of Review Visit: October 2025

What I Ordered: Small stuffed pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and ham; cherry Coke to drink

Price: $23.72 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Like all stuffed pizzas, LaRosa’s stuffed pizza has 2 crusts: one on top and one on bottom.  While the 2 crusts are not identical, both crusts have taken direct oven heat, and both crusts are on the hard and crispy side.  There is also the hard and crispy super thick crust around the edge of the pizza.  Finally, they sprinkle a lot of spices atop the pizza, way too many for my taste.  The spices don't directly have to do with the crust, but I needed to mention them somewhere.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: There is no sauce in the pizza; they give it to you in small cups for spreading or dipping.  They offer several sauce options, but I chose the standard pizza sauce.  The sauce uses high quality ingredients and has just the right amount of seasoning with spices.  I really like this sauce, but I kind of wish it was in the pizza.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: This pizza has a 4-cheese blend that makes the cheese more flavorful than their usual provolone.  There is a very small amount of grease.  Perfecto!  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is just a little spicy and comes in nice-sized chunks.  The pepperoni is fairly average, but the ham has nice pork flavor and produces little grease.  There are plenty of "toppings" stuffed between the crusts.  Score: 10/10.

Overall Taste: The spices sprinkled atop the pizza combine with the spiciness of the sauce and the spiciness of the sausage to produce too much spiciness for me.  I like my food to taste like what it is, not like a bunch of spices.  Also, the outer crust is too hard and thick.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The appearance is quite pleasing save for the super thick crust around the edge.  

Dining Atmosphere: Most LaRosa’s locations have an excellent casual dining atmosphere, and Dry Ridge is no exception.

Customer Service: I have always enjoyed the service at LaRosa's.

Monetary Value: The price is somewhat low given the quality of pizza and dining experience you get. LaRosa’s stacks up far better than its casual dining competitors in this category.

The Final Judgment:

LaRosa’s is a Cincinnati favorite, but I prefer their regular pizzas over this stuffed pizza.  The stuffed pizza has too much spiciness, plus the crust is too hard and thick.  Score: 88/100.

Cacciatori Pizza & Pasta in Newark, DE

Basic Information:

Pizza: Cacciatori Pizza & Pasta

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 108 Louviers Drive (back right corner of Louviers Shopping Plaza on Paper Mill Road north of Newark, DE)
Website: https://cacciatoris.com/
Date of Review Visit: September 2025
What I Ordered: Personal (10") pizza with pepperoni and sausage; 20 oz Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $14.45 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review:  5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Cacciatori Pizza & Pasta makes a New York style pizza with a characteristically thin crust.  The crust has a nice crispy texture but not a lot of flavor, bready or otherwise.  I like this crust, but I've had better.  Score: 8/10

Sauce: This pizza has plenty of sauce, and it has a great tomatoey taste.  This is some of the best sauce I have ever had.  Because 10 is as high as this score can go...  Score: 10/10

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of yummy cheese, but it is slightly greasy.  Thus, a slight deduction applies.  Score: 9/10

Toppings: Both the sausage and pepperoni have a nice pork flavor with just a little bit of spiciness.  Both toppings appear in plenty of quantity.  Magnifico!  Score: 10/10

Overall Taste: The sauce steals the show, but everything works together well to create a very yummy pizza.  Score: 9.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks like the tasty New York style pizza that it is.

Dining Atmosphere: Cacciatori has a small but nice casual dining area with several TVs for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service was a little disjoint on my visit: I wasn't immediately sure if they have table service or counter service.  Once I figured out how and where to order, the pizza was made and delivered to my table quickly.

Monetary Value: reasonable price plus high quality pizza equals above average value.

The Final Judgment:

Cacciatori Pizza & Pasta is one of my favorite pizzas anywhere.  If you find yourself near northwest Delaware, do your taste buds a favor and eat here.  Score: 92/100

Frank's Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Somerset, NJ

Basic Information:

Pizza: Frank's Pizza and Italian Restaurant

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 441 Elizabeth Ave. in Somerset, NJ (across the street from ShopRite)
Website: https://frankspizzasomerset.com/
Date of Review Visit: September 2025
What I Ordered: large (16") pizza with sausage and pepperoni; 20 oz. Crush to drink
Price: $27.45 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Frank's Pizza is not as thin as you would expect for a New York-style pizza.  It has a very crispy texture, and it's definitely not foldable.  While I don't particularly like this crust, it gets the job of supporting the rest of the pizza done.  Score: 7/10

Sauce: The sauce has a slight tomato flavor, so it's not great but not offensive.  It appears in average quantity.  Score: 8/10

Cheese: Likewise the cheese appears in average quantity, and it is inoffensive but not impressive either.  Score: 8/10

Toppings: The sausage has a slight pork flavor that I find mildly appealing; the pepperoni is unremarkable.  Neither topping has a lot of flavor.  Both toppings appear in average quantity.  Score: 7/10

Overall Taste: Nothing on this pizza contributes a lot of flavor, and therefore the overall taste is on the bland side.  Score: 7/10

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks big.  Other than that, it looks like a very average medium-crust pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: Frank's has a nice but dated casual dining area.  The bricks in the right wall that spell out "pizza" is a nice touch.

Customer Service: The service is counter service, but they took my order and got my pizza made promptly.

Monetary Value: The price is high, but this is a decent quality 16" pizza with a drink.  Moreover, the counter service saves on the tip.  Therefore, the value is not that bad.

The Final Judgment:

Frank's Pizza and Italian Restaurant serves a very average pizza in a fairly average dining atmosphere.  While certainly not a bad pizza option, there are many I like better.  Score: 75/100

Sidewall Pizza in Greenville, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Sidewall Pizza

Number of Locations: 4, all near Greenville, SC
Location Reviewed: 99 Cleveland Street in Greenville, SC (just south of downtown, 1 block east of US 29)
Website: https://www.sidewallpizza.com/
Date of Review Visit: September 2025
What I Ordered: 14" pizza with big pepperoni and Italian sausage; black cherry soda to drink
Price: $26.39 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Named for part of a car tire, Sidewall Pizza has a thin crust, but the crust is thicker than you might expect near the edges.  The crust has a nice crispy texture.  Burnt spots on the crust look a little unappetizing, but they taste fine.  Score: 9/10

Sauce: I ordered the crushed tomato sauce, which is their standard sauce.  It is a thick, robust sauce with a nice tomatoey flavor.  I really like it.  Score: 10/10

Cheese: The standard cheese is 100% mozzarella, although they do have other cheese options.  My pizza was slightly undercheesed.  The cheese does not have much flavor, but it also does not produce much grease.  Score: 8/10

Toppings: The Italian sausage appears in ground up bits; it is tasty with a little spice and decent pork flavor.  Sidewall offers 2 types of pepperoni: big and little.  The server told me the only difference between the 2 pepperonis was the diameter of the slice, which seemed strange to me.  The big pepperoni is not spicy and has decent pork flavor.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: Everything works together very well.  I would like to have tasted a little more flavor from the cheese and pepperoni.  Score: 9.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The crust and its blackened areas are more noticeable than you would expect for a thin crust pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: Sidewall has a quiet, casual dining area with tables and chairs.  The restaurant is named after part of a tire, and the restaurant is decorated like an old commercial garage complete with glass overhead doors.

Customer Service: The service was prompt, friendly, and attentive on my visit.

Monetary Value: Sidewall Pizza is high quality, but it's not cheap.  They offer many specialty pizzas but only make one size.  Bring a friend or be ready for leftovers.

The Final Judgment:

The restaurant's name and dining area has automotive vibes, but there's no rubber or motor oil in this pizza.  Sidewall makes a very good but pricey pizza, and especially for car enthusiasts it's a nice place to go for those special pizza occasions.  Score: 87/100