Pizza Ranch

Basic Information:

Pizza: Pizza Ranch

Number of Locations: around 200 across 14 states; based in Iowa

Location Reviewed: 305 E. Main St. in Mandan, ND

Website: https://pizzaranch.com/

Date of Review Visit: August 2018

What I Ordered: 1 adult buffet, drink included

Price: $12.34 (includes drink and tax)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The different pizzas available on Pizza Ranch’s buffet have different crusts.  The thin crusts such as the crust on the double pepperoni pizza are nice and crispy.  The “usual” crust pizzas are bulky and flavorless.  The sausage pizza even has a Pizza Hut-style stuffed crust.  Overall, I found more to like than to not like among the crusts.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: Most of the buffet pizza options have little sauce, and what sauce there is has little flavor.  The barbecue beef pizza has a nice barbecue-based sauce that reminded me of Cici’s old barbecue pizza that I really liked.  One good sauce is not enough to earn a good score on this metric, though.  Score: 4/10.

Cheese: Again, the pizzas do not have much cheese, and what cheese exists does not have much flavor.  At least there is not much grease either.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The toppings are mostly very tasty, especially the double pepperoni.  The toppings appear in plenty of quantity for the most part.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: You usually sacrifice quality for quantity at a pizza buffet, but that sacrifice is fairly small here.  Most of the pizzas have enough distinctive flavors to make the taste pretty good overall.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza buffet is well-labeled and neatly arranged.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has a western theme with witty sayings such as “the Lord is my saddle partner.”

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive once I made it to the front of the line.

Monetary Value: Pizza Ranch is more expensive than Cici’s, but you also get more.  They even have some non-pizza items such as fried chicken on the buffet.

The Final Judgment:

Pizza Ranch is very popular.  I tried coming here twice: the first time I could not even find a parking spot and left.  The second time I had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated.  Pizza Ranch is like a Cici’s for grown-ups with a western twist, and I think its popularity is well-earned.  It gets a big “yee-haw” in my book.  Score: 77/100.

Jammer Joe’s Grill and Pizzeria (Xanterra Travel Collection)

Basic Information:

Pizza: Jammer Joe’s Grill and Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 1; Operated by Xanterra Travel Collection

Location: Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

Website: https://www.glaciernationalparklodges.com/dining/lake-mcdonald-lodge/jammer-joes-grill-pizzeria/

Date of Review Visit: August 2018

What I Ordered: personal (10”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Coke to drink

Price: $13.66 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 1 star (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Jammer Joe’s is hard to classify, but I would classify it as a butter crust.  Nevertheless, it has only a slight butter taste.  The crust has medium thickness, but it is very hard, so hard I had a difficult time cutting it with a knife.  Score: 4/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have much sauce, and what sauce there is mixes with grease to form an orange ooze.  Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The cheese produces a lot of grease, and it appears in only average quantity.  Even sprinkling on some parmesan cheese helps the flavor only a little.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: Neither topping has much flavor, but both toppings appear in good quantity.   Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: I remember eating some frozen butter crust pizza a few years ago that tasted suspiciously like this pizza.  I can’t remember the brand of the frozen pizza, but the “frozen” in that statement is what you really need to know about the taste.  Score: 4/10.

Pizza Appearance: As usual with a butter crust pizza, this pizza has a crust-dominated appearance.  The slices are evenly cut.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room needed some air conditioning on the hot summer afternoon that I came here, but otherwise it was pleasant.

Customer Service: The service was prompt and friendly.

Monetary Value: I was expecting the high national parks price, but I was hoping for the high national parks quality that never materialized.

The Final Judgment:

The national parks may be America’s best idea (although I tend to think of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as America’s best ideas even if they are not exclusively American), but this pizza does not do our national parks a favor.  Maybe we could improve it by borrowing some ideas from Italy.  Score: 51/100.