Bertucci's Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza and Pasta

Number of Locations: 23 across 7 states, mostly in the northeast; based in Boston, MA

Location Reviewed: 280 School Street in Mansfield, MA (near I-495 exit 12)

Website: https://www.bertuccis.com/

Date of Review Visit: July 2019

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

Price: $18.48 (includes tax and drink but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Bertucci’s is crispy but not as thin as you would expect for a brick oven pizza.  The crust has a nice texture with some cornmeal baked into the crust.  My pizza was baked the perfect amount.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza features a Pizzeria Uno-style sauce with juicy chunks of tomatoes.  The sauce appears in high quantity, and it has a fantastic tomatoey taste.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, and what cheese does exist is a rather bland mozzarella.  On the bright side, it does not produce much grease.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: Bertucci’s calls their chunky sausage a sweet Italian sausage, and their characterization is accurate even though it has only a slight sweet taste.  The pepperoni is slightly spicy, but the spiciness builds on your taste palette as you eat more of the pizza.  Both toppings appear in adequate but only adequate quantity.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: The spiciness of the pepperoni clashes a little with the sweetness of the sausage.  The sauce really saves the day.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza is asymmetrical in shape, and the large chunks of sausage dominate the appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Bertucci’s has a nice casual dining area with comfortable seats.

Customer Service: The service was prompt and friendly.

Monetary Value: Even for a 10” brick oven pizza in New England, this pizza is very overpriced relative to what you put in your mouth.

The Final Judgment:

Bertucci’s makes a nice pizza, but in the brick oven category I like Brixx more.  Score: 82/100.

Wicked Good Pizza in Rhode Island

Basic Information:

Pizza: Wicked Good Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 12 Nooseneck Hill Rd. in West Greenwich, RI (just north of I-95 exit 6)

Website: https://www.wickedgoodpizzari.com/

Date of Review Visit: July 2019

What I Ordered: small (8”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; 20 oz. Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $9.99 (includes tax and drink)

Photos:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Wicked Good Pizza makes thick crust pizza, but the texture is odd for a thick crust pizza: it is completely chewy with no crispiness at all.  My pizza was baked exactly the right amount, but the texture really sets this crust back.  Score: 5/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in slightly above average quantity and has a nice tomatoey taste.  I like it.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of cheese.  The blend seems to be a rather flavorless 100% mozzarella, and it leaves slightly more grease than I would prefer.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in thin slices, and neither has a lot of flavor.  They do appear in high quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: The best tasting thing on this pizza is the sauce, which means that the overall taste is fairly unremarkable.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a well-balanced appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area is a set of stools with a counter, which made me happy that I ordered carryout.

Customer Service: The service was counter service, and it was to-the-point and quick.

Monetary Value: The pizza quality is not great, but the price is pretty low.  Therefore, the value is above average.

The Final Judgment:

With nothing exceedingly wicked or good, Wicked Good Pizza is a solid pizza option but no more.  Score: 76/100.