Mama Rosa's Pizza in Dothan, AL

Basic Information:

Pizza: Mama Rosa's Pizza
Number of Locations: 2, both in southeast Alabama
Location Reviewed: 3074 Ross Clark Circle in Dothan, AL (beside Office Depot, near US 84 on the west side of town)
Website: https://www.mamarosaspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: December 2020

What I Ordered: Medium (12") pizza with pepperoni and sausage, Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $17.32 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

 

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Mama Rosa's Pizza is on the thinner side of medium thickness, as you would expect for a southern pizza.  The crust has a nice crispy texture.  I would prefer a true thin crust, but this crust is not bad for what it is.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza has a nice thick sauce with a strong tomato taste.  The sauce appears in moderate to high quantity.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese is fantastic: it appears in high quantity and produces little grease.  The cheese blend seems to be 100% mozzarella.  Some cheese even spilled over onto the crust.  This is the best cheese I have had in awhile.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The toppings are horrible.  The sausage comes in tasteless pellets, and the pepperoni is equally tasteless.  Both toppings do appear in high quantity, which might be a good thing.  Score: 3/10.

Overall Taste: Thanks to the terrible toppings, the overall taste is rather bland.  The crust, sauce, and cheese work pretty well together.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks like the thin crust pizza with plenty of toppings that it is.

Dining Atmosphere: Mama Rosa's has a good-sized dining room that featured lots of Christmas decorations on my visit.

Customer Service:  The service was friendly and attentive.

Monetary Value: The price is not particularly cheap, and the pizza is not the best quality.  Therefore, this pizza does not provide the best value.

 

The Final Judgment:

Mama Rosa's is OK but not spectacular.  I could see it as part of my regular pizza rotation if I lived in Dothan.  Score: 78/100.

Guys Pizza in Anderson/Clemson, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Guys Pizza 81
Number of Locations: 2, both in the Anderson/Clemson area)
Location Reviewed: 3622A N. Highway 81 in Anderson, SC (beside Carolina Fresh Farms)
Website: https://guyspizza81.com/
Date of Review Visit: October 2020
What I Ordered: Large (14") pizza with pork sausage and pepperoni
Price: $14.34

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Guys Pizza has medium thickness.  It has a soft chewy texture and a fresh bready taste.  Normally I don't like this style of crust, but this crust is better than most for what it is.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a slightly sweet, fresh tomatoey taste, and it is not overspiced.  The sauce appears in high quantity.  I really like this sauce.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, but it still produces a lot of grease.  I am not particularly fond of this cheese.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni has an intriguingly spicy taste, but the spices are not overwhelming.  The pork sausage is of the tasteless pellet variety, and it is among the worst sausage I have had recently.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: I really like the blend of sweetness in the sauce with spiciness in the pepperoni, but the bland sausage really holds the overall taste back.  They have a large number of other toppings (including an Italian sausage), and I will try anything other than the pork sausage next time.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The abundance of toppings dominates the pizza's appearance, and the pizza is cut into 10 slices rather than the usual 8.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered take out, but they have a small but nice dining area.

Customer Service: The service was fine after it took them a few minutes to find my order.

Monetary Value: The price is about average for a large 2-topping pizza, and the quality is slightly above average.  Therefore, the value is above average.

 

The Final Judgment:

Almost a Papa John's clone, but for some better sausage this pizza would be a real winner.  Maybe I can find a topping combination I like, and then I can become a real Guys Pizza guy.  Score: 79/100.

La Pizzeria in Anderson, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: La Pizzeria
Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 3630 Hwy. 81 North in Anderson, SC (same building as Subway at SR 81 and Concord Rd.)
Website: https://www.lapizzeriaanderson.com/

Date of Review Visit: August 2020
What I Ordered: large (14”) pizza with sausage; 2 fountain drinks
Price: $18.26 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at La Pizzeria has a nice crispy texture; it is not too bulky.  Our pizza was baked just the right amount.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, and the sauce seemed a little overspiced to me.  I could not taste any tomatoes.  This is not my favorite sauce.  Score: 4/10. 

Cheese: The cheese seems to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in a nice thick layer.  The cheese does not produce much grease.  What more could you want?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in tiny cut chunks that do not have a lot of taste or spiciness.  It appears in only decent quantity.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: The cheese and crust are the tastiest things on this pizza, which means the overall taste is fairly bland.  While not offensive, this pizza’s taste does not stand out.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks underbaked, but it is not: the whiteness is due to the thick layer of cheese.

Dining Atmosphere: La Pizzeria shares a dining area with Subway (the big national sandwich chain), so the dining room is purely functional.

Customer Service: The service was excellent on my visit.

Monetary Value: Considering this was dinner for 2 (not 1 like my usual pizza endeavors), the price is actually fairly low.  Thus, pretty good quality makes for good value.

The Final Judgment:

Considering it shares store space with Subway, La Pizzeria is a surprisingly solid pizza option.  Among the pizzas near the intersection of SR 81 and Concord Road, it beats Tony’s, but I like Dolce Vita and Guys 81 a little more.  Score: 79/100.

 

Daveto's Restaurant in Delta, CO

Basic Information:

Pizza: Daveto’s Restaurant
Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 520 Main St. in Delta, CO (near the corner of 5^th and Main)
Date of Review Visit: July 2020
What I Ordered: small (12”) pizza with pepperoni and Italian sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $20.87 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo: (I accidentally deleted the 1 photo I took of this pizza while trying to recover disc space.  If you have a photo of this pizza, please send it to me and give me permission to use it.)

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Daveto’s has a chewy texture with a fresh bready taste.  It has some body, but it is not too bulky.  I like this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a thick robust texture, but it is very overspiced.  I could not taste the tomatoes for all of the spices.  The sauce does appear in high quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in high quantity.  Unfortunately, it also produces quite a bit of grease, which leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The Italian sausage comes in tiny ground up bits, and it is spicy but has no real flavor.  The pepperoni comes in uninspiring thin slices.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: The spiciness of the sausage and sauce really overwhelms everything else.  I may have liked the taste of the crust the most.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a nice appearance dominated by the cheese and sausage.

Dining Atmosphere: The restaurant has a large dining area with some clever Italian sayings painted on the walls.

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: The quality is pretty good, but the price is way too high even before you factor in the tip.  This meal would normally cost me only about $15.

 

The Final Judgment:

More or less the only locally-owned pizza place in Delta, Daveto’s is a solid pizza option, but I would not come here regularly due to the price.  Score: 73/100.

Mannie and Bo’s Pizzeria in Golden, CO

Basic Information:

Pizza: Mannie and Bo’s Pizzeria
Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 16399 S. Golden Rd. in Golden, CO (at the corner of Golden Rd. and Quaker St.)
Website: https://mannieandbos.co/
Date of Review Visit: July 2020
What I Ordered: small (8”) deep dish pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $14.87 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo: (I accidentally deleted the 1 photo I took of this pizza while trying to recover disc space.  If you have a photo of this pizza, please send it to me and give me permission to use it.)

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Mannie and Bo’s offers two crust options: thin and deep dish.  It will come as no surprise to any regular reader of this blog that I chose deep dish.  What I got was a true Chicago-style deep dish crust that is at least 1 inch thick around the edges.  The crust has just the right amount of crispiness, and my pizza was baked to perfection.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce is a robust tomato sauce that almost tastes like a thick tomato soup.  Usually I complain about sauces being overspiced, but I found this sauce a little bland tasting, so it may be a little underspiced.  Score: 8/10. 

Cheese: The cheese appears to be a blend of several types of cheeses, and it appears in high quantity.  It does not produce much grease.  What more could you ask for?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is homemade and offers a nice balance between flavor and spiciness.  It is a true Chicago-style sausage.  The pepperoni is more mediocre; there is nothing noteworthy about this pepperoni.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together fairly well, but a slightly tastier sauce would improve the overall taste.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks like the robust Chicago-style pizza that it is.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has some nice tables and a bar area.

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: The price is high but reasonable considering the quality of this pizza.  Therefore, while this is not cheap pizza, the value is better than average.

The Final Judgment:

Just shy of Chicago pizza giants Uno’s and Lou Malnati’s, Mannie and Bo’s is a solid entry in the deep dish pizza category.  I would come here regularly if I lived on the west side of Denver.  Score: 91/100.

 

Bono's Italian Restaurant in Golden, CO

Basic Information:

Pizza: Bono’s Italian Restaurant
Number of Locations: 1
Website: https://www.bonositalianrestaurant.com/
Location Reviewed: 14799 W. 6^th Ave. Frontage Rd. in Golden, CO (near US 6 and Ellsworth Ave.)
Date of Review Visit: July 2020
What I Ordered: personal (10”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Coke to drink
Price: $14.21 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo: (I accidentally deleted the 1 photo I took while trying to recover disc space.  If you have taken a photo of this pizza, please send it to me and give me permission to use it.)

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Bono’s has slightly more than medium thickness, but it is not too bulky.  The crust has a nice texture: crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The crust’s taste is not memorable.  My pizza was baked to perfection.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza is slightly undersauced, but the sauce that does exist has a pleasant tomatoey taste.  Score: 8/10. 

Cheese: The cheese appears in high quantity, and it does not produce much grease.  Sprinkling on some parmesan adds some additional flavor.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is not my favorite: it comes in flavorless and somewhat salty tiny ground-up pieces.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices and adds a little spiciness and flavor.  Both toppings appear in satisfactory quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: This pizza would be fantastic with some better sausage.  As is, everything still comes together fairly well.  Score: 7.5/10. 

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is dominated by the sausage, but the 6 slices that made up my pizza varied greatly in size due to the uneven cut.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has some nice tables and a bar area.

Customer Service: The service was a little slow on my visit.  I was the only customer in the dining room, but they were doing a lot of carryout business when I was here.

Monetary Value: The price is somewhat expensive, but the quality is also pretty good.  Therefore, the value is about average.

The Final Judgment:

But for some better sausage, Bono’s would be a real winner.  It is a solid choice as is, but maybe not one that really stands out.  Score: 80/100.

 

Lil' Ricci's Pizza in Denver, CO

Basic Information:

Pizza: Lil’ Ricci’s Pizza
Number of Locations: 2, both near Denver
Location: 16950 W. Colfax Ave. in Golden, CO (near the DMV)
Website: http://www.lilriccispizza.com/
Date of Review Visit: July 2020
What I Ordered: 2 slices of sausage and pepperoni pizza; Mr. Pibb to drink
Price: $12.50 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 1.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Lil’ Ricci’s makes New York-style pizza, so it comes with a thin foldable crust.  My pizza was overbaked, so the crust around the outside was slightly blackened and very hard.  This is not one of the better crusts I have had recently.  Score: 4/10.

Sauce: True to its New York style, this pizza does not have much sauce.  The pizza was so overbaked that the sauce near the pizza’s edge had become a dry red paste.  The sauce near the middle of my pizza had a nice tomatoey flavor.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: This pizza does not have a lot of cheese, and the cheese it does have does not have a lot of flavor.  The cheese does produce a lot of grease.  Score: 2/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in cut slices and offers some spiciness but no real flavor.  The same can be said for the pepperoni.  Both toppings appear in adequate quantity.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: I do not have a lot to say here that I have not already written above.  The pizza might score better on this metric if it was not overbaked.  Score: 5.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is dominated by the grease and blackened crust, which is not a good thing.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room offers a nice quick-casual environment with TV’s for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: The smallest pizza they have is 14” and I had no place to store leftovers, so I ordered pizza by the slice.  The quality is not very good, but it is still somewhat expensive.  Lil’ Ricci’s larger pizzas might score better on this metric.

The Final Judgment:

I really don’t care for Lil’ Ricci’s, but I might give them a second chance because a lot of the problems documented above stem from the preparation of my particular pizza.  Score: 58/100.

Mama Mia Pie and Pasta in Elkins, WV

Basic Information:

Pizza: Mama Mia Pie & Pasta
Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 121 3^rd Street in Elkins, WV
Website: https://mamamiapieandpasta.com/
Date of Review Visit: June 2020
What I Ordered: small (14”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $19.05 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Mama Mia’s has medium thickness, and it is not too bulky.  The crust has a nice texture: crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The cheese spills onto the crust and adds a little bonus flavor.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, but the sauce that does exist has a pleasant tomatoey taste.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: The cheese is a mixture of mozzarella and provolone, and it appears in good quantity.  It also produces very little grease.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in cut slices and offers just a small amount of spiciness, but it is also a little salty.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices and also offers just the right amount of spiciness.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: All of the pieces come together quite well.  Only the saltiness of the sausage and lack of sauce prevent a higher score.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a nice appearance with the cut sausage catching the eye.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room is large for a downtown area, and it offers some TV’s for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service was a little slow on my visit, but the lone server was very busy and had a lot of customers.

Monetary Value: The price is somewhat expensive, but this is a high quality 14” pizza.  Therefore, the value is not as bad as you might expect.

The Final Judgment:

I sing the praises of Mama Mia, and I would come here regularly if I lived near Elkins.  Score: 85/100.

Empire Pizza in Jacksonville, NC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Empire Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 521 Yopp Road in Jacksonville, NC (beside Walmart on the west side of town)

Website: https://www.empirepizzanc.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 2020

What I Ordered: 2 slices of pepperoni and sausage pizza; fountain drink

Price: $8.56 (includes drink and tax)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Empire Pizza offers reheated pizza by the slice as you would normally find at lunch spots in big cities.  The pizza features a New York-style crust, which is flimsy on the bottom and hard and chunky around the outside.  The crust is never the strength of reheated pizza, and it is not the strength of this pizza either.  Score: 5/10.

Sauce: As is typical for New York style pizzas, this pizza has very little sauce.  The sauce that does exist has a pleasant tomatoey taste.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: This pizza has a thin smear of cheese, and therefore it is somewhat undercheesed.  The cheese has very little flavor.  At least it has very little grease.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in nice chunks and offers an interesting mix of sweet and spicy taste.  The pepperoni is uninspiring.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: Nothing really inspires the taste palette except the sausage, which saves what could have been a disaster.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is typical reheated New York style pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area offers a nice casual dining atmosphere with some TV’s for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service is counter service, and it was fine on my visit.

Monetary Value: Pizza by the slice typically offers good value, and Empire Pizza is no exception.  For an inexpensive meal, the quality is respectable.

The Final Judgment:

Empire Pizza is good if you want a quick bite, maybe for lunch, but there are better pizzas out there.  Score: 73/100.

Famulari’s Pizzeria in Charleston, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Famulari’s Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 5, all near Charleston, SC

Location Reviewed: 205 Berkeley Cir. in Summerville, SC (Update: this location is now closed.  The Summerville location is now at 1704 Old Trolley Road.)

Website: https://www.famularis.com/

Date of Review Visit: February 2020

What I Ordered: small (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; fountain drink; chocolate chip cookie

Price: $16.25 (includes drink, cookie, and tax)

Photo:

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Famulari’s has a thin and crispy texture with a nice bready taste.  My pizza was baked the perfect amount.  I really like this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce comes in high quantity, but it is a little overspiced.  I tasted more spices than I did tomatoes, which is not what I like to taste in a sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese comes in decent quantity and does not produce a lot of grease.  The cheese also has very little flavor.  It is adequate but not much more.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: The ground up Italian sausage comes in decent quantity, but it has no real flavor other than spiciness.  The same can be said for the thin slices of pepperoni.  Famulari’s needs better toppings.  Score: 3/10.

Overall Taste: The spiciness of the sauce and the Italian sausage really overwhelm the taste palette.  The crust may be my favorite part of this pizza.  Score: 6/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is that of a well-balanced thin crust pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: The casual dining atmosphere with some TV’s for entertainment is functional but nothing more.

Customer Service:  The service is counter service, and it was fine on my visit.

Monetary Value: Even if you back out the $2 cookie, the price is too high for what you put in your mouth.

The Final Judgment:

This pizza has its strong points, but the taste is too spicy for my palette.  Score: 69/100.

Sicily Pizza and Pasta (Sipipa) in Houston, TX

Basic Information:

Pizza: Sicily Pizza and Pasta (Sipipa)

Number of Locations: 4, all near Houston, TX)

Location Reviewed: 11753 W. Bellfort Ave. in Houston, TX (between I-69 and SR 6)

Website: https://sipipa.com/

Date of Review Visit: December 2019

What I Ordered: large (14”) pizza with pepperoni and sausage; 3 cans of soda to drink

Price: $14.46 (includes tax and drinks)

Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Sipipa is thicker than you would expect for this part of the country.  It has a nice texture that is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and it has a fresh bready taste.  The crust is a little too bulky to earn a perfect score from me, but I like this crust.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have a lot of sauce. The sauce also contains small chunks of tomatoes, and I don’t like finding chunks of anything in my sauce.  Therefore, this sauce is not my favorite.  Score: 4/10.

Cheese: The cheese has a nice provolone taste and appears in excellent quantity, but it also produces a lot of grease. Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in small chunks, and the pepperoni comes in thin slices.  Neither topping has a lot of flavor other than some spiciness, but they both appear in high quantity.  These toppings are not the best but not horribly offensive either.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: This pizza could be fantastic with some tastier toppings.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: Sipipa pizza has a nice symmetric appearance dominated by the cheese and crust.

Dining Atmosphere: The location I visited has a tiny almost nonexistent dining area, so it is best to think of Sipipa as a delivery/carry out pizza place.

Customer Service: The service was attentive and friendly even though they were very busy when I came here at 6:30 on a Thursday.

Monetary Value: For a decent quality pizza, the price is quite low.  Therefore, the value is high.

The Final Judgment:

Not great but not offensive, Sipipa is a solid option on the Houston pizza scene.  Score: 81/100.