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.