Pizza Bella in Woodstock, VA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Pizza Bella

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 1013 S. Main Street in Woodstock, VA (in Shenandoah Square strip mall near Food Lion)
Website: https://landing.arrowpos.com/home/pizzabella
Date of Review Visit: November 2024
What I Ordered: personal (10") meat lovers pizza; Mr. Pibb to drink
Price: $14.86 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Pizza Bella has a nice crispy-but-not-too-hard texture.  It has moderate thickness and a surprisingly bready taste.  I like this crust.  Score: 10/10

Sauce: The sauce has a fresh tomatoey taste.  This pizza is slightly undersauced, so a slight deduction applies.  Score: 9/10

Cheese: There is not a lot of cheese on this pizza, but it does produce a decent amount of grease.  Hence, this cheese is not the best.  Score: 6/10

Toppings: The sausage comes in greasy balls with just the right amount of spiciness.  The pepperoni has decent thickness and a nice pork flavor, but the real winner is the ham: it has a delicious fresh pork flavor.  All toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: The pork flavor from the meats, tomato flavor from the sauce, and bready flavor from the crust work together very well.  I like the overall taste of this pizza.  Score: 9/10

Pizza Appearance: The toppings dominate the appearance, as you would expect for a meat-lovers pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: Pizza Bella has a large casual dining room.  Some of the booths are a little tight and therefore a little hard for large people like me to sit in.

Customer Service: The server was quiet but quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: Pizza Bella delivers high quality pizza at a reasonable price, and therefore it represents high value.

The Final Judgment:

Pizza Bella makes a pizza bella, which is Italian for beautiful pizza.  If I lived in the northern Shenandoah valley, I would come here often.  Score: 88/100

Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza in Indianapolis, IN

Basic Information:

Pizza: Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza
Number of Locations: 6, all near Indianapolis, IN
Location Reviewed: 9165 Otis Avenue in Indianapolis, IN (1 block east of Fort Harrison State Park)
Website: https://www.jockamopizza.com/
Date of Review Visit: October 2024
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with sausage and pepperoni
Price: $16.24 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza is somewhat thin and somewhat hard.  The crust tends to crack underneath the pizza, which makes the pizza hard to eat.  You can barely taste the bread that makes up this crust.  I don't like the texture or taste of this crust.  Score: 4/10

Sauce: The sauce is slightly overspiced, but only slightly.  It appears in upper levels of quantity, which is rare for a thin crust pizza.  Score: 8/10

Cheese: The cheese appears in high quantity and produces little grease.  Thus, it scores at the upper end in my rating system.  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage is pretty tasteless and bland.  The pepperoni has a little pork flavor but no more.  Both toppings appear in adequate quantity.  Score: 7/10

Overall Taste: The overall taste is on the bland side.  The overspicing of the sauce actually helps the overall taste; this may be the first time I have written that statement.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a very white appearance due to the cheese.

Dining Atmosphere: The Fort Ben location has an excellent large dining room with large windows and comfortable seats.

Customer Service: They cooked my pizza fast, but everything else was slow from refilling my drink to bringing my check.

Monetary Value: The price is too expensive relative to what you put in your mouth.

The Final Judgment:

Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza makes a passable pizza, but it does not score on the upper end in my rating system.  On the Indianapolis pizza scene, I prefer Jack's to Jock (amo's).  Score: 76/100