Rotolo's Craft and Crust Pizzeria

Basic Information:

Pizza: Rotolo's Craft and Crust Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 30+ across 9 states; based in Baton Rouge, LA
Location Reviewed: 1314 Maxwell Blvd. in Ruston, LA (north side of I-20 between exits 85 and 86)
Website: https://rotolos.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: Simple Man (10" Deep Dish Pizza) with sausage
Price: $28.06 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: What a surprise to find a true Chicago-style deep dish crust from a pizza chain based in Louisiana!  The crust has a great texture that is nice and crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside.  The crust has an almost bready taste.  I love this crust.  Score: 10/10

Sauce: This pizza has lots of sauce, but the sauce has a slight bitter and overspiced taste.  I prefer to taste more tomatoes in my sauce.  Score: 7/10

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of cheese, and it is applied directly to the crust in true Chicago style.  Excellent! Score: 10/10

Toppings: This pizza has plenty of sausage, but the sausage is a little too spicy to put on a pizza for my taste.  In their defense, they do advertise the sausage as a spicy sausage, but the server told me it isn't that spicy even though it's pretty spicy.  Maybe I should have ordered the pepperoni.  Score: 8/10

Overall Taste: The spiciness of the sauce and sausage overwhelm my taste palette, so the overall taste is not as good as you might expect.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks like a beautiful deep dish pizza; the sauce and crust dominate the appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Rotolo's has a pleasant somewhat upscale casual dining atmosphere.  They were hosting the Inside Tech Basketball radio program for nearby Louisiana Tech University while I was there.

Customer Service: The service was friendly and fast enough considering the burden of the radio program.

Monetary Value: The price is expensive, but the quality is quite high.  They gave me a 15% discount for finishing the entire pizza.

The Final Judgment:

I love good deep dish Chicago-style pizza.  While Rotolo's is not the best option in that category, it is good enough that I will come back here because I was so surprised to find this style of pizza in northwest Louisiana.  Score: 84/100

Roma's Italian Restaurant in Sulphur Springs, TX

Basic Information:

Pizza: Roma's Italian Restaurant

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 400 Shannon Road East in Sulphur Springs, TX (just east of I-30, exit 124)
Website: https://romasitalianeasttx.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: small (12") pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $18.93 (pizza only; includes tax but not drink or tip)
Photos:

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The pizza crust at Roma's Italian Restaurant is thicker than you would expect for this part of the country.  It has a nice texture that is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, but it has no real flavor.  Every pizza at Roma's comes with breadsticks at no additional charge, but the breadsticks are horrible.  My breadsticks came at room temperature with no flavor other than salt and bread.  While this is a pizza blog and not a breadstick blog, I needed to factor in the breadsticks somewhere, so I factored them in here.  Score: 6/10

Sauce: This pizza does not have much sauce, and the sauce it does have has very little flavor.  Score: 3/10

Cheese: The cheese appears in sufficient quantity and does not produce much grease.  I like it.  Score: 9/10

Toppings: The sausage looks like the horrible pellet variety, but in fact it has a tasty amount of spiciness.  The pepperoni likewise adds just enough spiciness.  Both toppings appear in plenty of quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: The overall taste is a little on the bland side: I really missed the tomato taste from the sauce and the bread taste of the crust.  The toppings save what could be a disaster.  Score: 7/10

Pizza Appearance: The thick crust and abundant toppings dominate the pizza's appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Roma's has a dimly lit dining area with nice tables and chairs.  They also have a large bar, which the Baptist I am did not partake of.

Customer Service: The service was no-frills, quick, and to the point.

Monetary Value: Even when you factor in the "free" breadsticks, the price is too high relative to what you put in your mouth.

The Final Judgment:

Roma's makes a very average pizza with a dining atmosphere that does not suit my taste.  While I might come here occasionally as a change of pace, there are better pizza options in northeast Texas.  Score: 71/100

Pizza Leon in Central Texas

Basic Information:

Pizza: Pizza Leon

Number of Locations: 2, both in central Texas
Location Reviewed: 509 E. Ben White Boulevard in Austin, TX
Website: https://mypizzaleon.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: Medium (12") pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $17.05 (pizza only; includes tax)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Pizza Leon has medium thickness.  The texture is somewhat on the hard side, and it is rather flavorless.  I don't care for this crust.  Score: 4/10

Sauce: On the other hand, the sauce appears in sufficient quantity, and it has pleasant tomatoey taste.  I really like this sauce.  Score: 10/10

Cheese: The cheese appears in adequate quantity, and it produces little grease.  Excellent!  Score: 9/10

Toppings: The sausage is a spicy Italian sausage, but it also has a pleasant pork flavor that does not simply taste like biting into a spice keg.  Likewise the pepperoni has a pleasant spiced park flavor.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 10/10

Overall Taste: The crust really holds this pizza back, because everything else works together pretty well.  The overall taste is also on the salty side.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The toppings dominate this pizza's appearance, which is probably a good thing.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable: this location is a food truck with no dining area)

Customer Service: The service was prompt and friendly, but the window on the food truck did not open properly, making it hard to communicate and receive my pizza.

Monetary Value: The price is somewhat expensive, but the overall quality is quite high.  Thus, the value is decent.

The Final Judgment:

Pizza Leon may be the best food truck pizza I have ever had, even if their other location is a traditional location.  I would sanction coming here occasionally, even if you have to bring your own drink and eat it in your car.  Score: 82/100

Stefano's Pizza Express in Pharr, TX

Basic Information:

Pizza: Stefano's Pizza Express

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 500 North Jackson Road in Pharr, TX (just north of I-2, exit 144)
Website: https://stefanospizzaexpress.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: 16" pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $20.02 (pizza only, includes tax but not drink or tip)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Stefano's Pizza Express makes New York style pizza with a thin crust.  The crust is too crispy to be foldable.  This is not my favorite style of crust, but it is OK for what it is.  Score: 7/10

Sauce: This pizza is a little undersauced, but the sauce that does appear has a pleasant tomato taste. Score: 8/10

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of yummy cheese, and it does not produce much grease.  Fantastic!  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage looks like the horrible pellet-style sausage, but in fact it has decent flavor and spiciness.  The pepperoni has an excellent spiced pork flavor.  Both toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: None of the parts really overpower the others.  Everything works together pretty well to produce a well-balanced overall taste.  Score: 8.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The sausage looks bad even though it doesn't taste bad.  Otherwise, this pizza looks like a nice New York style pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered take-out, but Stefano's Pizza Express has a pleasant casual dining atmosphere with comfortable tables and chairs.

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

Monetary Value: The price is pretty high, but you have to remember that this is a quality 16" pizza.  Thus, the value is not too bad, plus the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

There is nothing cheap or hasty about the pizza at Stefano's Pizza Express.  They offer a quality pizza in a quality dining environment at a fair price, and if I lived in Pharr I would take the express lane to come here regularly.  Score: 86/100

Bruno's Italian Kitchen in Beaumont, TX

Basic Information:

Pizza: Bruno's Italian Kitchen

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 3199 Dowlen Road (between Folsom Dr. and Delaware St.)
Website: https://brunosik.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: small (12") meatlover's pizza (sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, hamburger)
Price: $19.04 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on Bruno's Italian Kitchen's pizza is a fluffy crust.  It is not too thick, but it has a nice crispiness around the edge.  The crust has a fresh bready taste, and I like it.  Score: 9/10

Sauce: The pizza is undersauced, and the sauce that does exist is overspiced.  I could not taste the tomatoes in the sauce at all.  Score: 3/10

Cheese: This pizza has a thick yummy layer of cheese that does not produce much grease.  Magnifico!  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage is a slightly spicy Italian sausage; the flavor is satisfactory but not outstanding.  The Canadian bacon has a pleasant fresh ham taste.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  The hamburger just sits there adding no flavor, which is what it does on most pizzas and why I never order hamburger as a stand-alone topping.  The toppings appear in satisfactory quantity.  Score: 7/10

Overall Taste: The sauce and sausage combine to give this pizza an overly spicy flavor.  I would like to taste some of the other ingredients more.  Score: 7.5/10

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

Dining Atmosphere: The cloth napkins add a touch of class, as does the pleasant Italian music playing in a fantastic dining room.

Customer Service: The server was friendly and attentive, but every action took awhile even though they weren't busy.

Monetary Value: The price seems expensive, but it is reasonable for a quality 12" meatlover's pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Bruno's offers a quality pizza in a quality dining atmosphere.  While not elite, it is competitive on the Beaumont pizza scene, and I would make it part of my regular pizza rotation if I lived in Beaumont.  Score: 80/100

Fazoli's

Basic Information:

Pizza: Fazoli's

Number of Locations: 200+ across 26 states
Location Reviewed: 3901 Liberty Highway in Anderson, SC (near the Liberty Highway WalMart)
Website: https://fazolis.com/
Date of Review Visit: January 2026
What I Ordered: whole (14") pepperoni pizza with Italian sausage added
Price: $17.97 (pizza only; includes tax)
Photos:

Summary Review: 1.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Fazoli's is a soft bready crust that has medium thickness.  They put a garlic glaze on their bread that gives the crust and the breadsticks that come with the pizza a strong garlic flavor.  (Aside: the breadsticks are in the bag in the first photo.)  I don't care for garlic, and therefore this is not my favorite crust.  Score: 5/10

Sauce: This pizza is undersauced.  The sauce has a pleasant but mild tomato flavor.  Score: 6/10

Cheese: This pizza is undercheesed; it has no flavor at all.  Score: 2/10

Toppings: The pepperoni comes in flavorless thin slices.  The sausage is sliced Johnsonville mild Italian sausage.  The sausage looks burnt, but it has a nice Italian flavor with a small amount of spiciness.  Score: 5/10

Overall Taste: I'm glad I added the Italian sausage, because that is the only appetizing thing on this pizza.  The garlic flavor in the crust dominates everything else.  Score: 4.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The thick ring of crust around the edge makes this pizza look like pizza you would find at a gas station or truck stop.  No, that's not a good thing.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered take-out, but they have a fast-food dining atmosphere with a few tables and chairs.

Customer Service: Fazoli's has counter service.  It was quick and friendly even though they were busy.

Monetary Value: You can get similar pizza for cheaper at Little Caesars.

The Final Judgment:

Fazoli's is better known for their pasta than their pizza.  I got my first taste of Fazoli's many years ago when I lived in Cincinnati.  I was unimpressed with Fazoli's pizza then, and I remain so today.  Score: 57/100