Papa Johns Pan Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Papa Johns Pan Pizza

Number of Locations: many nationwide
Location Reviewed: 3010 North Main Street in Anderson, SC
Website: https://www.papajohns.com/
Date of Review Visit: March 2026
What I Ordered: pan pizza (12") with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $15.24 (pizza only, includes tax but not drink or tip)
Photos:

Summary Review: 2 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Papa Johns' usual crust is known for having a fresh bready taste but being very bulky.  Now comes the even bulkier pan crust.  The thickness and texture is similar to Domino's pan pizza, but this pan pizza has parmesan cheese baked all the way to the edge, which gives the crust a mild cheesy flavor.  I kind of like the cheesy flavor, but I would still prefer a true deep dish crust on my pan pizza.  Score: 8/10

Sauce: Papa Johns is well-known for using sauce that is way too sweet.  It even tastes too sweet to me, and I like sweet sauces.  Aside from the sweetness, the quantity and texture are quite appealing.  Score: 7/10

Cheese: Aside from the parmesan cheese near the edge, this is the most undercheesed pizza I have had recently.  Look at all that bare sauce!  I thought about giving a score of 0 on this category, but.... Score: 1/10

Toppings: The sausage just sits there and adds no real flavor.  Papa Johns used to have better sausage than this.  The pepperoni is not overly spicy, and it blends nicely with the sweetness of the sauce.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 7/10

Overall Taste: The overall taste is fairly uninspiring.  The parmesan on the crust definitely comes through, as does the sweetness of the sauce, but those 2 flavors don't really combine that well.  Score: 6/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza has a very bare appearance due to the lack of cheese.  I have always thrown out the infamous peppers and garlic sauce that come with every Papa Johns pizza.  That fact does not directly impact the appearance of the pizza, but I needed to mention it somewhere.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable; like most Papa Johns locations, this location is take out only)

Customer Service: The service was quick and friendly on my visit, as usual at Papa Johns.

Monetary Value: The price is not crazy, but the quality is not particularly high.  Thus, there are better values on Papa Johns menu.  I personally prefer the epic stuffed crust.

The Final Judgment:

Papa Johns used to be my favorite among the big national pizza chains, but I'm not sure I can say that any more.  This pan pizza may be the worst pizza Papa Johns has ever offered, and I prefer the pan pizzas at Pizza Hut and Dominos to this one.  Score: 64/100

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