Abby's Legendary Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Abby's Legendary Pizza
Number of Locations: around 36 in 2 states: Oregon and Washington

Location Reviewed: 2226 Shallock Ave. in Klamath Falls, OR (2 blocks from Sky Lake Medical Center)
Website: https://abbys.com/
Date of Review Visit: July 2021
What I Ordered: small (10") deep dish pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni; 1 fountain drink
Price: $16.79 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Abby's Legendary Pizza offers 2 crust options: thin and deep dish.  As will come as no surprise to any regular reader of this blog, I chose deep dish.  The deep dish pizza has a nice golden brown pan crust that is about the same thickness as Pizza Hut's pan crust.  My pizza was slightly overbaked and thus a little crispier than I would have preferred.  I've had better pan crusts, but this one ranks pretty high.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce is very overspiced; I could not taste the tomatoes for all of the spices.  As you would expect for a pan pizza, the sauce appears in high quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: The cheese is a tasty blend of mozzarella and an orange cheese I could not identify.  It appears in decent quantity but produces very little grease.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is on the spicy side for my taste palette.  The pepperoni is rather bland, and for good reason: they use Hormel pepperoni (like you would buy in the store), and they even advertise this fact.  I hope Hormel pays them a kickback for the advertising, because I doubt it helps them sell pizza.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: The spiciness and saltiness tend to overwhelm the taste buds, which is too bad because there are some interesting individual components here.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks like a nice golden-brown pan pizza that has plenty of toppings.  

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room seems to date to the 1990's with video games of slightly newer variety.

Customer Service: The counter service was fast and friendly.

Monetary Value: This pizza has pretty high quality, but it is very expensive even though the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

This pizza tends to overwhelm your taste palette with brute force rather than impress it with a mouthful of flavor.  While I have certainly had worse pizza, Abby's does not rank as legendary in my gradebook.  Score: 77/100.

Cibelli's Pizza in Central Oregon

Basic Information:

Pizza: Cibelli's Pizza
Number of Locations: 5, all in central Oregon
Website: https://www.cibellis.com/
Location: 820 NW 9th Street in Corvallis, OR (Update: this location is now closed.  They have no other locations in Corvallis.)
Date of Review Visit: July 2021
What I Ordered: small (10") meat-lovers pizza (sausage, pepperoni, and bacon)
Price: $12.95 (pizza only, no drink or tip)

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Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Cibelli's advertises New York style pizza, and this crust is the typical New York style crust.  It is thick on the outside and thin underneath.  This crust has a fresh bready taste; it is a very good crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza has more sauce than you would expect for a New York style pizza, but it is somewhat overspiced.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese does not add a lot of flavor, and it produces quite a bit of grease.  Also, this pizza is slightly undercheesed.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: As usual for an all-meats pizza, the toppings make or break the pizza.  The sausage comes in nice big chunks with just the right amount of spiciness.  The pepperoni comes in big thin slices without a lot of flavor.  The bacon comes in small crumbles and is only slightly salty.  All toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The sauce and sausage complement each other well, but the overall taste is somewhat bland even though this is a meat-lovers pizza.  They "only" put 3 meats on their meat-lovers pizza, and some sweet ham would have really added to the flavor.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The toppings dominate the appearance, and the big slices of pepperoni catch your eye.

Dining Atmosphere: Cibelli's Corvallis location looked like it had a nice dining area even though I ordered take out.

Customer Service: The service was quick and friendly.

Monetary Value: This pizza has high quality, but it is fairly expensive, even for a 10" meat-lovers pizza.  Therefore, the value is no better than average.

The Final Judgment:

Though not without flaw, Cibelli's makes a nice pizza.  I would come here regularly if I lived in central Oregon.  Score: 83/100.

Cirello's Pizza in Corvallis, OR

Basic Information:

Pizza: Cirello's Pizza
Number of Locations: 1
Location: 919 NW Circle Blvd. (2 blocks west of SR 99W)
Website: https://www.cirellospizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: July 2021

What I Ordered: Mini (8") pizza with pepperoni and housemade Italian sausage, refillable Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $15.00 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

 

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Cirello's is advertised as New York style pizza, but the crust is thicker than what I typically think of as New York style pizza.  The crust has medium thickness and a somewhat crispy texture.  It also has a fresh bready taste.  I like this crust even though it was not what I was expecting.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in high quantity.  It has a nice thick texture, but it is somewhat overspiced.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese on this pizza is whole milk mozzarella, and it appears in decent quantity.  It also produces quite a bit of grease, which leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage appears in nice big chunks, but I was expecting more flavor from a housemade sausage.  The overly spicy composition of this sausage overwhelms what is otherwise a nice fresh taste.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  Both toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: I like what I am eating to taste like what it is, which is why the spiciness of the sausage and sauce really overwhelm my taste palette.  Some people might like the taste of Cirello's, but it is not for me.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The big chunks of sausage dominate the appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Cirello's has a decent-sized and comfortable casual dining area.

Customer Service: The people working there were very good at ignoring me, even as I was standing at the counter waiting to order.

Monetary Value: This pizza has pretty high quality, but it is very expensive.  Therefore, the value is not good.

The Final Judgment:

A somewhat odd entry in the New York pizza space, I see why some people like Cirello's even though it misses the mark for me.  In Corvallis, I prefer nearby Cibelli's over Cirello's.  Score: 74/100.

Sahara Pizza in The Dalles, OR

Basic Information:

Pizza: Sahara Pizza
Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 918 W. 6th St. on the west side of The Dalles

Website: https://www.saharapizzathedalles.com/

Date of Review Visit: July 2021
What I Ordered: personal (8") Lion's Feast Pizza (all-meats pizza)
Price: $7.99 (pizza only; no drink or tip)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Sahara Pizza is not a Chicago-style thick crust, but it is thicker than I was expecting for a west coast pizza.  The crust is crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside.  My pizza was slightly overbaked, hence a small deduction on an otherwise excellent crust.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza is slightly undersauced.  What sauce does appear has a nice tomatoey taste and medium-thick texture.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The 100% mozzarella cheese appears in high quantity.  It does not have a lot of flavor, and it produces a decent bit of grease.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: As with any all-meats pizza, the toppings make this pizza.  All toppings appear in high quantity.  The sweetness of the ham and the slight spiciness of the sausage make a nice combination.  The other meats do not really stand out.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The sweet/spicy combination of ham and sausage steals the show, the other items add mellow accompaniments.  Maybe this pizza could use a little more sauce or more flavorful other meats.  Score: 9.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks like the robust pizza it is.  It comes in a tiny box that feels super heavy for its size.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered take-out, but the small dining area seemed purely functional.

Customer Service: The service was a little slow: I had to wait about 10 minutes past the promised ready time, and they were not busy on my visit.

Monetary Value: The price is downright cheap for pizza this good.

 

The Final Judgment:

Sahara Pizza is an attractive pizza option, especially if you like thicker crust pizzas.  Though not quite elite, I would come here regularly if I lived in The Dalles.  Score: 88/100.