Al's Pizza and Subs in Harrisburg, PA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Al’s Pizza and Subs

Number of Locations: several, all near Harrisburg, PA

Location Reviewed: 409 N. Enola Road in Enola, PA

Website: https://alspizzaenola.com/

Date of Review Visit: July 2013

What I Ordered: Medium (14”) Pork Heaven Pizza

Price: $15.37 (includes tax but not drink)

Photos:

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Al’s Pizza makes a nice northern style thick crust.  The pizza is perfectly baked, as evidenced by the speckled brown crust.  The taste of the crust is slightly bland, but only slightly.  Overall, I like this crust.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: The most remarkable thing about this sauce is that I hardly noticed it, and that is not because the pizza is undersauced.  This sauce is not a bold sauce with award winning taste, but it blends with the pizza very well.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese:  The cheese here is exquisite.  The blend is tasty, and it is applied with sufficient quantity to even bake a little on the top of the crust.  Excellent!  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The toppings are served in high quantity, and most of them are quite tasty.  Most amazing of all, this all-pork pizza does not taste the slightest bit greasy.  Only the bacon causes a deduction: I found it too crispy and salty.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: With all these toppings, no apparent grease, and only a slight salty taste, the taste is top-notch except for the bacon.  Score: 9.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks like the hearty robust pizza it is.

Dining Atmosphere: (unknown because I ordered delivery)

Customer Service: I usually don't order delivery, but of course the one time I did the delivery person was rude.  In his defense, the only reason I had the pizza delivered is because it was raining, but I did give him a large tip.

Value: The price is slightly high but not outrageous for a medium all-pork pizza.  The remarkable fact is that Al’s medium pizza is 14”; that’s a large pizza at the national chains.

The Final Judgment:

I am glad the hotel clerk at Days Inn recommended this pizza to me, and I now recommend it to anyone who finds themselves near Harrisburg.  Score: 92/100.

Buzzy's Pizza in Niagara Falls, NY

Basic Information:

Pizza: Buzzy’s Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 7617 Niagara Falls Blvd. in Niagara Falls, NY

Website: https://buzzyspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: July 2013

What I Ordered: Large (16”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni

Price: $15.07 (includes tax but not drink)

Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: My compliments to Buzzy’s on this crust: they gave me a true New York style crust during my visit to New York.  The crust features a nice fresh taste, and the thickness is just right to produce the “foldable” property that characterized New York style pizza.  The folding comes in handy with some of this pizza’s other properties I describe below, but I find no fault in this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: I had a hard time ranking this sauce because it tends to blend with the grease (see the next item).  I found the sauce slightly overspiced, but only slightly.  Overall, I like this sauce…I think.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: The cheese is definitely the problem here.  Buzzy’s uses 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese and does so in fairly high quantity.  Within that statement, the whole milk part guarantees a lot of fat/grease, and the mozzarella part guarantees a very little flavor.  The good quantity keeps this score from being extremely low, but I am not a fan of this cheese.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The sausage and pepperoni are both quite tasty with just the right amount of spices.  Toppings appear in sufficient quantity, and I like the slightly thicker than normal slices of pepperoni.  The only real problem is that almost all of the sausage is on one half of the pizza.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The taste would be quite good were it not for the cheese.  As is, the cheese turns what would be a show-stopper into a slightly better than average tasting pizza.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The orange sheen produced by the grease is never a good sight, and the one-sided distribution of sausage hurts even more.

Dining Atmosphere: Buzzy's has a nice casual dining area.

Customer Service: The service here was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: The price is about average, and the quality is perhaps slightly better than average.  The fact that this is a 16” pizza as opposed to the usual 14” tips the quality/price ratio in the right direction.  

The Final Judgment:

This pizza fares pretty well against the national chains, but it is well shy of the elite level pizzas thanks to the cheese.  I would sanction coming here occasionally, but I would not become a regular.  Score: 79/100

SDS Pizza and Subs in Oxford, OH

Basic Information:

Pizza: SDS Pizza and Subs

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 7 E. Chestnut Street in Oxford, OH

Website: https://www.sdspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2013

What I Ordered: Small Chicago-style pizza with sausage

Price: $12.58 (includes tax but not drink)

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: For once a pizza actually lives up to its name: the crust is at least 2 inches thick around the edge, just as it should be for a Chicago-style pizza.  The texture of the crust is quite good, namely crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The size and texture make up for the lack of flavor in the dough and the slight underbaking of the pizza.  The fact that I was sitting and waiting on the pizza might have led to the underbaking as well.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: SDS uses its own “special” sauce, but I can’t say I particularly like it.  On the bright side, the sauce has a nice fresh taste and bright red color.  On the down side, there are almost no spices, and the sauce contains chunks of tomatoes.  There is nothing I hate more in a pizza sauce than chunks of tomatoes (except maybe too much garlic).  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: This pizza has so much cheese that it falls off the pizza when you pick up a slice.  I always end up with a glob of cheese and toppings sitting in the box when I am done eating.  The quality and taste of the cheese are quite good too.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage comes in huge chunks, as it should on a Chicago-style pizza.  Also, the sausage has good flavor without tasting overspiced.  The quantity of toppings is decent given the size of the pizza.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The taste is very good save for the chunks in the sauce and the underbaked crust.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has pleasing and robust appearance except for the too-white underbaked crust.  

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable; no dining room)

Customer Service: The service is purely functional and nothing more.

Monetary Value: The price here is rather steep, but the quality is pretty good.  The quality/price ratio grades out above average here, but only above average.

The Final Judgment:

As a Miami student, SDS was my favorite pizza.  I still eat SDS every time I find myself in Oxford these days.  Give this one a try and see if it meets your taste palette too.  Score: 85/100.

LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria near Cincinnati, OH

Basic Information:

Pizza: LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria

Number of Locations: about 50, mostly near Cincinnati, OH

Location Reviewed: 5130 Camelot Drive in Fairfield, OH

Website: https://www.larosas.com/

Date of Review Visit: October 2022

What I Ordered: Large pan pizza (14”) with extra sausage and extra cheese, cherry Coke to drink

Price: $23.32 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Disclaimer:

LaRosa’s Pizza is my first love among pizzas.  It is the pizza that got my entire pizza passion started.  Having grown up in Cincinnati, I still remember the special occasions that always involved my family getting a LaRosa’s Pizza.  I tried to be objective with this pizza review, but you can imagine how that went.

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: LaRosa’s offers three choices for crust: thin, super crust, and pan.  On this visit, I chose the pan crust, the thickest of the three options.  The pan crust was perfect thickness; it has the crunchy outside but chewy inside texture that makes for a good thick crust.  The pizza was well-baked, and the bottom of crust had that special LaRosa’s taste that I still have not quite figured out.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: LaRosa’s sells its pizza sauce separately, and for good reason: it is a fantastic sauce.  The sauce uses high quality ingredients and has just the right amount of seasoning with spices.  I really like it.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The pizza is well-cheesed, and LaRosa’s uses only high quality provolone cheese, the perfect pizza cheese.  Hence, there is a very small amount of grease.  Perfecto!  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is high quality, but unfortunately the pizza lacks somewhat in quantity unless you order the double sausage as I did.  This potential for skimping leads to a deduction here.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: As you might expect given the above, the taste is fantastic.  I almost never give perfect scores in taste (just what does a perfect tasting pizza taste like anyhow?), but for my first love in pizzas....  Score: 10/10.

Pizza Appearance: The appearance is quite pleasing save for the low amount of sausage.  

Dining Atmosphere: LaRosa’s has a casual dining atmosphere, but some of their newer locations are carry out only.

Customer Service: I have always enjoyed the service at LaRosa's.

Monetary Value: The price is somewhat low given the quality of pizza and dining experience you get. LaRosa’s stacks up far better than its casual dining competitors in this category.

The Final Judgment:

LaRosa’s is a Cincinnati favorite, and it remains my favorite pizza even though I have not lived in Ohio since 2005.  If you find yourself in Cincinnati, stop by LaRosa’s so that it can become your favorite too.  Score: 94/100.

Johnny’s New York Style Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Johnny’s New York Style Pizza

Number of Locations: many across 6 southeastern states; based in Atlanta, GA

Location Reviewed: 1040 Gaines School Road in Athens, GA (east side)

Website: https://johnnyspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: May 2013

What I Ordered: Large pizza (16”) with sausage and pepperoni

Price: $17.59 (without coupon; includes tax but no drink or tip)

Photos:

 

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: For a pizza restaurant with “New York Style Pizza” in its name, the crust is thicker than you would expect.  It is also thicker than I remember it being on previous visits.  Even worse, the crust is completely black underneath due to overbaking.  I have eaten some good crust here in the past, but the crust on this visit was not up to their usual standards.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: The sauce has good consistency and a good fresh taste.  Unfortunately, it is not evenly distributed on the pizza.  Some areas have thick globs of sauce, while others are nearly sauceless.  This sauce is pretty good, but the application needs improvement.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, and the cheese has only average taste.  On the bright side, the cheese is of good quality, as evidenced by the lack of grease.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The toppings are very good.  The sausage is of the ground variety, not the pellet variety.  Both the sausage and pepperoni have just the right amount of spiciness.  Also, the toppings appear in fair to above average quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The taste is better than you might expect given some of the micro scores above.  This is good pizza even if it is not New York style pizza.  Also, although this is a pizza blog, I note that the calzones at Johnny’s taste better than the pizza.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The appearance takes a hit due to the undercheesing and uneven distribution of toppings and sauce.

Dining Atmosphere: I have always enjoyed the dining atmosphere; it has some nice TV screens and old pictures of New York on the walls.

Customer Service: The service here is very slow, and that has been the case for as long as I can remember.  Employee turnover among servers is also a problem.

 

Monetary Value: The price here is rather steep, but the quality is only above average.  If you order carryout, the large pizza box will contain a $2-off coupon that will make the price of your next large pizza reasonable.  With the coupon, the value is decent.  Without the coupon, you can get an 18” pizza down the street at DePalma’s for about the same price.

The Final Judgment:

Johnny’s is not my favorite pizza in Athens, but it is pretty good.  Johnny’s is better than the national chains, and it makes a nice change of pace from the usual pizza fare.  Score: 77/100.

Your Pie

Basic Information:

Pizza: Your Pie

Number of Locations: many across 13 states, most numerously in Georgia

Location Reviewed: 1045B Gaines School Road in Athens, GA (Update: this location is now closed.  The closest location is on Alps Road on the west side of Athens.)

Website: https://www.yourpie.com/

Date of Review Visit: April 2013

What I Ordered: Your Pie (10” pizza) with Italian sausage and pepperoni

Price: $9.58 (includes tax but no drink or tip)

Photos:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: As its name suggests, Your Pie has only one pizza-related menu item: made-to-order individual-sized pizzas.  The crust is the ultra-thin southern style, and you can choose between white and wheat.  On this visit, the pizza I ordered was rather overbaked, leaving the crust black around the edges and underneath.  In short, the crust was not the strength of this pizza, but there are still things to like here.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: Your Pie has several sauces to choose from, but I chose the standard tomato sauce.  The sauce has good consistency and taste.  The pizza seemed undersauced, but that is in tune with the paper-thin crust.  Overall, the sauce is pretty good.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: Again, there are several cheese combinations to choose from, but I chose the standard cheese, which is mozzarella.  The quality and quantity of the cheese were both average to slightly above average, but the pure mozzarella blend did not have a lot of flavor.  Surely there is a better “standard” blend than this one.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: The quantity of the toppings is passable but no more, and the sausage and pepperoni I ordered here had only an average amount of flavor (as opposed to slightly above average spiciness).  Toppings are divided into two categories: standard and premium.  Of course, the premium toppings cost $1 extra, and that leads to the main complaint I have about this pizza: EVERY meat topping is a premium topping!  Since when is run-of-the-mill pepperoni a premium topping?  This pricing may be great for making a socio-political statement, but it is horrible if you are a carnivore like me trying to order a tasty pizza.  Score: 5/10

Overall Taste: The taste of Your Pie pizza is an acquired one, but I got hooked rather quickly.  The crust, sauce, and cheese work together quite well.  This would be a real winner but for some better tasting toppings and the overbaking.  Score: 8.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance passes muster except for the blackened crust.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has a functional feel with a nice outdoor seating area.

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive, and it is nice to watch them assemble your pizza as you order it.  Also, every math professor has a soft spot for a restaurant where the servers wear T-shirts advertising pie day (March 14, or 3.14).

Monetary Value: I am afraid this pizza is rather overpriced, especially if you order more than 1 meat toppings.  (No, I will not let my issue about the topping prices go.)  If you have a large group to feed on a budget, forget about Your Pie.  On the bright side, the Tuesday special actually brings the price down from the amount posted here to something reasonable.

The Final Judgment:

Customization is the selling point here.  If you like exotic (by my standard) vegetable toppings, then this may be your pie, pun fully intended.  Most of us “regular” folks will find better value and quality elsewhere.  Score: 76/100

Fox’s Pizza Den

Basic Information:

Pizza: Fox’s Pizza Den

Number of Locations: many across 25 states

Location Reviewed: 200 N. General Daniels Ave. in Danielsville, GA (Update: this location is now closed.  The closest one is in Bogart, GA.)

Website: https://www.foxspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: April 2013

What I Ordered: Small (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $10.34 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: This crust has the odd property of being thick and bulky around the edge but thin and wimpy in the middle.  Some corn meal baked into the crust adds texture and flavor that would otherwise be lacking.  Overall, there is nothing stellar but nothing horrible about this crust.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a very strong taste of garlic, way too strong for my anti-garlic inclined palette.  The taste wears on the taste buds: I noticed it very much at first and then less and less as I ate more.  There is an adequate amount of sauce on this pizza, but that may only be a good thing if you really like the taste of garlic.  Score: 4/10.

Cheese: The cheese also has a garlic taste to it, but it is not nearly as strong in the cheese as in the sauce.  Even the sprinkle-on parmesan cheese contains a mixture of garlic and herbs.  The pizza is well-cheesed in terms of quantity.  Were it not for the sauce, this cheese would be a tasty blend.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: Toppings are the strength of this pizza.  They appear in good quantity and have good taste.  The sausage is especially tasty.  Score: 8/10

Overall Taste: The garlic overpowers everything else, I am sorry to say.  If you like the taste of garlic you will probably like the taste of this pizza.  I do not like the taste of garlic, so I don’t.  Score: 6/10

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has an attractive well-balanced appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The large dining room has a lot of open space and feels somewhat like dining in a warehouse.

Customer Service: The service was also quite slow: the pizza took a longer than expected time to arrive even though I was the only customer in the restaurant when I arrived.

Monetary Value: Fox's Den Pizza is underwhelming in this area: the price is not particularly low, but the pizza is not particularly good.  There’s nothing to really fault here but also nothing to really like.

The Final Judgment:

In fairness, this pizza has some merit to the right set of taste buds.  Nevertheless, the garlic taste is too strong to score well on my ranking system.  Score: 69/100