Jack's Pizza in Indianapolis, IN

Basic Information:

Pizza: Jack’s Pizza

Number of Locations: 9, all near Indianapolis, IN

Location Reviewed: 86^th St. and Michigan Ave. in northwest Indianapolis

Website: https://jackspizza1966.com/#home

Date of Review Visit: June 2015

What I Ordered: Small (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni

Price: $10.34 (includes tax but not drink)

Photos:

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Jack’s Pizza has an odd crust: it is thin and crispy but not too thin.  The crust is ¼ to ½ inch thick under the entire pizza.  The crust is loaded edge to edge with toppings, and my pizza was baked just the right amount.  This crust is different, but I like it.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: I didn’t notice the sauce much, but not because the pizza is undersauced.  Rather the sauce blends in very well with the rest of pizza.  When I did specifically put my tongue on the sauce, it had a yummy tomato-y taste that was not the least bit overspiced.  This sauce is very good.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in great quantity and produces almost no grease.  The cheese tastes like good quality mozzarella or provolone.  Sometimes I would downgrade for using only 1 type of cheese but not when they include this much of it.  Excellent!  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: Both meats are a little spicy but neither is overspiced.  I could still taste the meat over the spice.  They appear in good quantity also.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Overall Taste: All of the parts are very good, but then they sprinkle some extra herbs over the cheese.  As a result, you taste only the herbs at first.  The extra herbs tend to wear on your palette until you get used to them, and only then do you start tasting the rest of the pizza.  The overall taste would be far better with fewer extra herbs.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The abundant plain white cheese dominates the pizza’s appearance.  The jacks (the metal kids toy) printed on the front of the box are an odd touch.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable due to no dining area)

Customer Service: The service was prompt and fine.

Monetary Value: Jack’s makes good quality pizza.  The price is high (remember that no drink is included in the price I posted above), but it is nowhere near the most expensive pizza around.  Thus, the price/quality ratio grades out pretty well.

The Final Judgment:

Congratulations Indianapolis! You have a 90+ rated pizza that is among the best I have had anywhere.  Stop here and enjoy it often.  Score: 90/100.

Cassano's Pizza near Dayton, OH

Basic Information:

Pizza: Cassano’s Pizza

Number of Locations: 33, all near Dayton, OH

Location: 588 W. Main Street in New Lebanon, OH (on US 35 near Family Dollar)

Website: https://www.cassanos.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2015

What I Ordered: Small (9”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $9.51 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Cassano’s Pizza features a crispy thin crust.  The crust is similar to Donatos in style, but no cornmeal is baked into the crust for texture.  Like Donatos, the crust is loaded edge-to-edge with toppings and other good stuff.  My pizza was slightly overbaked but only slightly.  Overall, this crust does a solid job of what it is supposed to do, and for that it deserves good marks.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: This pizza has almost no sauce, and therefore it is very under-sauced.  I could not even get a pinch of the sauce on my tongue to determine what it tastes like.  How do you rate something you can’t taste?  I’ll pretend I tasted a little and score it….  Score: 3/10.

Cheese: The cheese is applied with good quantity, but it produces too much grease to be good quality cheese.  They do give you the option of sprinkling on some parmesan for more flavor.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: The quality of the toppings is a mixed bag.  The pepperoni comes in thin crunchy slices that are nothing to brag about.  The finely ground sausage is more appealing; it has a lot of fat but also some flavor.  Both toppings appear in good quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together pretty well.  The high amount of grease is the only real turn-off.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is tidy but hurt by the overbaking.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room atmosphere is purely functional.  The room features some very bad ceiling tiles that show heavy evidence of roof leaks.  On my visit the TV was tuned to a bad movie, so bad that I turned my back to the TV to prevent myself from watching it.

Customer Service: The service was prompt and helpful.

Value: The price is low, but this metric is value, not price.  Cassano’s small pizza only measures 9 inches, and the quality is not great.  Therefore, this pizza performs well on this metric but not as well as you might think.

The Final Judgment:

Somewhat of a Donatos want-to-be, Cassano’s is not bad for a change of pace, but it probably will not top your list.  There are better pizza options in this area (see LaRosa’s or Donatos, for example).  Score: 72/100.

Charley’s Pizza Parlor in Jacksboro, TN

Basic Information:

Pizza: Charley’s Pizza Parlor

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 103 E. Cumberland Ln. in Jacksboro, TN (on US 25W/SR 63 3.9 miles east of I-75 exit 134)

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charleys-Pizza-Parlor/120612704671774

Date of Review Visit: May 2015

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

Price: $8.14 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Charley’s Pizza Parlor offers 2 crust choices: thick and thin.  As will be no surprise to any regular reader of this blog, I chose thick.  Charley’s thick crust is different from other thick crusts because it is thick under the entire crust, not just around the edge.  The crust is very chewy with no crispiness even though my pizza was well-baked.  Overall, this crust is not the tastiest, but I got thick crust at no extra charge, so I can’t score it too low.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in good quantity.  You can still taste the tomatoes, though only slightly, so the sauce is not overspiced.  I like it.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of cheese, but the cheese produces more grease than I would like.  Sprinkling on some parmesan helps an otherwise unremarkable flavor.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The toppings are the major weakness of this pizza.  Both the pepperoni and the Italian sausage have some spices, but neither tastes like fresh, quality meat.  The Italian sausage comes in manufactured pellets that bounce like ping-pong balls if you drop one.  Fortunately, the high quantity of toppings prevents a disaster.  I have eaten worse toppings, but improvement is needed on this criterion.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is pretty bland but not terribly offensive.  This pizza’s selling point is quantity to fill the stomach, not subtlety to tantalize the tongue.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The large pellet-style sausage really hurts this pizza’s appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area offers a nice casual-dining atmosphere, but some ceiling tiles show evidence of a leaky roof, and the carpet is old.  The large TV tuned to ESPN is a nice touch.

Customer Service: The service was excellent on my visit.

Monetary Value: I could not believe the price was so low.  I would tell you how much they could raise the price and still have a good value, but then they might actually do it.  Hearty, filling pizza for this price is rare.

The Final Judgment:

Charley’s Pizza Parlor is a local favorite that fills the stomach without emptying the wallet.  They also have a buffet option, but the variety on the buffet is limited, and you really don’t need it at these prices.  I recommend stopping by and ordering off of the standard menu if you are in the area.  Score: 80/100.

Joe's New York Pizza in Upstate South Carolina

Basic Information:

Pizza: Joe’s New York Pizza

Number of Locations: 3, all near Clemson, SC

Location: 273 Market Street in Seneca, SC

Website: https://www.joesnypizzaupstate.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 2015

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

Price: $14.02 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Joe’s New York Pizza does not make the usual floppy, foldable, New York style crust.  Instead, this crust has medium thickness; it is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The result is that this crust produces a non-descript almost manufactured taste.  To their credit, Joe’s does have a deep dish option, but it costs $2 extra.  The “traditional crust” that I had is passable but nothing stellar.  Score: 5/10.

Sauce: Unlike the crust, the sauce on this pizza is in-line with the traditional New York style, i.e. there is very little sauce.  What sauce exists is rather overspiced: I tasted the spices and not the tomatoes.  Some people may like this sauce, but it is not for me.  Score: 4/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in sufficient quantity, and it produces some grease but not too much.  The cheese blend tastes like bland pure mozzarella, but sprinkling on some parmesan helps in the taste department.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: Both the pepperoni and the sausage are pretty bad.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices of pepperoni, and the sausage appears as tiny shredded bits.  Even worse, the pepperoni has little flavor, and the sausage is overspiced.  The quantity is passable but not remarkable.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: This pizza has too much spiciness from the sauce and the sausage and not enough flavor from anything else.  I’ve eaten worse tasting pizza before, but this combination does not work for me.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The shredded sausage gives the pizza a crude appearance, but the golden-brown crust looks nice.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area features some nice TV’s tuned to sports events, and the purple and orange tables and chairs make sense due to the geographical proximity to Clemson University.

Customer Service:  I had no problems with the service.

Monetary Value: Joe’s pizza is not terribly expensive, but it is not of particularly good quality either.  The half-price Monday special would really help on the price side, but I came here on a Saturday.

The Final Judgment:

Some people really like this pizza, but I am not one of them.  In fact, this is one pizza I would not mind shipping back to New York.  I could see eating at Joe’s occasionally, but there are far better pizza options in the Clemson area (such as Todaro Pizza).  Score: 66/100.

Amici Cafe in Georgia

Basic Information:

Pizza: Amici Cafe

Number of Locations: 13 across 2 states; based in Madison, GA

Location Reviewed: 233 E. Clayton St. in downtown Athens, GA (1 block from UGA)

Website: https://amici-cafe.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 2015

What I Ordered: Small (11”) pizza with pepperoni and Italian sausage; Mr. Pibb to drink

Price: $15.04 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on this pizza is kind of unusual: it is a half-inch thick around the edge but very thin underneath the toppings.  The crust reminds me of a Chicago-style butter crust except that it has no butter taste.  Instead, Amici’s crust has a fresh bready taste that I like quite a lot.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce is spiced just the right amount, enough so that you can taste the spices but not so much that they overpower the tomato taste.  The sauce appears in plenty of quantity.  Overall, this is a fantastic sauce.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese on this pizza has an average, bland taste except for the parmesan cheese, which really brings the cheese blend alive.  They sprinkle on some parmesan for you, but you can add more using the shakers on the table if you see fit.  The cheese emits some grease but does not peg the grease meter like the poorer quality cheeses.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni and Italian sausage appear in slightly above average quantity, but both meats taste pretty bland.  The toppings do not offend too badly, but I have definitely eaten better toppings elsewhere.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together pretty well here.  The sauce and parmesan cheese really stand out on the taste palette.  But for some better-tasting toppings this score would be even higher.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is excellent, especially with the parmesan cheese sprinkled on.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room has a downtown packed-in atmosphere with some TV’s tuned to sporting events, as they should be in a college town.

Customer Service: The service was attentive and excellent.

Monetary Value: Amici makes good quality pizza, but it is also pretty expensive.  $2 per meat topping for a small pizza adds up quickly.

The Final Judgment:

I first found Amici Café several years ago as a UGA student.  Among downtown Athens pizza places, I like Mellow Mushroom and DePalma’s, both of which have locations less than 2 blocks away, a little more, but Amici is slightly better than Your Pie and far better than Little Italy.  Amici is worthy of a regular spot in your dine-out pizza rotation.  Score: 82/100.

Wedgy's Pizza in Greenville, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Wedgy’s Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location: 2708 E. North Avenue in Anderson, SC (Update: this location is now closed.  Wedgy's only remaining location is at 552 Old Howell Road on the east side of Greenville.)

Website: https://www.wedgysonline.com/

Date of Review Visit: January 2015

What I Ordered: Large (14”) Pepperoni Madness (double pepperoni) pizza

Price: $13.99 (pizza only; with a coupon; the regular price is $16.19)

Photos:

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Wedgy’s Pizza offers two crust options: hand-tossed and thin.  Being the thick crust fan that I am, I chose hand-tossed.  The crust tastes just like a Papa John’s crust: fresh and bready but maybe a little too bulky.  My pizza was baked to perfection, another plus.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: Unfortunately, the crust is the strength of this pizza.  The sauce comes mostly as a thin smeared-on layer, so the pizza is substantially undersauced.  When you get an actual bite of sauce, it tastes like condensed tomato soup with almost no spices or seasoning.  I’ve had worse sauce, but this sauce is far from the best.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: Wedgy’s advertises their cheese as 100% mozzarella, which is not the tastiest of pizza cheeses.  Accordingly, the cheese has a very bland taste that does not horribly offend but does not really impress either.  I give average marks here.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni has some zip without being overspiced, but it comes in thin slices.  The pepperoni also leaves a lot of grease, which speaks to the low quality of Wedgy’s toppings.  The topping quantity is only average considering that this is a double pepperoni pizza.  Much improvement is needed on this criterion.  Score: 4/10.

Overall Taste: The pizza’s overall taste is not bad, but it is pretty nondescript.  High grease and bland cheese are the biggest turn-offs.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a clean-cut appearance with every slice of pepperoni in its appropriate place.  The box has an attractive picture that perhaps not coincidentally is identical to the box you get from nearby DaVinci’s.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable due to no dining room)

Customer Service: The service is purely functional, much like Papa John’s.

Monetary Value: The price is not too high for a double pepperoni pizza, but it is also not overly cheap, even at the discounted price I got.  You can get similar quality for cheaper at the national chains.

The Final Judgment:

A Papa John’s want-to-be, the name Wedgy’s sounds like this pizza place was founded by some college fraternity boys, and the pizza kind of tastes that way too.  I could see coming here occasionally, but there is far better value and quality to be had elsewhere.  Score: 67/100.

Brixx Wood Fired Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Brixx Wood Fired Pizza

Number of Locations: 20 across 4 states; based in Charlotte, NC

Location Reviewed: 30 Town Square Blvd. in Asheville, NC (in Biltmore Town Square shopping center)

Website: https://brixxpizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: January 2015

What I Ordered: 10” 4x4 pizza (4 meat, 4 cheese); Mr. Pibb to drink

Price: $15.19 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Brixx’ pizza has a crispy thin crust that is partly blackened due to the wood fired baking technique.  The crust has very little taste; it mainly stays out of the way so that the other tastier items on this pizza can shine through.  My pizza was baked perfectly, which is hard to do in the high heat of a brick oven.  The crust is not the strength of this pizza, but it is pretty good for what it is.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: This criterion is not applicable: the particular pizza I ordered has no sauce.  I want to give a final judgment score out of 80, so I took an average of the scores from the other criteria and rounded up.  Score: 9/10.

Cheese: The 4x4 pizza features a mixture of 4 cheeses: mozzarella, parmesan, gouda, and goat.  This mixture sports a flavorful taste, and it is applied with plenty of quantity.  Freshly grated parmesan applied by the waitress at my table is always a nice touch.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is too spicy for my taste, but the prosciutto and bacon are among the best I have ever had.  All toppings appear in plenty of quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together to yield a light and flavorful taste that I really like.  This pizza wins your taste palette with subtlety rather than brute force.  Score: 9.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The slightly blackened crusted gives a nice well-baked appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Brixx’ restaurants have an upscale casual dining atmosphere.  There are large TV’s and paintings for sale on the walls.

Customer Service: The service at Brixx is among the best I have ever experienced at a pizza restaurant.

Monetary Value: As you would expect for pizza this good, the price is not cheap.  Brixx only makes 10” pizzas, so you get no help on price by ordering larger pizzas as you might at other pizzerias.  Every pizza has its weakness, and this is it for Brixx.

The Final Judgment:

I might not be a regular here due to the price, but for special occasions Brixx can hardly be beat.  I highly recommend Brixx when you want a first class pizza experience.  Score: 88/100.