Punch Neapolitan Pizza in the Twin Cities, MN

Basic Information:

Pizza: Punch Neapolitan Pizza

Number of Locations: 12, all near the Twin Cities

Location Reviewed: 802 Washington Ave. SE in Minneapolis, MN (Update: this location is now closed, but 12 locations in the Twin Cities remain open)

Website: https://punchpizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2018

What I Ordered: Napoli pizza with pepperoni and sausage; soda to drink

Price: $12.21 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

The Macro:

Crust: The crust at Punch Neapolitan Pizza is not as thin as some other hot oven crusts.  It has a fresh bready taste for the most part, but I also tasted burnt crust quite a bit.  A little burning is expected for this type of pizza, but not this much.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: This pizza has very little sauce, and what little sauce there is has very little flavor.  The following score might be charitable: Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The 100% mozzarella cheese appears in decent quantity and produces little grease but also little flavor.  You can add more cheeses as toppings (for a price, of course), but the standard cheese is rather bland.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: The sausage is fresh and yummy with just the right amount of seasoning.  The pepperoni is fairly nondescript.  Both toppings appear in good quantity.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: The blackened crust really overpowers pretty much everything else except sometimes the sausage.  This is a shame because there are some decent things going on here in the taste department.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is nice and robust except for the blackened crust.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area was crowded and noisy when I came here at noon on a Tuesday.  Two large overhead doors at the front of the restaurant open and give a nice indoor/outdoor atmosphere during the summer.

Customer Service: The counter service was prompt and friendly, but the lady calling order numbers had to yell incessantly over the noise.

Monetary Value: Punch only makes personal sized pizzas, so this is not the choice to feed a large group with large pizzas. Also, the price is higher than it should be for this quality of pizza.  On the bright side, the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

Punch is different enough that I can recommend coming here once to see if it suits your taste.  It does not suit mine, and in the Stadium Village area of Minneapolis I prefer nearby Blaze Pizza over Punch: they make similar pizza styles, but Blaze is the rare combination of cheaper and better.  Score: 66/100.

Blaze Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Blaze Pizza

Number of Locations: many nationwide; based in Pasadena, CA

Location Reviewed: 1000 Washington Ave. SE in Minneapolis, MN (corner of Washington Ave. and Huron Blvd. near TCF Bank Stadium)

Website: https://www.blazepizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2018

What I Ordered: Build Your Own 2 Topping pizza with pepperoni and smoked ham; soda to drink

Price: $10.80 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Blaze Pizza gets its name from its dome pizza oven that can reach up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.  As you would expect for this style of pizza, the crust is thin and crispy.  It is hard to bake this style of pizza exactly right, but they did exactly that with mine.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: You have your choice of sauce, but I chose classic red tomato-based sauce.  This pizza does not have a lot of sauce, and the sauce that does appear only has a very light tomato flavor.  Normally I complain about sauces being overspiced, but this sauce might be a little underspiced.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: You get your choice of cheese, but I went with mostly mozzarella with a little parmesan. The cheese is applied with good quantity, but it produces quite a bit of grease and not a lot of flavor, even with the parmesan.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: Their wide selection of toppings all look good because they have no artificial additives.  Both the smoked ham and pepperoni tasted fresh, but the pepperoni could have used a little more spice and the ham a little more sugar.  The smoked ham does not taste the least bit smoky.  Both toppings appear in good quantity.  Maybe I should have tried my usual pepperoni/sausage combination instead.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: I sprinkled on some oregano to add some spice.  Otherwise, the overall taste would have been pleasant and fresh but rather bland.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a well-ordered appearance with every piece of ham or pepperoni in its place.

Dining Atmosphere: The Minneapolis location has a nice casual dining atmosphere with a TV for entertainment.

Customer Service: The counter service was prompt and friendly: pizzas are made to order assembly-line style in front of you, and the pizza maker asked me at every stage if the pizza looked good to me, which it did.

Monetary Value: Blaze only makes personal sized pizzas, so this is not the place to feed a large group with large pizzas.  That said, the price for this type of pizza is reasonable, and the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

Similar in style and appearance to Your Pie and Mod Pizza, Blaze Pizza does not quite set me on fire, but it is a competitive entry in the assembly line made-to-order pizza sector.  Score: 84/100.

New York Pizza in Hartwell, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: New York Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 105 W. Franklin Street in Hartwell, GA

Website: https://www.newyorkpizzahartwell.com/

Date of Review Visit: June 2018

What I Ordered: large (16”) pizza with sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $16.88 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The Hartwell, GA version of New York Pizza (aside: every town seems to have a pizza place called New York Pizza) has a nice fluffy crust with a fresh bready taste.  The crust is thicker than you would expect for a New York style pizza, and overall I like it even if it is not very New York-like.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have much sauce, but what sauce there is has a nice tomatoey taste and a thick consistency.  On the down side, I found pieces of tomato peel in my sauce, and I don’t like finding pieces of anything in my sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in good quantity, and it doesn’t produce much grease.  I have eaten pizza cheese that has more flavor, though.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage is applied in very low quantity, and it appears in tiny bits.  What sausage does appear has decent flavor with only a little bit of spice.  Still, this area really needs to be better.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is fairly bland, held back mainly by the scant amount of sausage.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a fairly bland appearance, which is mainly a result of the lack of toppings.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area has a nice atmosphere with some TV’s for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service was fine.

Monetary Value: Before you balk at the price, keep in mind that I ordered a 16” pizza, and it fed two people, not one like most of my pizza endeavors.  That considered, average price plus above average quality equals above average value.

The Final Judgment:

New York Pizza, Hartwell, GA version is a solid if unremarkable pizza place.  I would come here again.  Score: 80/100.

Paisano's Pizza in Washington, DC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Paisano’s Pizza

Number of Locations: around 40, mostly near Washington D.C.

Location Reviewed: 1500 Central Park Blvd. in Fredericksburg, VA (across the parking lot from the Central Park Walmart)

Website: https://www.paisanospizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: May 2018

What I Ordered: medium (12”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; fountain drink

Price: $16.78 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust has a fresh bready taste, but the texture is what really makes this crust special.  The light and fluffy texture makes this crust seem thinner than it is, and it is plenty thick enough to support all of the toppings.  This is one of the best crusts I have eaten recently.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a nice thick texture and a nice tomatoey taste.  It appears in good quantity.  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in very good quantity, and sprinkling on some of the free parmesan really adds to the flavor.  The decent amount of grease leads to a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni is pretty tasty, but the sausage steals the show: it comes in nice chunks with just the right amount of seasoning.  Both toppings appear in excellent quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste would be a rare perfect 10/10 were it not for the high amount of grease I tasted.  Score: 9.5/10.

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

Dining Atmosphere: Paisano’s Fredericksburg location has a very bright dining area with lots of big windows and nice, white tables.

Customer Service: The service was counter service, and it was excellent.

Monetary Value: This is a high quality 12” pizza, but wow do you ever pay for it: I have gotten 16” pizzas for less than the price I paid here.  You could blame the D.C. area’s confiscatory meals tax, but that would be like blaming a stale crouton for a bad salad.  On the bright side, the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

Paisano’s Pizza makes America’s capital proud.  If I lived in the D.C. area, I might not come here every week due to the price, but I would certainly come here.  Score: 90/100.

Gino’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Chesterfield, VA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Gino’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 6429 Centralia Road in Chesterfield, VA

Website: https://www.ginospizza-va.com/

Date of Review Visit: May 2018

What I Ordered: small (12”) pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $11.56 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on Gino’s pizza has a fresh bready taste, but it is too thin to support all of the pizza’s toppings.  My pizza was also slightly overbaked.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: The sauce has a nice thick texture and a yummy tomatoey taste.  It appears in good quantity.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza is slightly undercheesed, and what cheese exists has no distinctive flavor.  The cheese also produces quite a bit of grease.  This is the weakness of this pizza.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in excellent quantity and have just the right amount of spiciness.  On the down side, the sausage may be the saltiest sausage I have ever eaten on a pizza.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together pretty well, with the saltiness of the sausage being the only real detraction.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza’s appearance is nice and tidy.

Dining Atmosphere: Gino’s restaurant sports a fantastic but dimly lit casual dining area with some pop music and TV’s for entertainment.

Customer Service: The service was excellent.

Monetary Value: For a good quality 12” pizza (not the usual 10” that most restaurants call a small), this pizza is downright inexpensive.

The Final Judgment:

Gino’s is a nice pizza place in suburban Richmond.  I would come here often if I lived in the area.  Score: 85/100.

Salvatore's Pizza & Pasta in Birmingham, AL

Basic Information:

Pizza: Salvatore’s Pizza & Pasta

Number of Locations: 2, both near Birmingham, AL

Location Reviewed: 1594 Montgomery Highway in Hoover, AL (on the west side of US 31 between I-65 and I-459)

Website: https://www.salvatorespizzeria.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 2018

What I Ordered: personal (10”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni; fountain drink

Price: $13.71 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Salvatore’s is crispy and thin but not too thin.  My pizza was slightly overbaked, thus making the texture of the crust a little too hard and crispy.  This crust is not the best, but it is at least as good as average and maybe better.  Score: 7/10.

Sauce: The sauce is applied with sufficient but not too much quantity.  It has some spiciness but not too much to overpower the tomato taste.  Excellent!  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in sufficient quantity and has some flavor, but it produces a decent amount of grease.  Therefore, the usual mandatory deduction applies.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: Both the pepperoni and the sausage were just the right amount of spiciness, and they appeared in excellent quantity.  Some extra spices sprinkled on top may have been a bit too much.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: This pizza seems to have just the right amount of everything, so the overall taste is pretty appealing.  I do wish the crust was not as crispy.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The toppings really dominate the appearance, which is pretty attractive except for the uneven cut.  This pizza is served on a metal tray with a paper covering, which is a problem if you try to cut the pizza with a knife because you will also cut through the paper.

Dining Atmosphere: The small dining area is merely functional with some nice TVs, but I did notice some water-stained ceiling tiles and what appeared to be a pile of dirty dishes near the restrooms.

Customer Service: The service was counter service, and the man behind the counter did not even greet me when I walked up to the counter to order.

Monetary Value: The price is pretty high for a personal pizza and a drink.  Mitigating factors are 1) the quality of the pizza, 2) this is a 10” pizza rather than the usual 8”, and 3) the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

Salvatore’s presents an interesting mix of good pizza but poor dining atmosphere.  While it is a notch or two below the elite pizza levels, I would sanction coming here regularly.  Score: 79/100.

Bertolo's Pizza in Greenville, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Bertolo’s Pizza

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 3631 Pelham Road in Greenville, SC (in Milestone Plaza)

Website: https://bertolospizzas.com/

Date of Review Visit: January 2018

What I Ordered: medium (14”) pizza with sausage; fountain drink

Price: $15.12 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Bertolo’s Pizza features the nice thick crust that I like.  The crust has a fresh bready taste, and some cheese spilled over onto the crust adds to the flavor.  I like this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce comes in high quantity.  The sauce has a nice tomatoey taste and is not overspiced.  I found bits of onions in my sauce, and I don’t like finding bits of anything in my sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese comes in decent quantity and does not produce a lot of grease.  The cheese has very little flavor.  It is adequate but not much more.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: The ground up sausage comes in decent quantity, but it has no real flavor.  This is not some of the better sausage I have had recently.  Score: 4/10.

Overall Taste: Thanks to the blandness of the sausage, the overall taste is fairly underwhelming.  The crust and sauce save a disaster.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The thick cheese-splattered crust and dark well-baked color dominate the appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining atmosphere is purely functional with some water stains in the ceiling tiles.

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

Monetary Value: The price is higher than usual for me, but I was not alone like usual: I came here with my friend and Pastor Dave Rickerd.  Once adjusted, slightly above average quality plus average price equals slightly above average value.

The Final Judgment:

Bertolo’s is not my favorite pizza in Greenville, but it is a solid if unremarkable pizza option.  It deserves a spot in your pizza rotation, if maybe not a special one.  Score: 75/100.