Newk's Eatery

Basic Information:

Pizza: Newk’s Eatery

Number of Locations: just under 100 across 12 states, mostly in the southeast

Location Reviewed: 132 SR 12 in Starkville, MS (diagonally across the parking lot from Vowell’s Market Place)

Website: https://newks.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 2019

What I Ordered: Sausage and pepperoni pizza with a fountain drink

Price: $13.06 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on the pizza at Newk’s Eatery is the pleasant combination of thin underneath but thicker around the edge.  Corn meal baked into the crust adds some nice texture, and the crust has a fresh bready taste.  I like it.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, but what sauce does appear has a fresh tomatoey taste.  Newk’s does offer the option of adding diced tomatoes as a topping at no extra cost, which I declined.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in decent quantity, but it produces a decent amount of grease.  Thus, there is the usual mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni appears in thin slices and is slightly spicy but unremarkable.  The sausage steals the show: I would classify it as a sweet Italian sausage, and it comes in nice fresh chunks with tremendous flavor.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The sausage really makes the taste, but the crust and sauce do their parts too.  Only the extra grease holds this score back.  Score: 9/10.

Pizza Appearance: The large amounts of sausage and grease dominate the appearance.  They also toss some sliced herbs on the pizza, and I promptly removed them.  It’s not the best look, but I’ve seen worse.

Dining Atmosphere: The Starkville location has a large dining room with an open air kitchen that allows you to see your pizza as it is being made.

Customer Service: The service was quick and fine.

Monetary Value: The quality is quite good, but the price is fairly high.  Newk’s only makes personal pizzas, so you gain no economies of scale by ordering a larger size.  They also offer other dishes, mostly sandwiches, but not as many as you would expect for a diner named an eatery.

The Final Judgment:

For a “non-pizza” place, Newk’s Eatery makes a surprisingly good pizza.  If they had a location near my home, I may not come here regularly due to the price, but I would definitely come here.  Score: 86/100.

Lost Pizza Company in Columbus, MS

Basic Information:

Pizza: Lost Pizza Company

Number of Locations: around 30 across 6 states; based in Mississippi

Location Reviewed: 2009 Highway 45 in Columbus, MS (in Jackson Square strip mall)

Website: https://lostpizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: March 2019

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

Price: $10.37 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Lost Pizza offers two crust options, thick and thin.  As no surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog, I chose thick.  The thick option is a nice pan crust like you would find on a good Chicago-style pizza.  My pizza seemed slightly overbaked, so the crust was maybe a little too crispy.  That somewhat outstanding, I like this style of crust.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, but what sauce does appear has a thick texture and robust tomatoey taste.  This is a good sauce, but the pizza needs more of it.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in decent quantity, and it produces very little grease.  The cheese “blend” seems to be 100% mozzarella, so the flavor is a little bland until you sprinkle on some parmesan.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni is a little spicy, but not as spicy as the chunks of Italian sausage, which are a little spicier than I prefer for my sausage.  Nevertheless, I would rather have slightly too spicy than the flavorless pellets some pizza places call sausage.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The spiciness of the sausage is a little strong, but the extra layer of spices sprinkled over the top is too much.  I had heartburn the night after eating here, and I almost never get heartburn.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks exactly like what a deep dish Chicago-style pizza should look like.

Dining Atmosphere: The Columbus, MS location has a nice dining atmosphere with antiques on the walls and TVs for entertainment.

Customer Service: The counter service was quiet and reserved but satisfactory.

Monetary Value: This pizza is good quality, and the price is pretty low for pizza this good.  The counter service even saves money on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

I like Lost Pizza, but I wish they would tone down the spices a little.  Score: 87/100.

Mama Minto's Pizzeria in Iva, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Mama Minto’s Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 109 E. Broad St. in Iva, SC

Website: https://www.facebook.com/mamamintospizzeria/

Date of Review Visit: February 2019

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

Price: $9.81 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Mama Minto’s has a fresh bready taste, and my pizza was baked to golden brown perfection.  This crust might be too bulky for this style of pizza, but that’s my personal preference.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza has almost no sauce, which is typical for a New York style pizza.  What little sauce it does have is not overspiced, and it has a nice smooth texture.  This sauce isn’t bad, but the pizza needs more of it.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in very high quantity, but the cheese and/or the pepperoni produce a decent amount of grease.  A thick layer of parmesan cheese covers the top of the pizza, and the parmesan’s taste overpowers the rest of the cheese (and most of the rest of the pizza).  That’s too bad because the rest of the cheese is pretty good.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: The sausage is rather uninspiring: it carries a slight sweet flavor but nothing else.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices and has just the right amount of spiciness.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: The cheese and pepperoni ensure that the overall taste is quite robust.  This score is held back only by the overpowering parmesan cheese.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The parmesan cheese gives the pizza a very white appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room is cozy and functional, which is typical for a small-town pizzeria.

Customer Service: The service was friendly and excellent.

Monetary Value: This pizza is good quality, and the price is down right inexpensive for pizza this good.

The Final Judgment:

Small town pizzerias can be hit and miss, but this one is more hit than miss.  If you find yourself passing through Iva, SC, Mama Minto’s is worth a stop.  Score: 86/100.

OPS Pizza Kitchen and Cafe in Kingsland, GA

Basic Information:

Pizza: OPS Pizza Kitchen and Cafe

Number of Locations: 3, all in northeast Florida or southeast Georgia)

Location Reviewed: 1378 Boone Ave. in Kingsland, GA (just east of I-95 exit 3)

Website: https://www.opspizza.com/

Date of Review Visit: December 2018

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

Price: $12.40 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: OPS bills its pizza as a New York style thin crust pizza, but while the crust is indeed thin the pizza looks and tastes more like a wood-fired pizza.  The thin crust has a nice crispy texture.  Only a lack of flavor leads to a minor deduction.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza has almost no sauce, which is typical for a New York style pizza.  What little sauce it does have tastes slightly spicy almost like salsa.  This is not my favorite style of sauce.  Score: 2/10.

Cheese: The cheese appears in high quantity and does not produce much grease.  The 100% mozzarella cheese “blend” also does not have much flavor.  Even sprinkling on some parmesan helps only a little.  Score: 7/10.

Toppings: Both toppings appear in decent quantity, but that’s where the good news ends.  The sausage is slightly spicy but comes in flavorless tiny ground chunks.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices and is also fairly flavorless.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is rather lackluster, as nothing really adds any distinct flavor.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a solid appearance with an even cut.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining atmosphere resembles a sports bar with lots of TV’s big and small tuned to sports programming and 80’s rock music blaring through the speakers.

Customer Service: The service was attentive and fine.

Monetary Value: The price is fairly expensive for a 10” pizza, and the quality is not that great.  Therefore, the value is not that great.

The Final Judgment:

A decent regional pizza option but nothing more, OPS is OK in my book (but only OK).  Score: 69/100.

Dolce Vita Italian Bistro Pizzeria in Anderson, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Dolce Vita Italian Bistro Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 3823 SR 81 in Anderson, SC (2 miles south of I-85 exit 27)

Website: https://www.dolcevitasc.com/

Date of Review Visit: October 2018

What I Ordered: Three Little Pigs Pizza (14” pepperoni, sausage, and bacon pizza); Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $18.73 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Dolce Vita has medium thickness, but what really steals the show is the crust’s texture.  It is thin and crispy underneath, while it is crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside around the edges.  The pizza looks underbaked due to the white sauce described in the next criterion, but in fact my pizza was baked to perfection.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: Dolce Vita uses an odd white garlic sauce rather than the usual red tomato-based sauce.  The sauce did not taste the least bit garlicy, which for me is a plus: I do not like the taste of garlic.  The flavor was zesty for the most part, but occasionally I got a bite that was too spicy for my taste palette, probably due to spices in the sauce.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: This pizza’s tasty cheddar and mozzarella blend appears in great quantity but does not produce much grease.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: All toppings have a fresh taste, but none of them are even slightly spicy.  The sausage even had a little pink in it.  The bacon was not too crispy or salty, which is rare.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is quite different due to the sauce but also quite good.  The occasional over-spicing in the sauce is all that holds this score back.  Score: 9.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a very white appearance due to the white sauce and the large amount of cheese.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining atmosphere has a touch of upscale class: real metal silverware and Italian music playing through the speakers.  Alcoholic beverages are a main feature on the menu, so the dining room might get loud later in the evening.

Customer Service: Note that Dolce Vita is only open 4-10pm on most days.  The service was a little slow to refill my Dr. Pepper but fairly attentive overall.

Monetary Value: The quality is excellent, but it is expensive even for a 14” pizza.  They only make one size of pizza (14”), so bring a friend or be prepared for leftovers.

The Final Judgment:

Anderson just got a nice new entry in the upscale pizza space.  I may not come here weekly due to the price, but Dolce Vita is an excellent if slightly different choice for those special pizza occasions.  Score: 89/100.

Monical’s Pizza Restaurant

Basic Information:

Pizza: Monical’s Pizza Restaurant

Number of Locations: around 60 across 4 states; based just south of Chicago

Location Reviewed: 850 W. Main Street in El Paso, IL (I-39 exit 14)

Website: https://www.monicals.com/

Date of Review Visit: August 2018

What I Ordered: 8” pan pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $9.46 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Monical’s offers 2 crust options: thin and pan.  As will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog, I chose pan.  The pan crust is thick but not super thick, and it has a nice crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside texture.  Overall, this is a pretty good pan crust.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The tomato in the logo suggests that the sauce will be the strength of this pizza, and the tomato tells the truth.  The sauce has a thick consistency, appears in high quantity, and has a nice tomatoey taste.  What more could you want?  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza does not have a ton of cheese, but it produces a lot of grease.  As good as the sauce is, the cheese is equally bad.  Score: 3/10.

Toppings: The sausage appears in small chunks but has no flavor whatsoever.  The pepperoni comes in thin slices with just a little spice.  There is also a “topping” of spices sprinkled all of the pizza; I never care for this many spices.  The two real toppings appear in decent but not overwhelming quantity.  Score: 6/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste is very underwhelming.  The sauce saves what could be a disaster.  Score: 6.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a nice crust-dominated pan pizza appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Monical’s has a nice dining room with antique sports equipment hanging on the walls, but the entire room smelled like beer.  The independent Baptist I am does not like that smell.

Customer Service: The service seemed rushed even though they were not super busy on my visit.

Monetary Value: This is not the best pizza around, but it is pretty cheap.  Therefore, the value is pretty good.

The Final Judgment:

Monical’s is definitely not elite, but it has some things going for it.  I would stop at Monical’s again if I found myself near one.  Score: 73/100.

Sal’s on Fifth in Minneapolis, MN

Basic Information:

Pizza: Sal’s on Fifth

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 10 N. 5^th St. in Minneapolis, MN (near the corner of 5^th St. and Hennepin Ave.)

Website: https://www.salsonfifthmenu.com/

Date of Review Visit: August 2018

What I Ordered: 2 slices of meatlovers pizza; Coke to drink

Price: $12.05 (includes drink and tax)

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Summary Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Like many downtown pizza places, Sal’s sells reheated pizza by the slice.  The pizza has a thin but crispy crust.  Reheated pizza usually has a very tough crust, but this crust has just the right amount of crispiness.  Crust is never the strength of this kind of pizza, but this crust scores better than most in its category.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have a lot of sauce, but the sauce does have a nice, fresh, tomatoey flavor.  Again, this criterion is better than you would expect for this kind of pizza.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: This pizza does not have much cheese, and the cheese does not have much flavor.  This pizza does have a lot of grease, but the extra toppings on the meatlovers pizza might contribute to that.  Score: 4/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni and sausage are pretty tasty with just the right amount of spice.  The ham is nice and tender.  The bacon adds very little.  All toppings appear in good quantity.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: Sal’s offers a lot of specialty pies, and the meatlovers is quite flavorful except for the grease.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: Sal’s serves slices of pizza on paper plates, one plate per slice.  The slices are about the same size, which makes things fair.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining atmosphere is the usual crowded downtown environment, but Sal’s has a larger dining area than most downtown pizza places.

Customer Service: The service was impersonal, and I struggled to communicate with the men behind the counter.

Monetary Value: Sal’s has better quality than most reheat by the slice pizza places, but it is also much more expensive.  Therefore, the value is not that great.

The Final Judgment:

The pizza was pretty good but pricey; the service was horrible.  I’m not sure I would come here again, but only due to the service.  Score: 73/100.