Lou Malnati's Pizzeria (Pizza Review #100)

Basic Information:

Pizza: Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 81, mostly near Chicago, IL

Location Reviewed: 1050 E. Higgins Rd. in Elk Grove Village, IL

Website: https://www.loumalnatis.com/

Date of Review Visit: May 2019

What I Ordered: Personal Malnati Chicago Classic Pizza (8” deep dish sausage pizza); Coke to drink

Price: $11.99 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photos:

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: True to its name, the crust on the pizza at Lou Malnati’s is an inch thick Chicago-style butter crust baked in a pan.  They do also offer a thin crust option, but I have no idea why.  I have not yet seen anyone do this style of crust better than Malnati’s does.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza features a thick layer of sauce spread over the top.  The sauce has some chunks of tomato, which I don’t like.  However, the most important thing to me about any tomato sauce is that it tastes like tomatoes, and on that metric this sauce passes with flying colors.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese seems to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in high quantity even though I had to look for it under the thick layer of sauce.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: The sausage is an entire layer, and as you would expect on a Chicago-style pizza it appears in nice fresh chunks.  This is my favorite kind of pizza sausage.  Score: 10/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together really well.  Maybe this pizza has a little too much sauce with a few too many chunks of tomatoes.  Score: 9.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The sauce and crust dominate the appearance, as usual for a true Chicago-style pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: The Elk Grove Village location has a dark dining room that is well-decorated with antique light chandeliers and antique-looking chairs.

Customer Service: The service was friendly and excellent, but the pizza took longer to make than it should have considering they weren’t that busy when I came here at 3pm on a Wednesday.

Monetary Value: The price is reasonable for pizza of this quality.  Therefore, while this is not cheap pizza, it does offer good value.

The Final Judgment:

A Chicago classic, Lou Malnati’s ranks right up with Uno’s and LaRosa’s as my favorite pizzas available.  Score: 93/100.

Paesano's Italian Restaurant in Seneca, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: Paesano’s Italian Restaurant

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 1727 Blue Ridge Blvd. in Seneca, SC (on SR 28 just north of US 123)

Website: https://www.paesanositalian.com/

Date of Review Visit: April 2019

What I Ordered: Large (14”) sausage pizza; Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $17.71 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photo:

Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on Paesano’s pizza has a crispy texture with medium thickness.  Our pizza had some blackened areas especially underneath, so it may have been slightly overbaked.  Some corn meal adds some nice texture.  Overall, this crust is not quite perfect, but I like it.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, and the sauce is unevenly distributed across the pizza.  Also, the sauce is slightly overspiced, and it comes with a few chunks of tomatoes, which I don’t prefer.  I’ve certainly had better sauce.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: The cheese seems to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in decent quantity.  It also has the rather bland 100% mozzarella taste.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: This pizza features plenty of sausage of the ground-up variety.  The sausage has very few spices, and it tastes more like a fresh pork sausage.  The sausage also has quite a bit of salt.  I didn’t notice the saltiness much at first, but it accumulated on my taste palette the more I ate.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: The saltiness of the sausage really builds-up on the taste buds, and it keeps this score down.  The crust and cheese are the strengths of the taste.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: The large amount of ground-up sausage dominates the appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The dimly lit dining room has some nice Italian-like music playing through the speakers.  The metal silverware, real-cloth napkins, and before-dinner garlic knots are all nice touches.

Customer Service: The service was friendly and fine.

Monetary Value: The quality is OK, and the price is reasonable for a dine-in 14” one-topping pizza.  Therefore, the value is above average.

The Final Judgment:

Open only for dinner, Paesano’s offers a touch of class in rural Seneca, and it is a rather popular dinner option because it offers far more than pizza.  The food itself is satisfactory but not much more.  Score: 78/100.

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)

Photo:

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)

Photo:

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)

Photo:

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)

Photo:

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.