MrJims.Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: MrJims.Pizza
Number of Locations: around 50 across 6 states, most numerably Texas

Location Reviewed: 2523 Grand Ave. Unit A in Laramie, WY (east end of UW Plaza)
Website: https://mrjims.pizza/
Date of Review Visit: July 2021
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with sausage and pepperoni; 20-ounce Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $12.89 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at MrJims.Pizza has medium thickness.  It has a nice crispy-on-the-outside but chewy-on-the-inside texture, although mine was a little too crispy.  This crust is solid, but considering MrJims.Pizza's motto is "It's the crust," I was expecting more from this crust.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, but the sauce that does appear has a nice tomatoey taste.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese seems to be 100% mozzarella.  It appears in decent quantity, but it produces lots of grease and offers little real flavor.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: The pepperoni is unremarkable.  The sausage comes in crispy small chunks with just a little spiciness.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: The overall taste could have been very bland, but the slight spicy flavor of the sausage saves the day.  The crust helps too in its own way.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza's appearance is dominated by the crust and toppings, but it is served on a pan that is way too large for the pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining area consists of just a few tables; it is purely functional.

Customer Service: The service was friendly and quick.

Monetary Value: While not cheap pizza, the price is reasonable for decent quality pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Laramie is a college town, and MrJims.Pizza is slightly better than your average college town pizza.  Maybe one day it will earn a terminal degree and become DrJims.Pizza.  Score: 77/100.

Roma Italian Restaurant in Harrison, AR

Basic Information:

Pizza: Roma Italian Restaurant
Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 1320 Highway 62/65 N in Harrison, AR (beside Super 8)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/RomaRestaurantHarrison/
Date of Review Visit: May 2021
What I Ordered: small (12") pizza with Italian sausage and Canadian bacon; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $15.66 (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 Roma Italian Restaurant has a classic crispy on the outside but nice and fluffy on the inside texture.  This is not Chicago-style thick crust, but it is slightly thicker than average.  Overall, I really like this crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza does not have a lot of sauce, and the sauce that does appear has a strong garlic taste.  The garlic taste is way too strong for my palette.  Score: 6/10.

Cheese: The cheese is a tasty blend of mozzarella and Romano, and it appears in high quantity while producing little grease.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The sausage is a little bland, but the Canadian bacon tastes like nice fresh ham.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The heavy garlic flavor in the sauce really weighs down the overall taste on what is otherwise an excellent pizza.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: This pizza has a nice well-balanced appearance that is very white due to the cheese.  

Dining Atmosphere: Roma's has a large dining room with cloth napkins and other touches of class.

Customer Service: The service was quick and friendly.

Monetary Value: This pizza is not cheap, but the price is reasonable given the high quality.  Therefore, the value is pretty good.

 

The Final Judgment:

Roma's is a great pizza option if you like garlic.  I don't like garlic, so I think it is good but not great.  Still, I wish I lived closer to Harrison, AR so I could come here more often.  Score: 88/100.

La Torcia Brick Oven Pizza Company in Arkansas/Texas

Basic Information:

Pizza: La Torcia Brick Oven Pizza Company
Number of Locations: 15 across 3 states
Website: https://www.brickovenpizzacompany.com/
Location: 814 US 62 in Harrison, AR (beside Sofa City)
Date of Review Visit: May 2021
What I Ordered: 10" pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $17.45 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Most brick oven pizzas feature a thin and crispy crust, and I was expecting such here.  However, it turns out I got only the crispy part.  This crust has plenty of body, and I found it to be an unexpectedly good crust.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: The sauce does not have a lot of taste, tomato or otherwise.  It appears in high quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese is supposed to be a five cheese blend, but it tasted like plain mozzarella to me.  The cheese appears in high quantity and does not produce much grease.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The Italian sausage is nice: it comes in big chunks and is just a little spicy but not too spicy.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  Both toppings appear in sufficient quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Overall Taste: The Italian sausage saves what would otherwise be a very bland overall taste.  Score: 7/10.

Pizza Appearance: Brick Oven Pizza Company serves its pizza in a nice pan, maybe a thicker pan than necessary.

Dining Atmosphere: The location in Harrison offers a nice dining area with a typical casual dining atmosphere.

Customer Service: The service was quick and friendly.

Monetary Value: This pizza is not cheap, but it is not too expensive for brick oven pizza even if this is not a typical brick oven pizza.  Thus, the value is OK but not great.

 

The Final Judgment:

This pizza was not what I expected from a brick oven pizza place, but it is not bad.  That being said, in Harrison, AR I prefer nearby Roma's Italian Restaurant over Brick Oven Pizza Company.  Score: 80/100.

Michelli's Pizzeria in West Melbourne, FL

Basic Information:

Pizza: Michelli's Pizzeria
Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 145 Palm Bay Road NE in West Melbourne, FL (beside Publix)
Website: http://www.michellispizza.com/
Date of Review Visit: January 2021
What I Ordered: small (10") pizza with sausage and pepperoni, 2 16.9 ounce Dr. Pepper's to drink
Price: $15.27 (includes drinks and tax)

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Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: Michelli's Pizzeria makes thin crust New York style pizza.  The crust is nice and crispy on the outside but a little soggy and droopy underneath.  While not terrible, I have had plenty of better crusts than this one.  Score: 6/10.

Sauce: The sauce appears in decent quantity and has a nice tomatoey taste.  What's not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Cheese: This pizza does not have a lot of cheese, but it does produce a decent amount of grease.  Therefore, this cheese is not the best.  Score: 5/10.

Toppings: The sausage is excellent: it comes in nice big slices with just a little spiciness.  The pepperoni is more mundane.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The sauce and toppings work together very well, and the crust and cheese do not get in the way too much.  I like the overall taste of this pizza.  Score: 9/10.

Pizza Appearance: As usual for a thin crust pizza, the toppings dominate this pizza's appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room was closed due to Covid-19 on my visit, but it looked like nothing more than a couple of tables with chairs.

Customer Service: The service was OK but not particularly helpful at decoding the somewhat complicated menu.

Monetary Value: This pizza has fairly high quality, but the price is high, even when you factor in the two drinks.  Therefore, the value is below average.

The Final Judgment:

I was amazed by how many New York-style pizzas there are on Florida's east coast these days.  Michelli's is not the worst of the lot, but I like nearby N.Y. Pizza Spot more.  Score: 75/100.

N.Y. Pizza Spot in West Melbourne, FL

Basic Information:

Pizza: N.Y. Pizza Spot
Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 2231 W. New Haven Ave. in West Melbourne, FL

Website: http://nypizzaspot.com/
Date of Review Visit: January 2021
What I Ordered: 2 slices of Sicilian crust pizza with sausage and pepperoni; Mr. Pibb 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: N.Y. Pizza Spot offers 2 crust styles: hand-tossed and Sicilian.  I chose the latter, which is a true Sicilian thick crust.  The pizza looks blackened and very overbaked, but in fact mine was only slightly overbaked.  The crust has a nice crispy-on-the-outside chewy-on-the-inside texture.  I like this crust a lot even though it may be a little too crispy.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: This pizza has a nice amount of tomato sauce, but the sauce is slightly overspiced.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: This pizza features plenty of cheese, and it seems to be 100% mozzarella.  The cheese also does not produce much grease, and therefore it is excellent.  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: The thin slices of sausage are a little spicy but not overly spicy.  The same is true with the pepperoni.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 10/10.

Overall Taste: Everything works together pretty well.  Maybe there is too much spiciness when combining the sauce and the toppings.  Also, the blackened crust is a little too crispy.  Score: 8/10.

Pizza Appearance: The blackened crust somewhat tarnishes the pizza's appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: The restaurant has a small dining area with some TV's for entertainment and pictures of New York City on the walls.

Customer Service: The service was prompt and attentive on my visit.

Monetary Value: This pizza is high quality at a reasonable price, and therefore it offers above average value even though the price is not cheap.

The Final Judgment:

I like Sicilian pizza, and N.Y. Pizza Spot makes a pretty good one.  I'm not sure how New York this pizza is, but I like it regardless.  Score: 88/100.

House of Pizza in Belton, SC

Basic Information:

Pizza: House of Pizza
Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 205 N. Main Street in Belton, SC (2 blocks north of the intersection of US 76 and SR 20)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Pizza-Place/House-of-Pizza-126689060719973/
Date of Review Visit: December 2020
What I Ordered: Small (10") pizza with pepperoni and sausage; Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $10.85 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
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Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at House of Pizza is somewhat thin but not super thin.  It has a crisp and crunchy texture, and my pizza was baked to a perfect golden brown.  This crust is not distinctive enough to earn a super high score, but it is pretty good.  Score: 8/10.

Sauce: The sauce is slightly overspiced: I tasted more spices than tomatoes.  It does appear in high quantity.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese has no remarkable taste, but it does appear in medium to high quantity.  The cheese also produces a decent amount of grease.  Score: 6/10.

Toppings: The sausage has a fresh taste even though I am pretty sure it had been frozen.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 8/10.

Overall Taste: The fresh taste of the sausage stands out, but overall the taste is still a little bland.  Score: 7.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza has a nice tidy appearance dominated by the abundant toppings.

Dining Atmosphere: House of Pizza offers a casual dining atmosphere with a TV and a jukebox.

Customer Service: I was the only customer in the dining area, but the service was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: For pizza this good, the price is down right cheap.  You can get an even better deal if you order 2 pizzas and take advantage of their quantity discount.

 

The Final Judgment:

Better than the average small town pizza, House of Pizza in Belton is a nice inexpensive pizza option.  I go to Belton every few months, and I will come here again.  Score: 84/100.

Red Elephant Pizza and Grill in Dothan, AL

Basic Information:

Pizza: Red Elephant Pizza and Grill
Number of Locations: 2, one in Tallahassee, FL and one in Dothan, AL

Location Reviewed: 3108 Ross Clark Circle in Dothan, AL (on the west side of Dothan near US 84)

Website: https://redelephantpizza.com/index.php

Date of Review Visit: December 2020

What I Ordered: Individual (8") pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni, Dr. Pepper to drink

Price: $11.96 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

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Summary Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Red Elephant is a true southern thin crust.  It has a nice crispy texture, and my pizza was baked just the right amount.  I like it.  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: There is not a lot of sauce on this pizza.  What sauce there is has a pasty texture and does not offer much flavor.  Score: 5/10.

Cheese: This pizza has a moderate amount of cheese, and it does not produce much grease.  Therefore, I like this cheese more than moderately much.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: The sausage appears in tiny crumbles; it is spicy but provides no real flavor.  Likewise the pepperoni adds little flavor.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 5/10.

Overall Taste: This pizza leaves spiciness but not much else on the taste palette, so this score leaves somewhat to be desired.  Score: 6/10.

Pizza Appearance: The pizza looks like the nice thin crust pizza it is.

Dining Atmosphere: Red Elephant has a nice dining area with some video games for younger patrons or young-at-heart patrons.

Customer Service: The service was quick and attentive.

Monetary Value: The quality is decent, and the price is relatively low.  Therefore, the value is pretty high.

The Final Judgment:

There are some things to like about Red Elephant (even if you are not a Crimson Tide fan), but in Dothan I like nearby Mama Rosa's a little more.  Score: 76/100.