Has anybody noticed this about franchise pizza?

I

Ilovetoolsteel

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Jul 28, 2003
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Has Anyone noticed that all of the big franchise pizza chains, NONE of them were started by Italians? or in places with large italian communities?

Pizza hut, Dan and Frank Carney, Wichita KS.

Dominos, Tom Monaghan, Ann Arbor Michigan

Pappa Johns, John Schnatter, Jeffersonville IN.

Llttle Ceasers, Mike Illich, Detroit

Chuckee Cheese, Nolan Bushnell, San Jose, CA

California Pizza Kitchen, Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield, Beverly Hills, CA
 
None of those chains are really like pizza you would buy from some Italian guy's shop in NY.

I never really thought about who the founders of those chains were, but it's not surprising. Their pizza kind of sucks.
 
Pizza-like substances they are.
Come to NYC for the real thing :D
 
If you're ever in Perry, NY(can't imagine why, though), stop by Daryl's Pizzeria and I'll serve you up the best pizza this side of NYC, and the best wings ANYWHERE(we use the Anchor Bar recipe).

IMO, with the exception of pizza hut pan pizza, the chain pizzas are all garbage. But that's what you get when you make your pizzas with minimum wage employees.
 
Carl64 said:
None of those chains are really like pizza you would buy from some Italian guy's shop in NY.

I never really thought about who the founders of those chains were, but it's not surprising. Their pizza kind of sucks.
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Little Ceasers made a good pizza back in the 1970's and early 80"s Now you can get a better pizza in North Korea.

Dominos was good back then too but something bad happened in the 80's The Conveyor Oven
 
Pizza Hut and Dominoes both make a fine pizza (except that deep dish crap). The WORST pizza is that Uno stuff. Horrible! It's like tomato flavored Pop Tarts. There are three really good small pizza places around here- fresh dough, thin crust, light cheese and sauce, plenty of toppings.
 
Can anyone tell me if the Leaning Tower pizza place is still there just north of Chicago ?? It's designed after the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
 
The best pizza I've had (I've never been to NYC...) was actually in Anacortes Washington... some big deep thing with tons of baked cheese. My favorite chain is Pizza Chef, although they closed the store here. Not too shabby, but nowhere near the caliber of that Anacortes pie.
 
NeedleRemorse;CODE]Pizza Hut and Dominoes both make a fine pizza (except that deep dish crap).[/CODE]

I don't know, dude. Every dominoe's pizza I've ever had has been pretty sub par. The only reason I like Pizza Hut pan pizza is because it's practically deep-fried(have you ever seen how much oil they put in the pan?). Deep frying makes EVERYTHING good. Everything. Dog poo, wood chips, insects, everything.
 
The only chain pizza I have had that even resembled a real pizza is Vocelli's Neapolitan.
 
I'm NOT a big fan of NY style pizza, but I grew up in CA in the 60's and 70's where chains like Straw Hat and Shakey's were making a very delicious and different type of pizza. Spicier, with a thin crust and scrumptious thin-sliced mushrooms instead of those thick sluglike pieces you get from the ubiquitous New York Pizzerias.

This is a good example of a non-Italian chain making great pizza! And the last time I tried Pizza Hut or Domino's, it was much closer to the California style pizza I grew up eating. This may be why New Yorkers hate it.

I once had pizza in PA and asked for black olives, the guy had never heard of black olives on a pizza. (!)

Anyway, I once spent a few days in Taranto, Italy when I was in the service. We ordered pizza a few times, and other than the fact that they cut it up like a tic-tac-toe, it tasted very similar to NY style pizza. So I guess NY Pizza really is the closest to real Italian.
 
Dominoes and Papa Johns suck the worst IMO. Spray painted cardboard. There was a memo leaked a few years back about PJ's cutting their pepperoni 20% thinner to save bucks.

Pizza hut and Uno's Can be ok, but there is tremendous variation.

I'd had some pretty good Papa Ginos.

My favorite kind of pizza is "Pizza King" style, but sadly there aren't any in the NE as far as I know.

I used to like Godfathers pizza, but I think they are all closed.
 
A number of years ago, there was a chain out of South Florida called Cozzolis that was about as pure NYC as a chain could get. We have had two local chains in Tampa that used to make ok pizza. Lenny and Vinny's, but they put chucky sauce on a NY style pizza and Westshore Pizza.
Ad another to the list of chain pizza jint not started by Italians.
Hungry Howies, Jim Hearn, Somewhere in the Detroit area.
By the way......when I was in New York, an old school chum to me to Lombardi's, whihc issupposedly the original pizza joint in the US and has a line around the block. I was singularly unimpressed. The sauce tasted like it has a cup of sugar in it and their wewre slices of cheese and a basil leaf on my pizza.
 
It's getting more mixed up .I Scotland they make haggis pizza and somewhere here they make kimchee pizza !!!
 
Local foods are local foods I guess , whats popular in NY and Chicago might not turn out to well here or elsewhere.
I've had bad pizza and good pizza in all styles , personally I'd rather have a frozen pizza ala DiGiorno than some of the sit down pizzas I've had in restaraunts. At least I know what I'm getting :D

Most folks here will tell you the best pizza is a famous local chain called
Me and Ed's , it's been around for decades and IMO it is horrible, thin crust , not my cup of tea.
 
Unos is the best chain pizza I've had around MD. Everywhere else is crap. Chain restaurant speaking.

Home town pizzerias are turning into crap too. I know every sub shop and pizzeria from the eastern shore of MD to western PA, and the good ones have either gone out of business or the quality of their food has gone down. There was a place called Grannys Pizza in Ocean City MD, they had the absolute best sweet peppers I've ever had, they went out of business. No one left within driving distance except for an Unos, and their deep dish has gone down in my opinion. I've gotten pie at joints in southern Jersey, and they were crap. I thought Jersey was just another borough of NY ;), so they should at least have good pie. I guess it's like towns near Philly, they should have a good cheese steak... :D My favorite toppings are mushrooms, sweet peppers and onions, and not many places can pull that off well. There are three pizza parlors in the town north of me, Stewartstown, and not one of them can put out a good pie. Hell, the one place can trace its heritage back to a small town in Sicily, know cast members on the Sopranos, and they even have good looking waitresses (the reason I've gone back there ;)).

The store brand pizzas have gotten better than the private owned shops!
 
There used to be a great NY style Pizza place on the north end of Taos, NM called Outback Pizza. I haven't been there in about 15 years, so it may be gone.
 
I prefer the white pizzas at Round Table. Their red sauce pizzas are not too bad either but locations vary. Tried Mountain Mike's on a trip to Yosemite a coupla weeks back and they were pretty fair as well. What is an authentic pizza anyway?? Hell, Italians didn't even make a good Italian pizza as most of us know or imagine it until the tomato immigrated from the new world.....can anyone picture Italian cuisine without tomatoes???? :eek:



DaveH said:
Papa Johns suck the worst IMO. Spray painted cardboard.
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Spray painted cardboard??? That's a definite step up in the world of pizza for them.............


:D
j
 
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