Has anybody noticed this about franchise pizza?

know whats funny-
i can go 2 miles on rt11 north or south from my house and find over a dozen places to buy a cooked pizza-i did a quick count in my head and came up with 15 but i know i missed something -
 
Should you ever find yourself in Athens, Ohio (possibly around Halloween...) you must try the Goodfellas pizza. Somewhat expensive but worth every bite. It's even good when you aren't drunk at 3 am!
 
Any chain with more than a few stores is bound to be crap. Best bet is to take a chance and try local places, even if you've never heard of them before. While I'll admit to getting Pizza Hut or Dominos (rarely) once in a while, when I order delivery, I go with a local "chain" (4 stores) called Frescos. It's quite good, and they really take care of their customers. A local store or chain should take care of its customers, because unlike the big companies, they don't have much in the way of local advertising, and zilch for broader advertising.

For the record, I've worked for one of the major chains for nearly 9 years, and I can honestly say without modesty or exaggeration that I make a damn good pizza. But you can only do so much with the ingredients you're given, and even I only eat our pizza when I'm left with no other option (and going hungry is usually an option). Not that it's particularily bad, it's just I've worked there for 9 years. I often prefer crap like Dominos or Pizza Hut simply because it's different.

My favorite "chain" is Lou Malnati's (Chicago based). Old Chicago ain't bad, but it doesn't do real chicago pizza true justice.
 
In the resort town of Ocean City (Ocean Sh**ty to some, myself included), has no good pizza parlors left. There is a highly advertised place called Pizza Tugos, that is absolute crap, every other commercial is for them. Driving past their outlets on Coastal Highway, there is always a line going out the door for their "wares" (can't even call it food).
 
Ever notice that if you order say two topping pizza, you don't get 2x the toppings? More like 1.5x the toppings?

If you order a three topping pizza, you still get 1.5x the toppings of a one topping pizza? So more toppings are nothing but pure rip off profit! I think that's the biggest rip off secret in the pizza industry.

That or that most places uses extended sausage (eg various percentage "filler" and not meat).
 
I'll go and have been to Italy for the real thing. Ate it every night for two weeks and never tired of eating the pies.

I'll go and have been to NY for NY style and Chicago for Chicago style.

I'm not entirely against chain pizzerias as I do order it from Round Table or Mountain Mikes here in California. It's good pizza for delivery. I wouldn't compare it to the particular homemade styles above but I do enjoy it from time to time, especially with a nice quality uncooked anchovy fillet on each slice.

Think about all the styles and techniques of cooking that have evolved from different cultures. Think of all the spices and produce seeds that have exchanged hands over the centuries. Culinary advancements wouldn't be possible without the exchanging of ideas. Greek food would be bland and so would other counties foods as well. When I eat good pasta I don't say, "well, you need to go to China for the real thing." It has it's place just as CPK, Round Table and Pizza Hut have their place in pizza.
 
DaveH said:
Ever notice that if you order say two topping pizza, you don't get 2x the toppings? More like 1.5x the toppings?

If you order a three topping pizza, you still get 1.5x the toppings of a one topping pizza? So more toppings are nothing but pure rip off profit! I think that's the biggest rip off secret in the pizza industry.
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This is true. At my place, if you order just sausage on a 14", you get one cup (not the measurement "cup", just a couple of whatever size the cup is). 3/4 cup if it's 3-4 toppings, and 1/2 cup if it's more than 5.

There is a reason for this though (beyond profits): Too much crap on the pizza and the pizza won't cook properly. Particularily the cheese won't melt fully. Nor will the cheese fully cover everything. So you'd need more cheese, but you'd need it to cook longer, but that'll burn the crust. What would have to be done to cook the pizza properly is to reduce the oven temperature and cook longer, but since the ovens work on a conveyer, and you can't slow down your whole production just to cook one pizza, you have to make conscessions to provide a uniform product.

If you ordered the supreme style pizza, which has 7 toppings, the topping amount for each is half what you'd get if you just wanted one of the toppings. It might sound like a rip-off not getting the "full" amount, but trust me, the pizza simply won't work if you put that much crap on it.
 
For hungry broke college kids, I have to say dominos isnt that bad. Well its also the closest cheap pizza for me when im on campus anyways. Get a 555 deal and every one chips in 7 dollars and gets enough food to fill up. I think the only time I ever had really good dominos pizza was when the delivery guy made the mistake of giving our order to some other kids and then he drove back to the store and came right back. The pizza was still bubbling hot that after we got it I had to wait a bit so i wouldnt burn the inside of my mouth. Also helped that we got free soda. As for pizza hut, I dont like the full size pizza that much but I wont say no to a personal size pizza or 3.

All in all, I would prefer a few slices (although more expensive) from most of the small pizza places in Brooklyn than a whole pie from a franchise.

I have to say maybe its because of the conveyor oven. But then again, the conveyor oven does fulfill its goal of making a very consistant pizza every single time. Of course, if it makes a consistant pizza and it tastes like crap then they'll all consistantly taste like crap.

Also a little fun bit of info my economics teacher told my class. In NYC the price for a plain slice of pizza usually equals the price of bus/subway fare. I dont know how true it is since im not really old or anything, but from what ive seen in my short life it seems to be true.
 
Also a little fun bit of info my economics teacher told my class. In NYC the price for a plain slice of pizza usually equals the price of bus/subway fare. I dont know how true it is since im not really old or anything, but from what ive seen in my short life it seems to be true.
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That is very true.
And I think we are due for a fare hike...the last 2 slices I bought were $2.25 :eek:

For anyone visiting NYC try Too Boots in the Rockefeller Center "underground" Good stuff. For a real treat get a whole pie with garlic.
It'll get ya some room on the subway ;)
 
The other thing I was thinking while reading this : KFC tasted better when I was a kid. Now I think about it, Its ME, my taste buds that are different, so stuff doesn't taste as good as it did when I was a kid.
 
That likely has some truth to it, but KFC really does taste very different since the Colonel sold it. The current owners have different priorities.
 
The other thing I was thinking while reading this : KFC tasted better when I was a kid. Now I think about it, Its ME, my taste buds that are different, so stuff doesn't taste as good as it did when I was a kid.
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A lot of the loss of taste that people notice with age also has to do with losing sensitivity to smell. Or maybe you're just glorifying the good ole days :D
 
Planterz said:
There is a reason for this though (beyond profits): Too much crap on the pizza and the pizza won't cook properly. Particularily the cheese won't melt fully. Nor will the cheese fully cover everything. So you'd need more cheese, but you'd need it to cook longer, but that'll burn the crust. What would have to be done to cook the pizza properly is to reduce the oven temperature and cook longer, but since the ovens work on a conveyer, and you can't slow down your whole production just to cook one pizza, you have to make conscessions to provide a uniform product.

If you ordered the supreme style pizza, which has 7 toppings, the topping amount for each is half what you'd get if you just wanted one of the toppings. It might sound like a rip-off not getting the "full" amount, but trust me, the pizza simply won't work if you put that much crap on it.
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Tell that to Ye Olde Pizza Joynt on Hesperian in Hayward CA. You can't see the pizza through the toppings and cheese snappy strings a ton with each bite. Their pizzas form a small arc in cross section due the stuff heaped on em. They used old brick ovens - no conveyors - and everything was cooked through and through. Check this review: Ye Olde Pizza Joynt (It also links to their web site.) Unfortunately there was a fire in 2003 that damaged the facility and the fantastic Wurlitzer organ - whose pipes and percussion instruments surrounded the interior - and I'm not sure if they've reopened.) This is/was pizza and good times the way it is meant to be but therein lies the key and back to your point - it is about fast food chain pizza and profit.

To make a decent pizza most of the chains have confused quality and replaced it with speed of delivery, profit, and efficiency to appease our me now soccer mom tastes. Some, like Mountain Mikes and Round Table, still use quality products and turn out a somewhat decent pie but they remain small chains due to pricing and wait times.

As for the national chains all iI can say is, caccati in mano e prenditi a schiaffi, and you'll have the same effect. Papa John would turn any surviving progeny into raving psychotics with the unnatural combination of purported natural ingredients they use on their imitation shingles. (And DaveH's term, extended sausage, sounds more like a biological result of viewing Jessica Alba naked on my sofa and yes, that would be a meat fill-her :D). Assembly line appetizer, main course, and desert pizzas rule at CiCi's for a cheap price and a truly mediocre dining experience (the kids love it though and hence the cycle of tastelessness continues). Pizza Hut.....ehhhhhh average taste for an average pie. Godfathers.....ditto. Domino's......haven't had any in years but it sounds like they've improved on a pie that was a paragon of culinary mediocrity so I won't comment on current. Little Caeser's....Pizza! Pizza!.....Not! Not! :barf:

Shakey's used to be sorta decent stuff and a good place to gather but they're down to 63 stores in the US whereas I recall eating a slice of yaki soba pizza outside Kadena AB Japan that tasted more like yak poopy. They've been catering to international local tastes or lack thereof as belies their more than 400 stores worldwide.

Your best pizzas are at your locally owned and operated restaurants but you have to search before you find the good ones. So happy hunting, apparecchia la tavola, e buon appetito!!





:D
j
 
I think java hit it on the head, I've had some great pizza piled with toppings, but they all came out of ovens, not conveyors.

By extended I meant that you can by sausage "extended" with non meat filler ingredients.
 
Shakeys?
I had that in KC in '70-something...
Ketchup on a cracker :(

Sorry :D
 
pizza_king_20.jpg


YAY! looks like I can get pizza king shipped:

http://www.pizzakingindiana.com/ship.asp

It looks like the "ST Louis", Connecticut, Dayton,OH and Indiana pizza king styles are all similar. Thin crisp salty crust, provolone cheese blend, diced pepperoni, cut into squares.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis-style_pizza
 
Is pizza really italian though? Or is it like egg foo young, sweet & sour pork, etc american food disguised as exotic ethnic food?
 
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