The best major pizza chain?

Shouldn't this thread be in the FF forum?

Pizza Hut, and not even close. For a chain I think the pan veggie lovers is excellent. Also the chicken supreme is very good.

Too bad they got rid of the buffet, at least here in Las Vegas. I just had it twice in Hawaii. I always dominate 22-28 slices at the buffet. That's not a typo.

Otherwise, I miss Mazzio's which used to have a restaurant here in Las Vegas, across from UNLV. But it's been gone for maybe 15 years or more. They gave away calendars which had discount coupons. It was quite tasty for a chain.

Pizza Inn is also gone here but I found one in Hendersonville, NC at Christmas while visiting my sister. Not as good as my memory but okay.

With Dominoes I like the pepperoni but nothing else. I get it maybe twice a year on Two for Tuesday. Maybe they dropped that recently, or that's what someone told me.

Papa John's is not edible. They need to be sued and put out of business, if there's taste bud justice in this world.

I've found that the best chain pizza is usually thin crust. Donato's, Ledo's, Cici's, and especially California Pizza Kitchen all make a decent thin crust pie, even if it's not always so filling (I've sometimes called Donato's and Ledo's "snack pizza" because of how small one slice is). That said, Mama Lucia's (sp?) is nice for a casual, "hand-tossed" crust (thank you Pizza Hut for *that* term) - I'm not sure if they're a national chain or not though. Finally, there are certain "mall-pizza" places I've taken in at times, spcifically Villa Pizza and Sbarro's. I wouldn't recommend either if you have the opportunity to go to either what's mentioned above or somewhere better, but they're... ok for a quick bite between stores. I RARELY eat huge chain pizza anymore a la Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Johns, Little Ceasar's (are they even around anymore?), etc.

So, to sum up, favorite pizza chains are:
-Donato's
-Ledo's
-California Pizza Kitchen
-Cici's
-Mama Lucia's
-Sbarro's
-Villa Pizza

And I would take Lou Malnati's over any of them anyday.

quote:

Originally posted by Awsi Dooger

Pizza Hut, and not even close. For a chain I think the pan veggie lovers is excellent. Also the chicken supreme is very good.

Too bad they got rid of the buffet, at least here in Las Vegas. I just had it twice in Hawaii. I always dominate 22-28 slices at the buffet. That's not a typo.

No disrespect intended, but maybe that's why they got rid of the buffet!

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Ross

I'm not a big fan of the Pizza chains, but after trying one at a relatives, we've recently gotten several from Papa Murphy's. I especially like their Delite pizzas which have very thin crusts. The delites are less calories, but you don't notice it at all. Papa Murphy's is a little different in that you order, they make it up fresh in front of you, then you take it home and bake it in your own oven. It comes on a disposable pan that gets the crust brown and very crispy, it's always hot when you eat it.

http://www.papamurphys.com/

I experienced Papa Murphy's for the first time (had a coupon for a free pizza) and I have to say it wasn't terrible. Maybe it's because since I've moved from New Jersey to New Mexico, I've almost forgotten what authentic pizza really tastes like. But this establishment is certainly better than Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Johns, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by rbpalmer

quote:

Originally posted by Awsi Dooger

Pizza Hut, and not even close. For a chain I think the pan veggie lovers is excellent. Also the chicken supreme is very good.

Too bad they got rid of the buffet, at least here in Las Vegas. I just had it twice in Hawaii. I always dominate 22-28 slices at the buffet. That's not a typo.

No disrespect intended, but maybe that's why they got rid of the buffet!

LOL. Good point!

In fact, I did notice a sign at the Pizza Hut buffet in Hawaii when I was there in April. Immediately above the buffet pizzas it said, "Please help us keep our buffet prices low. Take only what you can eat."

And it was a very good deal, by Hawaii standards where food is very expensive. The buffet was $7.59 including beverage.

I've only seen one mention of Pasquales on this thread, so let me cast my vote for the venerable chain.

Although I haven't had one of their pizzas in decades, I loved their thin crust Italian sausage pizzas growing up in the '60s and '70s. Even better were their sandwiches--the Hoggie in particular.

An effort is being made to revitalize this chain that dates back to at least the 1950s in Cincinnati and Birmingham--where I grew up eating Pasquales regularly.

See their weebsite at:

http://www.pasqualefoodsystems.com/

There was a Pasquale's pizza in Louisville, in the late 60's. I went there often because they were good and close. I haven't had their pizza since then. Now, though, I can't stand chain pizzas. They all taste the same. There is nothing outstanding about any of the chains. My wife, the poor old thing, likes Papa John's. At least I can eat the pepperoncinis that come with the pizza.

The only chains I ever cared for were Shakey's and Pizza Inn. Pizza Inn had the best house dressing and their salads were always ice cold. I asked the manager at our local Pizza Inn YEARS ago how to make the dressing. Since they made it by the 5 gallon bucket he gave me the ingredients and left me to figure it out. It was Miracle Whip(which I NEVER eat except for when I prepare this)black olive juice, celery seed, and a dash of garlic powder. I can almost drink the stuff.

one word NONE

around here papa johns i didnt have a problem with pizza hut until they changed to be more like papa johns and made thier sauce sweeter or whatever they did... havent been thier since.

As far as delivery is concerned, Domino's is my favorite. Large thin crust with pepperoni. Only $7.99 with the "perpetual" coupon. I always tip $3.00.

My Favorite Chain Pizzas are Papa Gino's! Sbarro's is good too as well as Chucky Cheese's. Not a huge fan of Pizza Hut as it's hit or miss. Its interesting to me that Cici's Pizza was mentioned on this board as my boyfriend and I have always wondered about it. We've seen the national commericals for it up here in NE, but there aren't any in our area. We recently asked some friends from Florida what they thought and their reply was "If you'd like to keep your intestines intact, stay away from Cici's Pizza." I guess it makes some sense though...anywhere you can get all that food for such a small amount of money may make me worry as well.

I dont know how "major" this chain is but in N.J. i love Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizza. There are at least 3 in jersey that i know of wonder if there are any elsewhere??

quote:

Originally posted by dannybotz

I dont know how "major" this chain is but in N.J. i love Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizza. There are at least 3 in jersey that i know of wonder if there are any elsewhere??

Bertucci's is an "east coast chain" they're here in Rhode Island too

There's a Pizza Hut in a small town near Indianapolis that makes a surprisingly good, consistent deep dish pizza. You can actually taste the olive oil, and they don't skimp on the topppings. And Donato's fresh mozzarella is a decent, quite edible fast food version of what pizza should taste like.
But the rest of it--bland, greasy, overpriced, etc etc. Handy when feeding a crowd on the cheap, when there's not too many other options, but I'd go local every time.

The Lawrenceburg Indiana PH has been there forever it seems and their Pan pizza can't be beat-crispy outs,soft in, and LOADED. You get 3-4 days worth of meals from 2 Large. A bachelor couldn't ask for better hot or cold.

And btw Pappa J and Dom's are known here for VERY bready crusts with minimal toppings(I call PJ Skimpy J's).
Also,I work at Pri-Pak,a company mentioned by Cajun King in another post,no way affiliated with PHut-BG

Only since the topic is MAJOR pizza chains: even though we don't have it anymore since there are so many better local alternatives, I'll hand it to Pizza Hut for being reasonably good having the most product consistency over their vast chain.

If you define "major" as regional, there is some truly tasty stuff out there.

When we lived in the Metro D.C. area the square pies and tasty sauce of Ledo Pizza never disappointed. On vacation in DelMarVa, Grotto's was always a must visit. Pizza Boli's is still around the mid-Atlantic, but they lost my business when they backed off their super spicy sauce which once made their delivery the best of the best. (Why do franchises pander to the bland? I yearn for the days when Popeye's Spicy actually burned your mouth!).

Now that we live in Dallas our favorite regionals are ... zippy. Cici's, Peter Piper's, and Mr. Gatti's do the "buffet thing" but are so over-run with screaming kids that you can't digest your meal. (Unlike our old home in McLean, VA, one can still afford to have children in Texas!). And Cici's quality varies wildly depending on their location. There is a wonderful "chain" of five or so Brooklyn's in Collin and Denton Counties, but ask for your pie to be "well done", otherwise your second slice will have a soggy tip. Our first visit to Rosati's (a regional out of Chicago which also offers a great thin crust) was wonderful. We'll see what happens when the "opening crew" leaves and the locals take over.

I am amazed that "the hut" has been spoken about so affectionately by some...

I tend to think the least bad national pizza chain is Papa Johns with dominos as a distant 2nd. In seattle we have a great chain called pagliacci

quote:

Originally posted by seatown22

I am amazed that "the hut" has been spoken about so affectionately by some...

I tend to think the least bad national pizza chain is Papa Johns with dominos as a distant 2nd. In seattle we have a great chain called pagliacci

I couldn't even begin to describe how horrendous Pizza was when I was living in Seattle, Pagliacci included. The dough had the consistency of wonderbread, the sauce tasted like a vat of oregano and basil was dumped into it, and the toppings (and I'll be kind and exclude the bizarre ones) consisted of raw uncooked vegetables.

I spent over 3 years while I was living there trying to find half decent pizza, sadly nothing came close

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

quote:

Originally posted by seatown22

I am amazed that "the hut" has been spoken about so affectionately by some...

I tend to think the least bad national pizza chain is Papa Johns with dominos as a distant 2nd. In seattle we have a great chain called pagliacci

I couldn't even begin to describe how horrendous Pizza was when I was living in Seattle, Pagliacci included. The dough had the consistency of wonderbread, the sauce tasted like a vat of oregano and basil was dumped into it, and the toppings (and I'll be kind and exclude the bizarre ones) consisted of raw uncooked vegetables.

I spent over 3 years while I was living there trying to find half decent pizza, sadly nothing came close

Ah yes...welcome to roadfood seatown22

I have a pizza stone that I use for all kinds of bread baking...I buy pizza dough at Papa John's and make my own pizza...Pizza is a great repository for leftovers too !

Sbarro's. tho some are better than others. But usually their pepperoni and/or their stuffed spinach slices are good.

I think the name of this topic is very close to being an oxymoron - sort of like the beauty contests in which all the contestants lose - that being said I've had acceptable pizza at Pizza Hut and my 9 year old daughter in fact loves it.

There's a Little Caesars in Toledo, Ohio, complete with a statue of the little emperor (pizza impaled by his spear and all) strapped to the top of the little store. I was told that they, at one point, even used to have the delivery thing going for them, and that there was even one location out in the area that had a sit-in section, with a wait staff. Suffice it to say, it was like I was smacked right back into the late 80's/early 90's, maybe their zenith. It was that good. Perhaps because it was a square pizza, thus making it a custom order, that it was pretty decent, but I have found that if you made the custom orders, their pizzas (I had one where I used to live in the Harrisburg, PA area) are usually very good, and far better than their Hot-n-Ready hotbox counterparts.

Make that staff work it!

Let's cut to the quick,
Major chain pizza is not pizza. As an Italian-American and a lover of the Italian delight, Pizza Hut , Dominos,Pappa Johns, Little caesar..DO NOT SELL PIZZA..they sell a sugary dough with a sugary red stuff(oh Dominos comes out looking brown from BROILING it)
If you MUST eat CHAIN pizza,try Sbarro's I'm not sure how wxtensive is their reach, but they're all over New York/New Jersey and they do well in the Pizza capitol of America. By the way sorry if I mispelled their name...I'm not a regular....but when I see one and REAL pizza isn't handy, it's a good replacement.
By the way, I'm 62 and have travelled extensively across this country and Europe. I've eaten pizza in Italy,France, England, Spain, Germany...and anyplace I could find it....all of it better than the sorry American "Chains". Again like it,fine, buy it, fine,but sorry...don't call it pizza
leethebard

oooo, I support the mention of Ledo's pizza. If you ask for bacon, they give you a pound and a half. Good stuff.

If I had to go national, Papa John's all things being equally just ok...they throw in garlic sauce. Even the sauce has gotten greasier in past years. Thank god for local pizza.

I'd go with the Hut as the best of the big chains. Domino's is godawful but it was the only place that delivered when i was in college so we ate it a lot,

quote:

Originally posted by Rando

I'd go with the Hut as the best of the big chains. Domino's is godawful but it was the only place that delivered when i was in college so we ate it a lot,

It highly depends where you live. Here in SE Michigan, it's Cottage Inn, Papa Johns, Hungry Howies, and Jet's, and occasionally Dominoes and Little Caesars (yes I said it).

The Pizza **** Franchise is Trifulling here, but when I was in Jacksonville, they had the best pizza I've ever tasted.