Businesses – Open Source Pizza

Pizza Hut – Great Again!

We had Pizza Hut tonight, and it was great as always! We always get the pan crust, which is a bit thick. It seems to be cooked in oil which makes it greasy but great in my opinion! We got 3 larges each for $10 in their current deal of Any pizza for $10. One was pepperoni, sausage, and tomato. Another was pepperoni, mushroom, and green pepper. And the other was half cheese, half pepperoni (for the kids). I was a little late taking some pics, they were almost half gone already!

(The half cheese one was underneath the others, so I didn’t take a picture. But the slices looked huge!)

Leb’s Pizza House – Ostrander, OH

Today we just went to the 3rd annual car and bike show in Ostrander, OH and had lunch at Leb’s Pizza House, which was on the main street with the show cars right in front. Since it’s a small town, they weren’t equipped to handle so many people today, so service took a very long time. We ordered mac & cheese bites for the kids; it came out pretty quickly, which was good. Then we ordered the Pepperoni Supreme which had double layer of pepperoni and double cheese, and the friends who were with us ordered two other pizzas. We were probably waiting at least an hour before it came out, but we had heard to expect to wait. But it finally arrived, looking great and nice and hot. I didn’t take a picture while we were there, but we had enough to take home, and here’s a shot after it was in the fridge a while.

Napkin Blot Faux Pas

It was pretty good! Cheesy, pepperoni under the cheese so it didn’t get burnt. The sauce and crust were good too. Overall it was very greasy, and although I like a little greasiness, this was almost too much. Also the cheese was sliding around the crust, I think if they use a dough dressing that may prevent the cheese from sliding around. My husband did the pizza-napkin-blot to remove excess pizza oil (for him and the kids), and I kind of cringe when I see that. Although I would agree that this pizza did have a bit too much. Then when I got home, there was an article in my email about it – a poll on What pizza practices are unacceptable? It says that many consider the napkin blot a faux pas. What do you think?

Papa Johns Pizza Review

I ordered one of my favorite pizzas the other day, Papa John’s!

Close up – Papa John’s Pizza

John’s Favorite – Pepp & Sausage

I really like the taste of all elements of the pizza, including the crust (pan or original style is just the thickness I like), cheese and sauce. I think I ordered John’s Favorite with pepperoni, sausage, and a 6-cheese blend: Mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, romano, asiago, and fontina. Of course I can’t taste all the different types of cheese, but it was still good. Some may think the pizza is too greasy, but I think that’s part of what makes it taste good! The toppings are great, but I’m not too picky with particular types of sausage or pepperoni. They give you some garlic butter for dipping, which is also great but I’m sure it’s not good for you. They also give you a small jalapeno pepper with each pizza, which I give to my husband since I don’t like hot peppers.

The prices are great — they have coupons and deals all the time. My large pizza cost $11. They are also good as leftovers – just wrap a few pieces together in aluminum foil and refrigerate as soon as you’re done with the pizza. Microwave (without the foil!) and it will still be pretty good, although the crust may get a little chewy. Some like to eat pizza leftovers cold, but I don’t. Do you? What do you think of Papa John’s?

Barbeque and Chicken Pizza – Roosters on Henderson

We went to the Rooster’s restaurant on Henderson road on Wednesday and I decided to try their personal size barbeque and chicken pizza. It was pretty good! I was a little worried that the ingredients would taste strange together. I think you have to have the right BBQ sauce, cheese, and crust to make it work. Their BBQ sauce is pretty sugary and they used cheddar, mozzarella, and provolone cheeses.

One surprising feature on this pizza was the chicken wing on top. It was covered in the BBQ sauce as well, and although I’m not a fan of bone-in wings, it was a nice addition. Their pizzas are a 9″ personal size which is just the right serving size. I also ordered chicken tenders, so I had plenty of leftovers.

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Review

We tried a new pizza place yesterday – the new location of Mellow Mushroom in Dublin, OH. It’s one of the few sit-down get-waited-on pizza restaurants that I know of, but it also has carry out. There are locations all around the country, from Florida and Texas to Colorado and Arizona to Indiana, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The decor seemed pretty unique and ‘groovy’, and they have a Beer Club for those who want to try all of their beers to get some discounts and prizes. Their website seems pretty neat, but it’s all flash which can be annoying.

Large size house pizza

Mellow Mushroom - Personal Size House pizza

Small size pizza

Unfortunately we were not impressed with the food… we may forgive them this time since the location is so new. We ordered a large House Pizza (16″ for 8 slices, $25), garlic bread, and 5 hot wings. We got there at the lunch hour and the place got pretty busy. It took maybe 25-30 minutes before our food came out. The garlic bread and wings arrived just a short while before the pizza. The pizza seemed OK at first, but the crust was a little burnt. It was hard to cut a slice into pieces. The manager came out to check on it and apologized and offered another one — we ordered a small (10″) of the same pizza. When it came out the color was nice but it had anchovies on it! The House pizza was not supposed to have them, so it may have been a different pizza. But besides that it tasted OK. The manager gave us the meal on the house and also gave us a gift card for next time. Some of our friends say Mellow Mushroom pizza isn’t bad, and I’ll still go again, but probably not in the near future.

Have you tried Mellow Mushroom?

Pizza Paradise Around the United States

The other day I watched Pizza Paradise on the Travel Channel. Apparently it is repeated throughout the year. They describe the type of pizza found in several popular pizza cities across the nation. Basically I would consider three distinct types. New York has a thin crust that you fold in half. Chicago has a thick, pie-like crust that you may need to eat with a knife and fork. California is all about the exotic toppings on a smaller personal sized pizza. It’s neat to think about the pizza places in each area that were the birthplace of each distinct type. And the first pizzaria in the US was Lombardi’s Pizzeria in New York in 1905. Of course there are variations in pizza within each city, and there can be fierce loyalty by the patrons and fans of a particular type. I think most people have a preference of either New York style or Chicago style. I like a thicker crust, but not necessarily so thick that you need to eat with a knife and fork and get full after one or two slices. I didn’t realize that there was a pizza in New York with caviar that costs $1000! Wild stuff.

A lot of the customers preferred their particular pizza joint not only from the food but the atmosphere as well. Most of them were small, cosy and intimate places. I think it would be great to own a pizzeria where people come with their families and friends for fun and conversation while they eat.

Here’s a link to a summary article on the Travel Channel.

Pizza at Roosters’ in Columbus, Ohio

Tonight I just tried a Meat Lover’s pizza at Rooster’s in Columbus, Ohio. This was the location on Olentangy River Rd. It was the first time I tried one of their personal size pizzas, and it was pretty good. They all start with a 9″ thin crust and you can get meat/cheese toppings for $.59 and veggie toppings for $.29. I got the Meat Lover’s one, which included pepperoni, sausage, ham, and bacon for $6.49.

Meat Lover pizza at Rooster's in Columbus, OH

Meat Lover’s pizza at Rooster’s in Columbus, OH

We had a Nachos Deluxe for an appetizer, so I couldn’t eat the last two pieces of the pizza.

Usually I get a Big Bob burger at Rooster’s with the Works; I think it’s a great burger for a great price. My husband really likes their hot wings, but I don’t really care for them, or hot food in general. But the chicken tenders with BBQ sauce are pretty good. I’m not sure if the pizza is a better deal than the burger, but it wasn’t bad. What do you think about Rooster’s food?

Little Caesar’s Pizza in Michigan

We were visiting relatives in Michigan over the holidays and had Little Caesar’s pizza and crazy bread. Boy was it good!! The deep dish crust was soft and almost buttery or greasy. Is it cooked in oil? The cheese and sauce are great too. I think this pizza may be my goal for making pizzas at home. The Crazy Bread (bread sticks) were good too.

Little Caesar's Deep Dish

Image source: http://www.littlecaesars.com
I thought the number of Little Caesar’s locations were decreasing, almost going out of business, but looking at the store locator on their website, http://www.littlecaesars.com I see that there are plenty of locations in the mid-west and from coast to coast. I remember having one close to where I grew up, in a K-mart. So I always associated it with that store and not as an independent pizza chain. There actually isn’t a location that is very close to me, otherwise I might have to start eating from there more often! It’s probably good that I don’t, since that soft oily crust is surely not good for your health!

The website has product info, nutritional info, news about Little Caesar’s, kid’s games, a shop to buy Little Caesar’s merchandise, franchise information, and links to connect on Facebook and twitter.

Lido’s Pizza Restaurant and Buffet

Yesterday we went to have lunch at Lido’s on Bethel Road in Dublin. We never remember when their buffet is, but saw they offered it from noon to 3pm. The dining room was pretty crowded, so we decided to order the buffet. I usually hesitate on buffets, since the food can get cold, there may not be much selection, and you may have to wait until they bring out the food you want. We did have to wait a few minutes for additional pizzas to come out, but they tasted great. I love the sauce. They were very hot, but I was hungry and I burnt my mouth! I also must have overate by one piece, because I had indigestion for several hours afterward. Hopefully it wasn’t something bad I ate.

Lido’s Pizza & Restaurant
2540 Bethel Rd
Columbus, OH 43220
(614) 459-5858
Take-out, delivery, dine-in
No website(?!) — Google it for reviews

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Pizza in Dublin, OH – New Formaggio Location Open

Hello again! Sorry it’s been quite some time since the last post. The Thanksgiving holiday is now over and shopping season has officially begun! As always we get several ‘junk mail’ packets each week, with tons of ads from grocery stores and local businesses. One caught my eye recently, Formaggio’s has a new location on Sawmill Road in Dublin, Ohio (website: formaggiopizza.com). I knew of a vacant location that used to be an Iacono’s on Sawmill road, and wondered if Formaggio’s now occupies it. But based on the map of the address (across from Home Depot), it may be the former location of a Pizzano’s. Not sure if they bought out Pizzano’s or just claimed the location after they went out of business. Formaggio’s other location is right on the OSU campus.

Menu Items

Based on the flyer and on the website, Formaggio’s is known for original Steubenville style pizza (a quick search reveals this means cold cheese sprinkled on top of baked dough and sauce, from Steubenville, Ohio). They also use unbaked pepperoni, so they use high quality ingredients to ensure a great taste. They feature several specialty pizzas including chicken bacon ranch, grilled chicken and BBQ, and white sauce options, that come in 12″ and 16″ square style. They also have a few unique menu items: Lil O’s (dough balls), Buckeye Dessert Pizza with peanut butter and chocolate syrup, Nick Sticks (dough with cinnamon, sugar, and icing), and a good selection of fruit smoothies. They also offer three sizes of Strombolis and small/large salads.

Thoughts

I’m not sure how I feel about cold cheese and pepperoni on a pizza. I guess we need to try it sometime. The smoothies sound like a fun and delicious menu item that goes along with pizza. What do you think? Have you tried Formaggio’s before?