Location
Kiley warned me that in Pawcatuck, CT and Westery, RI there is not a lot of food to be found at night. I insisted that there must be a pizza joint open, since it was only 830. She shook her head, but opened her laptop and began to investigate. We settled for Midway Pizza which was located just over the river in Westerly. When we arrived at 8:50, the woman behind the counter asked (half yelling) "Did you order two small pizzas?" "Yes." "Good! I wanna get out of here." We purchased our pizzas and they shut the door behind us.
Just for the record, this was a Saturday night.
The Pizza
I decided to order the buffalo chicken pizza with bleu cheese. Midway makes thick crust pizzas, heaped with bread and cheese. The crust was tasty, as was the cheese.
The Chicken
Generic chicken chunks, but not too chewy. Decent.
The Flavor and the Taste
I think that they used a generic buffalo sauce, but I cannot complain. It was delicious. There wasn't a lot of bleu cheese on the pizza--just enough to give it a rich, salty taste. What this pizza was lacking was vegetables. It could have used onions or broccoli or...something, I don't know.
Overall
I wasn't wowwed by this pizza, but it was tasty and I would definitely eat it again.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Husky Pizza (Chicken Bacon Ranch) (C+)
My friend brought me another pizza, along with the barbecue chicken. I thought it deserved a separate review because this pizza was somewhat better than the first.
The Location
Husky Pizza is named after the UConn mascot: The Husky. Or: The Huskies. Or: Huskies. Who the fuck knows what it actually is. All I know is that there are damned cartoon snow dogs printed on everything.
The Pizza
No red sauce, all ranch dressing. Bacon and chicken on top. Same decent crust, same decent cheese.
The Chicken
Same ok chicken from the BBQ chicken.
The Sauce and the Taste
What made this pizza work was the ranch dressing. It got a nice, potent salty flavor that I enjoyed. Now, I would have put broccoli on this bad mother...probably some other kind of seasoning. There was definitely garlic salt on the crust, which was a welcome addition.
Overall
This pizza worked better than the BBQ chicken, but was still a big disappointment. It just didn't have any pizzazz, gumption, chutzpah or any other kind of oomph.
The Location
Husky Pizza is named after the UConn mascot: The Husky. Or: The Huskies. Or: Huskies. Who the fuck knows what it actually is. All I know is that there are damned cartoon snow dogs printed on everything.
The Pizza
No red sauce, all ranch dressing. Bacon and chicken on top. Same decent crust, same decent cheese.
The Chicken
Same ok chicken from the BBQ chicken.
The Sauce and the Taste
What made this pizza work was the ranch dressing. It got a nice, potent salty flavor that I enjoyed. Now, I would have put broccoli on this bad mother...probably some other kind of seasoning. There was definitely garlic salt on the crust, which was a welcome addition.
Overall
This pizza worked better than the BBQ chicken, but was still a big disappointment. It just didn't have any pizzazz, gumption, chutzpah or any other kind of oomph.
Husky Pizza (C-)
This BBQ chicken pizza was brought over by a nice girl who wanted to help a brother out while he was too busy working to cook for himself. You can't say no to that!
The Location
Husky Pizza is located across the street from the UConn campus. I had not eaten there, until today, because nobody ever recommended it...or said anything about it at all. It was just there in the background.
The Pizza
The crust was ok, the cheese was fine. Their BBQ chicken came topped with tomatoes and onions in addition to sauce and chicken.
The Chicken
Was chunks...cooked...it tasted fine.
The Sauce and the Taste
There was sauce on this pizza. I can tell because some areas of the surface were stickier than others. Really, I can't comment on the taste because this pizza had no taste. It was blander than bland. I don't know how you could make or purchase barbecue sauce with such little flavor. I didn't know such sauce existed. It was unseasoned, unsalted, uneverythinged.
Overall
There was nothing bad about this pizza. And by that I mean that there was no single, off-putting element. However, it was a pointless, flavorless mass.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tony's Pizza (C-)
Location
I don't really know. I was on a date and we were tired so we just picked a place and ordered delivery. It's in willimantic.
The Pizza
Tony's makes deep dish pizza and I have had their basic pepperoni before--which was good. The cheese is piled deep and the crust is really delicious. What was curious about this pizza was that the chicken and barbecue sauce were all underneath the cheese. It was like a giant hot pocket with bbq chicken inside and the top layer was cheese instead of bread. That's a silly analogy. It was like an envelope. No. That's not right, either. Fuck it, the meat was all inside.
The Meat
Was chewy chunks of leftover or frozen chicken. Bleh.
The Sauce and the Taste
Were not good.
Overall
I think that Tony's makes good pizzas in general, but they just completely missed the boat on the BBQ chicken. We also got a meat lover's pizza which was pretty good--except for the leftoverish quality of some of the meats. I think that Tony just needs to go talk to Fred of Fred's Brick House Cafe about the importance of fresh toppings. If you are looking for a thick pepperoni pizza that is delicious, go to Tony's. If you want anything else...go to Fred's.
I don't really know. I was on a date and we were tired so we just picked a place and ordered delivery. It's in willimantic.
The Pizza
Tony's makes deep dish pizza and I have had their basic pepperoni before--which was good. The cheese is piled deep and the crust is really delicious. What was curious about this pizza was that the chicken and barbecue sauce were all underneath the cheese. It was like a giant hot pocket with bbq chicken inside and the top layer was cheese instead of bread. That's a silly analogy. It was like an envelope. No. That's not right, either. Fuck it, the meat was all inside.
The Meat
Was chewy chunks of leftover or frozen chicken. Bleh.
The Sauce and the Taste
Were not good.
Overall
I think that Tony's makes good pizzas in general, but they just completely missed the boat on the BBQ chicken. We also got a meat lover's pizza which was pretty good--except for the leftoverish quality of some of the meats. I think that Tony just needs to go talk to Fred of Fred's Brick House Cafe about the importance of fresh toppings. If you are looking for a thick pepperoni pizza that is delicious, go to Tony's. If you want anything else...go to Fred's.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Wolfgang Puck Express (B+)
Location
You're never going to believe this, but one of the best pizzas I have had is at the Wolfgang Pizza Express station in the B terminal of O'hare international airport in Chicago. I had a 35 minute layover and desperately needed some food. I stopped and was happy to find a BBQ chicken pizza on the overhead menu. The precooked pizzas are flash fired in a woodfire oven and then slid into a to go box before your credit card receipt pops out. Needless to say, I was a little leery. I was also starving.
The Pizza
...was delicious. The crust was fantastic and the cheese was actually pretty high quality. It was a small pizza, but pretty impressive for fast food. It had chicken, sauce, onions, another ingredient I'm forgetting and cilantro. More on that in a minute.
The Chicken
The meat on this pizza was chunk chicken, probably from frozen. However, it was not chewy or squishy, so I was satisfied.
The Sauce and the Taste
The sauce was really delicious and I was just annoyed that there wasn't more of it on the pizza. The taste overall, I have to say, was brilliant. The cilantro is a move that no other pizza place has tried and it was a smashing success. The cilantro complimented the barbecue sauce and the onions and made it aromatic. Seriously, the secret to good bbq chicken pizza is cilantro. Who would have guessed?
Overall
Delicious. Even more so considering it was cooked by a minimum wage goon at a food court. I mean, the cilantro must have been Wolfgang's decision, but still. I was really satisfied. I ate the whole thing with 5 minutes to spare before boarding.
You're never going to believe this, but one of the best pizzas I have had is at the Wolfgang Pizza Express station in the B terminal of O'hare international airport in Chicago. I had a 35 minute layover and desperately needed some food. I stopped and was happy to find a BBQ chicken pizza on the overhead menu. The precooked pizzas are flash fired in a woodfire oven and then slid into a to go box before your credit card receipt pops out. Needless to say, I was a little leery. I was also starving.
The Pizza
...was delicious. The crust was fantastic and the cheese was actually pretty high quality. It was a small pizza, but pretty impressive for fast food. It had chicken, sauce, onions, another ingredient I'm forgetting and cilantro. More on that in a minute.
The Chicken
The meat on this pizza was chunk chicken, probably from frozen. However, it was not chewy or squishy, so I was satisfied.
The Sauce and the Taste
The sauce was really delicious and I was just annoyed that there wasn't more of it on the pizza. The taste overall, I have to say, was brilliant. The cilantro is a move that no other pizza place has tried and it was a smashing success. The cilantro complimented the barbecue sauce and the onions and made it aromatic. Seriously, the secret to good bbq chicken pizza is cilantro. Who would have guessed?
Overall
Delicious. Even more so considering it was cooked by a minimum wage goon at a food court. I mean, the cilantro must have been Wolfgang's decision, but still. I was really satisfied. I ate the whole thing with 5 minutes to spare before boarding.
Fred's Brick House Cafe (The Big Glen) (A+)
Location
Fred's Brick House Cafe is an odd combination of brick oven pizza, barbecue, sandwiches and live music. Yeah, you heard that. Fred's has live, local music almost every single night of the week. To be honest, I think that is the only think I don't like about the place. The live music is just too loud to be able to enjoy conversation over beer and pizza.
The Pizza
I ordered the "Big Glen" pizza for obvious reasons. I mean, I'd have to, right? This description comes from the online menu: BIG GLEN - spinach, tomato, onion, gorgonzola, bacon, chicken, creamy garlic. I read that and thought "yes, if I were a pizza, I would be this one." The big glen is a white pizza on Fred's great woodfire cooked crust.
The Chicken
Ok, so here's what they do, and this is fucking brilliant. At Fred's they use shredded chicken, but then the clumps are chopped into smaller pieces. When I make shredded chicken at home, I just shred the chicken and the meat forms some long strips and I just use that. Here they make it bite size, which is what everyone should do with pizza toppings. Who enjoys it when you take a bite of pizza and then half the toppings slide off because you just snagged a big green pepper ring? The answer is nobody because it's unpleasant and you can actually get burned that way.
The Sauce and the Taste
This pizza did not have barbecue sauce, but the creamy garlic sauce was tasty and worked very, very well with the gorgonzola and onions and bacon. This was a very potent and flavorful pizza. It had all sorts of salty toppings, but I have to say that it didn't end up being too salty for me. The onions and spinach and broccoli were neutral-to-sweet ingredients that provided good balance. Also, broccoli has the amazing effect of absorbing flavors.
Overall
One of the best pizzas that I've ever had. My co-eater, Kiley, ordered a pizza with eggplant that was really fantastic. I recommend Fred's Brick House Cafe to anyone interested in good pizza. You can expect more reviews of their other chicken pizzas in the future.
Fred's Brick House Cafe is an odd combination of brick oven pizza, barbecue, sandwiches and live music. Yeah, you heard that. Fred's has live, local music almost every single night of the week. To be honest, I think that is the only think I don't like about the place. The live music is just too loud to be able to enjoy conversation over beer and pizza.
The Pizza
I ordered the "Big Glen" pizza for obvious reasons. I mean, I'd have to, right? This description comes from the online menu: BIG GLEN - spinach, tomato, onion, gorgonzola, bacon, chicken, creamy garlic. I read that and thought "yes, if I were a pizza, I would be this one." The big glen is a white pizza on Fred's great woodfire cooked crust.
The Chicken
Ok, so here's what they do, and this is fucking brilliant. At Fred's they use shredded chicken, but then the clumps are chopped into smaller pieces. When I make shredded chicken at home, I just shred the chicken and the meat forms some long strips and I just use that. Here they make it bite size, which is what everyone should do with pizza toppings. Who enjoys it when you take a bite of pizza and then half the toppings slide off because you just snagged a big green pepper ring? The answer is nobody because it's unpleasant and you can actually get burned that way.
The Sauce and the Taste
This pizza did not have barbecue sauce, but the creamy garlic sauce was tasty and worked very, very well with the gorgonzola and onions and bacon. This was a very potent and flavorful pizza. It had all sorts of salty toppings, but I have to say that it didn't end up being too salty for me. The onions and spinach and broccoli were neutral-to-sweet ingredients that provided good balance. Also, broccoli has the amazing effect of absorbing flavors.
Overall
One of the best pizzas that I've ever had. My co-eater, Kiley, ordered a pizza with eggplant that was really fantastic. I recommend Fred's Brick House Cafe to anyone interested in good pizza. You can expect more reviews of their other chicken pizzas in the future.
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