Attempt #18 - Chrome Horse

The Venue

1202 3rd Street Southeast

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

(319) 365-1234

Inside the bar

This business was started by four local businessmen that shared a vision to create a motorcycle themed bar that everyone can enjoy in Cedar Rapids.  Known for their lively bands, and extensive grub, you’ll find more than the typical fried bar food at this joint.  The wall is decorated with antique motorcycles, and the bar itself is an ice bar, designed by Jimmy Stumpff.   The deal every week night is $10 for a two-topping medium 12” pizza.  Specialty pizzas are listed at full price.   Take a look at their pizza menu here, http://www.chromehorsesaloon.net/menu/NewPizza.html.

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Large 16" Route 66 Pizza

Large 16" BLT Pizza

Our group consisted of 7 participants; so we ordered two large specialty pizzas, and one two-topping medium pizza.  Each of these large pizzas cost roughly $19 a piece.  They come in small (8”), medium (12”), and large (16”). 

BLT Pizza – Combination of bacon, lettuce, tomato and shredded mozzarella cheese, topped with mayo (Large, $18.25).

Route 66 Pizza - Sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, crushed red pepper, jalapenos, onions, shredded Parmesan and cheddar hack cheeses (Large, $18.25).

Pepperoni and Black Olives Pizza - (Medium, $10.00).

The Verdict

The pizza was squared, with a restaurant feel.  The ingredients were excellent, and the cheese and sauce was well balanced.  The crust was incredibly thin…neither a firm cracker crust, but a bit more pliable.  That was our most disappointing feature.    The BLT was a unique favorite, and our group was tied between it and the Route 66 as the favorite pizza.  If you like spice, I highly recommend the Route 66, with its red pepper, jalapenos, and sausage – you can’t go wrong!  The BLT has a nice mild flavor with real mayo drizzled on top.  I liked how underneath the lettuce was a normal pizza with bacon baked into the cheese.  So if you are in the mood for a cool themed bar with some decent food head on over to the Chrome Horse.

Closeup of a Route 66 Slice

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 7.14
Cheese = 6.57
Toppings = 7.43
Sauce = 7.43
Crust = 5.71

Venue = 7.71

Medium 12" Pizza

Attempt #17 - Vito's on 42nd

The Venue

4100 River Ridge Dr NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(319) 393-8727

A slice of the Grilled Chicken Pizza

This well established restaurant across from the Twin Pines golf course is well known for their Monday and Wednesday night half price pizza specials.  Every pie on the menu is half off.  In addition to pizza, they serve a number of pasta dishes along with fajitas and sandwiches.  If you are interested in knowing more, take a look at their dinner menu at:  http://www.vitoson42nd.com/menu.html.

The Neapolitan Pizza

The restaurant itself looks like a cool place to hang out.  It has a bar, with an upstairs loft with a few tables, a downstairs area underneath the loft, and the majority of the restaurant is on the main level.  Plenty of outdoor seating is available on the cement patio and on the deck, looking across the street to the golf course.  The restaurant has a “sports bar” feel to it with a touch of business class.  An interesting find indeed!

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Average

Our group consisted of 11 participants; so we ordered five large pizzas.  Each of these pizzas cost roughly $23 a piece, and around $12 on Mondays/Wednesdays because of the half price special.  They came in two sizes, but we only ordered the larger of the two.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza - Spicy chicken, Vito's cheese blend, sliced celery, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, and caramelized onions with a spicy buffalo blue cheese sauce ($22.99).

Super Special Pizza - Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, black olives and green peppers ($23.99).

Neapolitan Pizza - Imported goat's cheese, marinated tomatoes, fresh spinach, olive oil, basil and fresh garlic ($22.99).

Grilled Chicken - Marinated chicken, mushrooms, red onions, red bell peppers and a blend of smoked Gouda and mozzarella cheese ($22.99).

Taco Pizza - Seasoned ground beef with Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese topped with lettuce, tomato, red onions, black olives and tortilla chips, served with salsa ($22.99).

The Verdict 

The pizza was cut into traditional slices with evenly distributed toppings.  I think the toppings were a bit sparse.  The crust was good.  It had a chewy component to it, yet it remained average thickness.  On the supreme (super special, as they call it), the toppings did not affect crust…it was not soggy.  The sauce non-existent on the grilled chicken pizza, and the amount of olive oil / cheese was noticeably lacking.  That was the least favorite.  The supreme and the taco were the two pizza’s that rated the best from our group.  If you like hand tossed pizza, after a game of golf, then this place should be on your list of places to try. 

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 6.85
Cheese = 6.30
Toppings = 7.30
Sauce = 3.19
Crust = 7.30

Venue = 7.90

Super Special Pizza

Taco Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Grilled Chicken Pizza

Attempt #16 - Cibo Fusion

Menu

The Venue

685 Marion Boulevard

Marion, IA 52302

(319) 447-1414

This locally owned fashionably contemporary restaurant is well known for their Monday night half price pizza specials.  Every pie on the menu is half off.  In addition to pizza, they serve a number of pasta dishes along with meat based entrées.  They are known to have a twist that sets them apart from the norm, hence the “fusion” in their name.  If you are interested in knowing more, take a look at their dinner menu at:  http://www.cibofusion.com/dinner.php. 

The restaurant itself looks a bit like an old Dennys on outside, but inside it is bursting with cool metal sculptures, a large pane of glass with water running on both sides of it, giving it a cool effect, and a large aquarium of exotic fish.  It is definitely worth the visit just to see the inside of the place…pretty cool and unexpected, considering it is next to a strip mall.

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 8 participants; so we ordered seven pizzas.  Each of these pizzas cost roughly $11 a piece, and around $5.50 on Mondays because every Monday is half price.  They came in only one size and crust, and was roughly the size of a large dinner plate.

California Garden - Tomato sauce with spinach, roma tomatoes, green and yellow pepper, mozzarella and smoked gouda cheese.

Italian - Tomato sauce with sweet sausage, capicola, salami, prosciutto, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Pomodoro - Olive oil with marinated tomatoes, fresh basil, prosciutto, mozzarella and goat cheese.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken - Spicy jerk sauce with grilled chicken, roasted red pepper, onion, roasted corn, cilantro, fresh mango, and mozzarella.

Thai Chicken - Garlic ginger sauce with grilled chicken, bean sprouts, carrot, green onions, sesame seeds, cilantro, and mozzarella.

Santa Fe Chicken - Guacamole with grilled chicken, tomato, onions,yellow peppers, cilantro, mozzarella and cheddar cheese.

Carne Asada - Olive oil with carne asada beef, black beans, roasted red pepper, jalapeno, roma tomatoes, onions, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Topped with cilantro, guacamole, and sour cream.

The Verdict

Slice of the Italian

The pizza was cut into traditional slices with somewhat evenly distributed toppings.  The crust was very thin, yet it maintained its crispiness regardless of the amount of toppings…well done Cibo’s!  We could not say the same about most places we have tried thus far.  My guess is that they have a brick oven in the kitchen in which they used to bake the pizzas, giving that crisp sensation to the crust.  The sauce was a bit lacking for my tastes, however it was flavorful.   My favorites were the Pomodoro then the Thai Chicken.  Others preferred the Jamaican Jerk Chicken as well.  Given the cost (~$6 on Mondays), it is a terrific deal.  If you like thin, hand tossed pizza, this place should be on your list of ones to try. 

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 7.25
Cheese = 7.00
Toppings = 8.13
Sauce = 6.75
Crust = 6.69

Venue = 8.75

Thai Chicken

Italian

Carne Asada

California Garden

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Santa Fe Chicken

Pomodoro

Attempt #15 - Wig And Pen

The Wig And Pen, Coralville, IA

The Venue

39 2nd Street

Coralville, IA  52240

(319) 354-2767

This locally owned “British” pub serves locally acclaimed cheesy pizza, as well as sandwiches, salads, and pasta dishes.  They do not have any weekly pizza specials, and it is usually pretty busy.  We tried it on a Sunday night, which was a little hectic, but not too bad since the University of Iowa was out of school during the second week of June.  They do have limited outdoor seating, which has its own privacy fence around the parameter of the restaurant.

  

The Wig And Pen's Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  Yes

Crust Thickness:  Thick

Our group consisted of 12 participants; so we ordered four large pizzas. 

One Large “The Piccadilly Circus” in their regular thin crust.  It consisted of a BBQ pizza sauce with grilled chicken, red onion and pineapple.

One Large “The Twickenham” in their Flying Tomato style crust.  The Twickenham‘s toppings were:  Garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Roma tomato, black olive and feta cheese. 

Large Union Jack Pizza (Chicago Style Crust)

One Large “The Pembroke Gardens” in their Flying Tomato style crust.  The Pembroke Garden’s toppings were:   Mushroom, onion, black olive, green pepper and sweet Italian peppers.

One Large “The Union Jack” in their Chicago style crust.  The Union Jack’s toppings were:  Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, onion and sweet Italian peppers.

Two were the flying tomato style, which had the thick Chicago style crust, with the extra cheese on top, more so than a normal pizza.  Each of these pizzas cost roughly $25 a piece for the larges. 

The Verdict

Large The Twickenham Pizza (Flying Tomato Crust)

The pizza was cut into traditional slices with evenly distributed toppings.  The specialty pizza selection was small (with only four to choose from).  The sauce was sweet, but lacked a certain kick that a lot of other places had.  The cheese was a big bonus here.  They managed to load up with LOTS of it; yet the pizzas were not overly greasy or oily.  The crust was awesome…one of the best (in my opinion), since it was made from scratch and hand tossed.  A lot of people said they really liked it, but it wasn’t jaw-dropping exceptional pizza that we’ve heard through the grapevine.  This is the place to go for some cheesy pizza, unquestionably.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 7.73
Cheese = 8.91
Toppings = 7.45
Sauce = 7.27
Crust = 8.09

Venue = 8.00

Large Piccadilly Circus Pizza (Normal Crust)

Large Pembroke Gardens Pizza (Flying Tomato Crust)

Attempt #14 - Zeppelin's Pizzeria

Outside of the Restaurant

The Venue
5300 Edgewood Rd NE, Suite 800
Cedar Rapids, IA  52411
(319) 378-9377

The Menu

Zeppelin’s Pizzeria opened to the public in February of 2012l; so the vibe is pretty fresh.  They put in some cool looking paintings on the wall, with a clean, polished look.  It has seating for 2–4 people with booths and one four person table.  As of 05/22/2012, they offer no specials any night of the week.  This pizza place will give you the impression that it surely is a step up from the local area, with its gourmet pizza selection.   

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No
Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 6 participants; so we ordered three pizzas.  Two were 12” medium pizzas, and one was large 14” pizza.  We chose:  The Psycho Killer ($19.95:  Pepperoni, Italian sausage, red onions, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives);  a medium veggie pizza ($14.95L  Mushrooms, green peppers, block olives, red onion, Roma tomatoes, broccoli, artichoke hearts) and a medium Taco pizza ($16.95:  Seasoned ground beef, refried beans, lettuce, onions, tomato, black olives, green peppers, nacho chips, and seasoned sour cream). 

The Verdict

The pizza was cut into traditional slices with evenly distributed, toppings.  The pizza selection was small, with only four specialty pizzas (of which, we ordered three!).  The sauce was perhaps the best (in my opinion) that we’ve had yet with a distinct spice with a small twinge of sweetness from the tomato.  The crust was flour-based, hand tossed, and thin which gave the pizza an authentic feel; however, with the Psycho Killer it was soggy in the middle…a common issue with overloaded pizzas.  The Taco Pizza and the Psyco Killer were the favourites among the participants.  The meal was a bit on the pricey side;  Two beers, Two pops, Two Medium 12” Pizzas, One Large 14: Pizza for $70 with tax. The upside is that the venue was basically empty on a Tuesday night, so we got right in, and it also meant we had exceptional service.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.08
Cheese = 7.67
Toppings = 8.00
Sauce = 8.33
Crust = 6.17

Venue = 8.50

The Medium Veggie

The Large 14" Psycho Killer

Closeup of a slice of the Psycho Killer

The Medium 12" Taco

Attempt #13 - The Flamgino

A nice view outside

The room serves as a nice banquet hall

The Venue

1211 Ellis Boulevard Northwest 

Cedar Rapids, IA  52405

(319) 365-1534

The Flamingo is a catering company/banquet hall that is open to the public on Friday nights, starting at 4 PM.  Each week, they put a $3 off coupon in the Pennysaver for a pizza, which is good up to 5 pizzas, according to the waiter ($3 off each pizza, with a limit of five pizzas).  Although this business was badly affected by the Flood of 2008, it got back up to speed, and it looks better than ever!  The place looks great, with new furniture, and remodeled woodwork.  Their brick baked pizza recipe has been around since 1953… 

Beef, Black Olive, Green Pepper, Onion 13 Inch

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 6 participants; so we ordered three medium 13” pizzas.  We chose:  Flamingo Conglomeration ($19.50:  Italian sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, black olives, green peppers, onion);  a pepperoni and cheese pizza, and a ground beef, green peppers, and onion pizza.  The topping selection minimal, and the combo pizzas were a bit expensive.  In fact, there were only two specialty pizzas to choose from, the Flamingo Conglomeration, and George’s Gourmet Special ($14.00:  Italian sausage, green peppers, and onion, no substitutes!).  The crust was cracker thin, with a nice snap, after biting into it, and the sauce was sweet, as if they used sun dried tomatoes or sugar additives. Overall, this pizza was one of the thinnest we’ve encountered in the Cedar Rapids area.  The toppings were a little lacking, even on the Conglomeration where it was supposedly overloaded. 

The Verdict

Flamingo Conglomeration 13 Inch

The pizza was cut into traditional slices with evenly distributed, toppings.  The pizza selection was very small, and the crust resembled that of cracker consistency.  Given the high price for these pies, I doubt we will be going here just for the pizza in the near future.  The venue was very nice inside, with a helpful staff, a full service bar, and a clean fancy dining area.  In a way it felt odd to be eating pizza at this place…it seemed like the kind of place where you would have a 3-6 course meal at.  My one final word is, if you like thin pizza, this may just be your niche. 

Flamingo Conglomeration Slice

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 6.06

Pepperoni 13 Inch

Cheese = 6.50
Toppings = 6.16
Sauce = 7.33
Crust = 6.17

New!  Venue = 10