Attempt #23 - Parlor City Pub and Eatery

The Venue

1125 3^rd Street SE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401

(319) 247-0000

Parlor City Pub and Eatery is a locally owned bar/restaurant with a mid-sized dining area.  Some mentionable aspects of Parlor City include their Juicy Lucy burgers (with cheese in the middle of the meat patty), pizza, and beer specials; Parlor City is notable for the fact that they do a great job of bringing in local music talent from the community on select nights.  The city of Cedar Rapids has poured in a lot of money in the surrounding area since the great flood of 2008 in hope of reviving the impoverished area.  The district of Cedar Rapids is called New Bohemia (New BO), since a lot of Czech’s migrated to Cedar Rapids in the 20^th century.  Across the street from Parlor city is newly constructed a New BO park along with a city-wide all-year-round, indoor, local New BO Market.  Parlor City has been in its current location for a number of years, so it is by no means a new comer to the community.  Their pizza menu can be found online at http://www.parlorcitypub.com/food.html. 

The Pizza

 Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Pan

Our group consisted of 9 participants; so we ordered four large specialty pizzas.  Each of these 16” large pizzas cost us around $18.  They come in large (16”), circular hand-tossed crusts.  We only tried their thick crust, but they also serve a thin crust.

All Meat - Sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon and Mozzarella cheese (Large [16”], thick crust, $18.25)

Large (16"), Taco ($18.25)

Bacon Cheeseburger - Hamburger, bacon, onion, and our house sauce (Large [16”], thick crust, $17.25)

Taco - Our crust is topped with a refried bean and salsa sauce, then loaded up with seasoned Taco meat or diced seasoned Chicken, tomatoes, onions, black olives, jalapeños and nacho cheese tortilla chips. Sour cream and salsa on the side (Large [16”], thick crust, $18.25)

Rueben - Thousand Island dressing, piled with Mozzarella, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Corned Beef (Large [16”], thick crust, $17.25)

The Verdict

Large (16"), All Meat ($18.25)

Large (16"), Rueben ($17.25)

Large (16"),  Bacon Cheeseburger ($17.25)

The pizza was cut into typical triangle slices.  The crust held a bready (almost chewy) consistency.  The toppings were very well distributed on the pies, in fact this establishment has our top rating of the category for toppings-not too much and not too little.  The traditional pizzas turned out to be a bigger hit than the gourmet selections, with the All Meat coming up to a close second next to the group’s favorite, Taco.  Normally, most meat pizzas are rated low because are they typical and boring.  The meat was flavorful, and the traditional sauce/cheese was excellent.  The Taco was extremely good as well…well deserving of the first choice selection for this Pizza Attempt.  It had fresh jalapenos, with a lot of lettuce, onion, tomatoes.   In a way, I felt healthy eating this form of pizza, it was the “greenest” Taco pizza I’ve ever had.  The tortilla chips were minimal (in comparison with Happy Joes, which practically dumps an entire bag of chips on your pizza).  The Rueben was disappointing…some did not care for the sauerkraut, and others complained that all they could task is bland cheese and dough.  The Bacon Cheeseburger was average…great on the first three bites, since it really does taste like a cheeseburger, but after that it got to be a little filling.  The value for the pizza was fair, a little under $20 for a pizza.  Kitty-corner from Parlor City is the Chrome House, whose pizza vastly different compared with Parlor City (thin vs. bready).  We were a bit surprised of how good Parlor City was, since we were expecting the same style of pizza as Chrome Horse.  After trying their pizza, I would recommend this place to anyone who wants some good pizza near downtown Cedar Rapids.       

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.00
Cheese = 7.66
Toppings = 9.33
Sauce = 6.44
Crust = 8.56

Slice of All Meat

Slices of Taco and Bacon Cheeseburger

Venue = 8.44

Attempt #22 - Bulicek's Deli & Brew

 The Venue
1616 6th Street SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
(319) 362-0788

Bulicek’s Deli & Brew is a locally owned bar with a small dining area.  The venue itself is well kept, with modern appeal; however, it is a bit small in the dining area.  They proudly advertise their lunch specials, as well as their pizza. On Monday’s all pizzas are half off, meaning that the normal price of $18.00 comes down to $9.00. 



 

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No
Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 9 participants; so we ordered four large specialty pizzas.  Each of these large pizzas cost us $9 ($18 normally, but they are half price on Monday’s) each.  They come in large (16”), circular hand-tossed crusts
Meat Lovers
Chicken, Bacon, Ranch
Taco
BLT




 

Large (16"), Chicken, Bacon, Ranch ($18.00 or $9 on Monday's)

Large (16"), Meat Lovers($18.00 or $9 on Monday's)

The Verdict

The pizza was cut into large rectangular slices.  The crust was thin, yet not cracker thin…many in the grouped loved its consistency.  The toppings were well distributed on the pies.  One participant commented that it was ‘the best “thin crust” pizza in Cedar Rapids’.  I asked the participant base to declare their favorite pizza.  Two chose the Meat Lovers, five chose the Chicken, Bacon, Ranch, and two were undecided.  The Meat Lovers had an amazing taste that rarely comes up for a typical meaty pizza.  The Chicken, Bacon, Ranch was by far the pizza that was bursting with flavor.  The bacon, and ranch were well engrained within the mozzarella cheese, creating a sensational taste in your month.   The taco was okay, but adding the sweet taco sauce, it tasted more like bland marinara sauce instead of spicy taco sauce.  The BLT was heavy on the lettuce, and light on the bacon and tomato-the Chrome house had a better BLT from my memory.  Overall, all of the pizza’s were very good and tasty.  We regretted ordering none of them; however, the Chicken, Bacon, Ranch, and the Meat Lovers clearly stand out for our attempt as the best tasting for our group.  And for only $9 a pizza on Monday’s, Bulicek’s may very well the hidden gem you’ve been looking for. 

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.44
Cheese = 7.78
Toppings = 8.44
Sauce = 7.56
Crust = 8.67
Venue = 7.33

Large (16"), BLT ($18.00 or $9 on Monday's)

Large (16"), Taco ($18.99 or $9 on Monday's)

BLT (Left).
Meat Lovers (Center).
Chicken, Bacon, Ranch (Right).

Attempt #21 - Brickside Cafe'

The venue...

The Venue

1705 Boyson Road

Hiawatha, Iowa 52233

(319) 294-5252

Large (16"),  Supreme ($17.99 or $9 on Monday's

Large (16"), BBQ Chicken ($17.99 or $9 on Monday's

Brickside Cafe’ is a locally owned family restaurant that opened up around 2 years ago.  The restaurant is known for its deli sandwiches and brick oven pizzas.  The atmosphere consists of one large open room, where you can see the pizza being made in the authentic brick oven, two flat screen TV’s, and a sandwich making line separates the consumers from the employees.  You are expected to get your own drinks, and the wait for pizza takes around 20-30 minutes, so be prepared.  They offer 13 specialty pizzas with one, uniformly thin crust, and one size (large).  On Monday’s all pizzas are half off, meaning that the normal price of $17.99 comes down to $9.00.  Check out there their pizza menu here.

The Pizza

 Chicago Style:  No

Large (16"), Greek ($17.99 or $9 on Monday's)

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Large (16"), Carnivore ($17.99 or $9 on Monday's)

Our group consisted of 9 participants; so we ordered five large specialty pizzas.  Each of these large pizzas cost us $9 each.  They come in large (16”), square crusts.  All of their crusts are lined with corn meal, giving it a grainy texture.  This also prevented the dough from getting greasy.   

Carnivore - Pizza sauce, beef, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, sausage, cheese (Large, $17.99, Monday's it is $9.00).

Greek - Caesar dressing, mozzarella cheese, black olives, red onion, ham, tomato (Large, $17.99, Monday's it is $9.00).

BBQ Chicken - BBQ sauce, shredded chicken (Large, $17.99, Monday's it is $9.00).

Taco - Refried beans, salsa, beef, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, chips (Large, $17.99, Monday's it is $9.00).

Supreme – Pizza sauce, cheese, beef, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, red onion, black olives, red and green peppers (Large, $17.99, Monday's it is $9.00).

The Verdict 

Large (16"), Taco ($17.99 or $9 on Monday's)

The pizza was cut into small rectangular slices.  The crust was excellent, with the delicious corn meal breaded on the outside, making the pizza taste heartier.  The toppings were sparse compared with other establishments.  One participant commented that it was the best thin crust pizza they had in a long time, but they would have preferred a deep dish pizza option.  The sauce was a little spare as well; some pizzas such as the Carnivore brought out the sauce flavor more so than the supreme.  The BBQ Chicken’s sauce was very mild which was shocking, and the Taco was a bit bland and rather dry (in comparison to the Chrome Horses or Happy Joe’s).  The Greek received a lot of positive feedback because we choose the option that used Caesar dressing as the sauce (the other option was Ranch).  Overall, the Greek and the Carnivore were most people’s favorite pizzas!  If you prefer classy, brick oven pizzas with the authentic Sicilian homemade feel, give the Brickside Cafe’ a try…it is a surely a rarity for Iowa. 

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.06
Cheese = 7.89
Toppings = 6.56
Sauce = 6.67
Crust = 9.00

Venue = 7.83

What's left after five pizza's?

Attempt #20 - Roscoe's Pizza

The Venue

212 Edgewood Rd NW

Cedar Rapids, IA 52405

(319) 654-8886

Roscoe’s was a Tomaso’s Pizza (a local pizzeria that has several stores in the Cedar Rapids area) at one time.  The restaurant is one large open room, where you can see the pizza being made, the ball game on TV, and the large hot ovens cooking up some goodness.  You are expected to get your own drinks, and the wait for pizza takes around 20-30 minutes, so it is best to call ahead.  The pizza selection is a bit vaster than Tomaso’s as they have currently have nine “specialty” pizzas (Mobo Combo, Meat Combo, Tex Mex Taco, Chicken Veggie Delight, Veggie Combo, Great Garden, Ham & Kraut, Hawaiian Ham & Pineapple, BLT).  They also offer four unique types of pizza crust that sets them apart from their former local chain (who only currently offer three).  Sadly, they are not open on Monday’s, so plan on it any other day of the week.  Plan in on stopping by if you are in the area of Edgewood Road in Cedar Rapids.  Check out there their pizza menu here.

Large, Mombo Combo, Motown Crust ($24.99)

Large, Tex Mex Taco, Brookville Crust ($24.99)

Slice of the Mombo Combo (Motown Crust)

Slice of the Meat Combo (Chicago Crust)

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  Yes

Crust Thickness:  Thick

Our group consisted of 9 participants; so we ordered three large specialty pizzas, and an order of pizza bread.  Each of these large pizzas cost us roughly $25 a piece.  They come in small (9”), medium (12”), and large (15”).  The Crust comes in Motown (Thick and bready, cheese all the way to the edge of pan so it caramelizes), Chicago (Thick and bready with a big lip to hold everything in), New York Thin (Thin but not razor thin, you can ask for EXTRA thin), or Brookville (Best of both worlds, New York Thin but in a pan with caramelized crust). 

Mombo Combo – Pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, hand-sliced onions & green peppers, California black olives & Italian sausage (Large, Motown crust, $24.99).
Meat Combo - Pepperoni, ham, sausage, beef (Large, Chicago crust, $24.99).

Tex Mex Taco – Fresh ground beef, hand-sliced onions, pinto beans, taco seasoning, crisp lettuce, diced tomato, nacho chips, served with taco sauce on the side (Large, Brookville crust, $24.99).

The Verdict

Large, Meat Combo, Chicago Crust ($24.99)

The pizza was cut into hearty triangle-shaped slices.  The ingredients were excellent individually.  Some felt that the amount of toppings could have been more, especially on the meat combo.  I felt that the cheese and toppings were well-balanced, pared with a mild sauce.  The sauce was not as sweet as a lot of other places, which made it taste a bit more authentic.  The Meat Combo was the least favorite of the pies, because the toppings were a bit sparse, and the flavor wasn’t quite tied together very well.  The Chicago crust was very bready, with a lot of people liked.  It was as if you had ordered breadsticks with your pizza!  The Mambo Combo was the favorite among most of us, with a few voting for the Taco.  I would recommend this pizza place as an alternative to Tomaso’s in the Cedar Rapids area.  Some felt that it was even better, since they have the genius Brookville crust that combines the Motown (Detroit at Tomaso’s) with the Thin crust.  The thin isn’t really that thin, by the way…it is almost regular.  Since I am a big bready crust, with a mild/spicy sauce guy (I don’t like a lot of sugar in my sauce), this place is one of my favorite places in the area.  If you are like me, you must give this place a try!

Pizza Bread Appetizer

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.28
Cheese = 7.33
Toppings = 7.56
Sauce = 8.11
Crust = 9.56

Venue = 7.22