Attempt #25 - Cranky Hank's

The Venue

4444 1st Ave NE #454

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(319) 365-4265

The Venue (Outside)

Cranky Hank’s has been in Lindale Mall for nearly five years, sitting in the ground level by the parking ramp.  At one time, it was a Happy Joe’s restaurant in that location, and luckily it is still a pizza place today.  Inside, it reminds you of a typical Happy Joe's restaurant, with arcade games off to the side, a bar area for beer and mixed drinks, a salad bar area in the center of the sitting area, and a sectioned off part that looks like it used to be its own room at one time (perhaps?).  The music playing at the restaurant is a plus, as two participants in our group commented positively because we were fortunate in hearing some inspiring lively, upbeat hits.  As far as specials go, Tuesdays specials are buy a large, get a small pizza half price.  Sadly we “forgot” about this special when we ordered so we did not partake.  You can take a peek at their menu at: http://www.crankyhanks.com/Pages/Menu.aspx. 

The Venue (Inside Bar Area)

 

Large (16"), Hank Bread ($9.75)

The Pizza


Chicago Style:  Yes

Crust Thickness:  Average (all but Deep Dish’s Rim, that was Thick)

Large (12"), Deep Dish, The Hot Head ($20.95)

Large (12"), Deep Dish, The Bellyacher ($20.95)

Large (16"), Taco ($21.95)

Our group consisted of 7 participants; so we ordered four large specialty pizzas, and one order of Hank Bread.  Cranky Hanks has two types of crusts, normal and deep dish.  The deep dish’s maximum size was 12”, whereas the normal crust maximum size was 16”.  Each pizza cost us around $21.  They come in large, circular hand-formed crusts.

Taco – Seasoned meat, chips, lettuce, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese.  We had asked to have it served with Taco sauce (you may have to ask for this). (Large Normal Crust [16”], $21.95)

Meatlovers – Canadian bacon, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese. (Large Normal Crust [16”], $21.95)

The Hot Head – Sausage, jalapeños, onions, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. (Large Deep Dish [12”], $20.95)

The Bellyacher – Sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. (Large Deep Dish [12”], $20.95)

Hank Bread – Crust, mozzarella cheese, severed with marinara sauce on the side to dip the pizza strips into. (Large Normal Crust [16”], $9.75)

The Verdict

The taco, hot head, and bellyacher pizzas were cut into triangular slices, with the meatlovers being cut into very large rectangular slices.  The crust was comments by many to be very thick, bready, and delicious on our normal pizzas.  Both deep dishes were very disappointing because given the weight of the toppings, the crust appeared thinner (than the normal pizza’s crust), and much greasier than the normal pizzas from the cheese…only the rims contained thick, bready goodness. Additionally, the Meatlovers, Hot Head, and Bellacher appeared to have a large amount of seasoned ground beef between the sauce and the cheese.  This reminded some of Leonardo’s.  If you enjoy a lot of meat on your pizza, you should be in bliss because of this fact (the Bellyacher contained the most).  I did not notice any spiciness on the Hot Head since the cheese takes away the excess heat.  The sauce was sweet and sparse, and the cheese was plentiful.  Additionally we ordered the Hank Bread, with was a 16” Cheese Pizza with the sauce on the side (commonly called Cheese Fries in Wisconsin).  That was an excellent appetizer, some would even consider it to be a cost-effective replacement for a pizza (since it only costs $9.75).  The Taco was the best pizza was ate, a balanced set of toppings, with a thick crust that could hold the heap load of toppings, cheese, and taco sauce (which were served to us as packets from Heinz).  Based off our experience, I would order the Taco and the Hank Bread again. 

Large (16"), Meatlovers ($21.95)

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.14
Cheese = 8.29
Toppings = 7.71
Sauce = 6.71
Crust = 6.86

Venue = 9.00

Slice of The Bellyacher

Slice of Taco, Meatlovers

Attempt #24 - Sweet Basil's Pizza Pie

The Venue Outside

The Venue

3874 Mount Vernon Road

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403

(319) 366-2000

The newly relocated Sweet Basil’s is open Tuesday – Sunday, from 4 PM onward.  Each day that they are open, Sweet Basil’s runs a special.  The most popular is Sunday, which are "Buy one large specialty pizza, get a small cheese pizza for free". I asked the employee if they are cumulative, and she said they are; she claimed it was a very popular deal.  This establishment is carry-out only, since the restaurant is one small room.  The photos were taken once I got home with the pies.  Take a look at their menu at: http://www.sbpizzapie.com/menu.php.

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Pan

Our group consisted of 6 participants; so we ordered three large specialty pizzas.  Each of these 16” large pizzas cost us around $20.  They come in large (16”), circular hand-tossed crusts.  Because it was Sunday, we received three small (9”) cheese pizza’s free.

 

Large (16"), The House Supreme ($20.99)

Large (16"), Chicken, Artichoke, and Marinated Tomato ($18.25)

Large (16"), Sweet Basil ($20.99)

Sweet Basil – Olive Oil, fresh garlic, fresh sweet basil, fresh Roma tomatoes, topped off with out 5-cheese blend – glitch and fresh. (Large [16”], $20.99)

Chicken, Artichoke, and Marinated Tomato - Chicken, artichoke hearts, seasoned and marinated Tomato topped with our 5-cheese blend. (Large [16”], $20.99)

The House Supreme – Sausage, mushrooms (we substituted these with Kalamata olives), pepperoni, Canadian bacon, black olives, onions, green peppers,, our own pizza sauce, and a 5-cheese blend.  (Large [16”], $20.99)

The Verdict

The pizza was cut into rectangular slices, nothing too thick of a crust.  The pizza was surprisingly well preserved during the 20 minute car ride to Marion; not soggy or very greasy.   The sauce was light, with the crust being on the thinner side; yet it was still a little chewy.  The toppings were average.  Many people commented that the cheese pizza was a favorite, since the sauce was different then the specialty pizza’s sauce, and its (singular) Mozilla cheese had the right amount of saltiness to it.  There was tie between the House Supreme and the Cheese as the favorite.  If you live around the area, give Sweet Basil’s a try, since the Sunday deal is quite the steal for the price!

Small (9"), Cheese (Free on Sundays)

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 7.42
Cheese = 8.50
Toppings = 8.17
Sauce = 7.00
Crust = 7.00

Venue = n/a

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?