The Iowan Pizza Chronicles

Monday, November 13, 2017

Attempt #78 - The Mill

Venue - Outside

The Venue

120 E Burlington St,

Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 351-9529

This restaurant was founded in 1962 in the heart of Iowa City. It is a local venue for various bands, among various genres. The rustic atmosphere has no sports games on the TV (which is unusual now-a-days), and instead had Harry Potter playing on TV. LOTS of seating in the back, with booths, bar, and table seating. They even have outdoor seating with ivy growing overhead. The staff were friendly, but they were on the slow side in terms of getting our pizzas out to us.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: http://icmill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/summer-2017-menu-8_25_17-pg1-e1504374963362.png

Venue - Inside

Participants: 7

Pizza Ordered: 4

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small (10”), Medium (12”), Large (16”)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangle-Shaped

Pepperoni - $15.50 (16”)

Classic – Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushroom, White Onion, and Mozzarella on red pizza sauce, $20 (16”).

Iowa Waltz – Bacon, Granny Smith Apple, Walnuts, Asiago, Mozzarella, Blue Cheese, and honey on an olive oil thin crust, $16 (12”).

Hickory Hill – Bacon, Ground Beef, Tomato, White Onion, Mozzarella, Cheddar, and pickles on a mustardy red sauce, $20 (16”).

The Menu

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was great. Just the right amount with lots of flavor.

Cheese: Decent. Nothing to write home about though. The Wisconsin gourmet pizza looked like a good contestant for having the most variety of cheeses. Sadly, this was not chosen for the attempt.

Crust: Baked well. The olive oil thin crust was noticeably distinct from the standard average classic crust.

Toppings: The toppings quantity was good, but the quality was average. Nothing gourmet,but lots of interesting combinations (granny smith apples).

Final Comments/Considerations: This pizza impressed me compared to Mesa and the Wedge. I expected the pizza to be much more like standard bar pizza-but this place was better. The sauce was much better than the past few attempts. The pizzas all tasted good. However, the classic was by far the best of the bunch. The staff suggested since it was the best seller. No doubt! We choose this as our favorite also. The others just had something that held them back. Mainly, the flavors didn't jive as well as the Classic favors. The next time you are at the Mill, give their pizza a try!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.Overall 8.00

Cheese 8.43

Sauce 7.29

Topping 7.29

Crust 6.86

Venue 8.86

Favorite: Classic

Classic, 16 Inch, $20

Hickory Hill, 16 Inch, $20

Pepperoni, 16 Inch, $15.50

Iowa Waltz, 12 Inch, $16

Slices

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Attempt #77 - Beta's

Venue Outside

The Venue

1006 3rd St SE,
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
(319) 261-2355

This restaurant is located in the hip and trendy New Bohemia district within Cedar Rapids. It used to be known as 'Bata's', however, the original owners sold it to their long-term employee, who on their five year anniversary, changed the name to 'Beta's'. The restaurant has old brick walls, with wood panel flooring. It is artistically pleasing to dine there and have drinks. Several corporations often reserve tables for their employees and customers at this establishment. In fact, three parties were booked on Tuesday night when we visited, yet the owner managed to squeeze us in the bar area with eight adults and three children. Wonderful customer service!

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Menu

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: None(Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/betasrestaurant/)

Participants: 7

Pizza Ordered: All

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small (10”)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Rectangle-Shaped

Pepperoni - $8

All Meat – Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Chorizo, Ground Beef, Bacon, Buffalo Milk Cheese Blend, Marinara, Shredded Parmesan, $13.

Chicken Alfredo – Alfredo Sauce, Grilled Chicken Breast, Diced Tomatoes, Shredded Parmesan, $11.

Tortilla Verde – Black Bean Verde Salsa, Spiced Chicken Breast, Black Olives, Poblano Peppers, Tortilla Strips, Cotija Cheese, $12.

Mediterranean – Fresh Mozzarella and Goat Cheese, Sliced Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Balsamic, $11

All Meat, $13

Prosciutto Olive – Sliced Prosciutto, Buffalo Milk Cheese Blend, Sliced Green Olives, Bleu Cheese Crumbles, Arugula, Balsamic, $13.
Veggie – Wild Mushroom Ragout, Curried Cauliflower, Red Onions, Buffalo Milk Cheese Blend, Ricotta, $11.

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was very light, although it was thin crust, it was too dry. The pepperoni was better than the gourmet pizzas on the sauce category.
Cheese: Good quality. I loved the Buffalo Milk blend of cheese to create a unique taste that differs from the common Mozzarella. It was on the light side to keep it contained on a flatbread.

Crust: Crispy and cooked well. It was a little hard and dry around the edges, which is due to a lack of moisture and/or sauce.

Toppings: The toppings quality was great. Classy options from upscale eateries.

Chicken Alfredo, $11

Final Comments/Considerations: The pizza was good, but it didn't impress me. To me it tasted very dry, crispy, but almost lacking the flavor that I would expect from typical pizza. The dough was very thin and needed more substance to it. The toppings, although high quality, couldn't revive the partical non-existant sauce nor the spare cheese. brick oven style pizza. The All Meat won hands down for myself and the group-that pizza had lots of flavor thanks for the unique high quality meats that were added to it. Honestly, the second best pizza would be the basic pepperoni. That was the only pizza who had some sauce to sink your teeth into.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.71

Cheese 7.86

Sauce 5.14

Topping 8.14

Crust 8.00

Venue 8.29

Favorite: All Meat

Mediterranean, $11

Pepperoni, $8

Prosciutto Olive, $13

Tortilla Verde, $12

Veggie, $11

Slices

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Attempt #76 - Stone Wall Brick Oven Pizza

View of the parking lot

The Venue

3297 320th St

Wellman, IA 52356(319) 530-3239

Entering the farm

This pizza attempt is unique. Some of my participants noticed that near Iowa City, there are several pizza 'farms'. The concept is that for $12 a person, you can have all-you-can-eat brick oven pizza from either a food truck or a backyard pizza oven at a local farm. You provide your own drinks, lawn chairs, napkins. They provide pizza, water, and a plate. For kids, the plates are plastic, which is nice. Sometimes lines can get crazy, so be sure to come early (they serve most Fridays between 5-7pm) to avoid the line. Also, they only serve four types of pizza, and one dessert pizza each farm night.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: None (Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StoneWallBrickOvenPizza/about/?ref=page_internal)

Participants: 11

Pizza Ordered: All

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small (10”)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pizza Oven and Counter for Pizzas

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped

Half Pepperoni / Half Cheese

Reuben – Reuben Sauce, Corn Beef, sauerkraut, topped with Swiss cheese and Rye Bread Crumbs

Buffalo Chicken – Buffalo sauce, chicken, and smoked gouda

Beef & Mushroom – Red sauce, ground beef, mushrooms, and mozzarella

Dessert Pizza – Sliced apples, Cinnamon, Sugar, Icing (not pictured)

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was light, at times it was too dry.
Cheese: Good quality.

Crust: This was crisp in the middle, great for thin crust lovers.

Toppings: The toppings quality was good, but the quantity was light (I would had asked for more pepperoni).

Final Comments/Considerations: This pizza was typical brick oven style pizza. Light on the sauce, toppings, and cheese, to maintain that thin, cracker crust. Some love it, some don't. I was impressed by the types of cheeses and the variety of pizzas. The Buffalo served the spicy crowd, the beef/mushroom served the bland crowd, the pepperoni/cheese served the traditional/kids in our group, and the Ruben served the gourmet crowd who likes to eat outside of the box. LOVED the all you can eat feature, so after about 12 pieces later, I got a great sampling.

Farm at Night

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.45

Cheese 7.36

Sauce 7.36

Topping 8.27

Crust 8.18

Venue 9.45

Favorite: Reuben

Monday, August 21, 2017

Attempt # 75 - Pizza U Design

Venue-Inside

The Venue

5505 Center Point Rd. NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402(319) 393-0258

This restaurant is a add-on to Papa Juan's. In fact, it is housed within the old restaurant, but its spun off as its own establishment. The owner is trying to get his business ramped up. After purchasing a new oven which cooks up to 900 degrees (ours was around 650), and a classy pick-your-topping (like Subway) pizza line, the place certainly has a unique appeal. They offered plenty of tables and booths.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Menu

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: None (Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Pizza-U-Design-725551770980013/)

Participants: 8

Pizza Ordered: 5, 4 Specialty Pizza, 1 Single Topping Pepperoni

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small (10”), Large (14”), Ordered all Larges
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped

Pepperoni – (Large 14”, $12.99)

Caprese – Pesto, Sliced Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Drizzled with Balsamic Glaze (Large 14”, $14.99)

Oven

Chicken Bacon Ranch – (Large 14”, $14.99)

Taco - (Large 14”, $14.99)

Philly Cheesesteak - Mozzarella, celery, ranch (Large 14”, $14.99)

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was too light.
Cheese: Average quality.

Crust: This was soggy in the middle, unimpressive.

Toppings: The toppings quality was average.

Final Comments/Considerations:

Chicken Bacon Ranch,
Large, 14 Inch, $14.99

This pizza was an improvement compared to our last visit when it was under Papa Juans kitchen. The unique order method was coo l and trendy, but the overall pizza was average. For me, the Bacon on the Chicken Bacon Ranch was awesome, followed up (with three votes) was the Philly Cheesesteak. This was also another good tasting pizza. On the pepperoni, I felt they should have stuck with a single cheese and added more of it, instead of using a mix blend, with had conflicting tastes. I also think they should increase the thickness of their crust. All the pizzas were soggy in the middle.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.79

Cheese 6.57

Sauce 6.29

Topping 8.29

Crust 7.29

Venue 8.57

Favorite: Chicken Bacon Ranch

Philly Cheesesteak, Large,
14 Inch, $14.99

Caprese, Large, 14 Inch, $14.99

Pepperoni, Large,
14 Inch, $12.99

Taco, Large,
14 Inch, $14.99

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Attempt #74 - Red's Alehouse

Menu

The Venue

405 N Dubuque St.
North Liberty, IA 52317(319) 626-2100

This restaurant/brew house is a popular stop among residents of Iowa City, locals, socialites, and bicycle riders around the eastern Iowa corridor. It has lots of bar, indoor restaurant, and outdoor restaurant seating producing a classy atmosphere. Happy hour lasts on weeknights until 6pm, so our attempt started a little early at 5:45 pm on a Tuesday night. They serve local beer from all over-Wilson's, John's White Ale, Amana Colonies, and many others. They often rotate their beers so people can always try something new. As for the pizzas, they only offered one size, and no specials on weeknights.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Marghareta ($10)

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: http://redsalehouse.com/food-menu/

Participants: 7

Pizza Ordered: 10, all 7 Specialty Pizza, 1 Single Topping Pepperoni

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Single Size (1-2 people per pizza)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped

Pepperoni – ($9)

Running Buck - Marinara, chorizo, pepperoni, red onions, jalapenos, mozzarella ($11)

Balsamic Chicken - Bruschetta, balsamic glaze, mozzarella cheese ($10)

Spicy Thai Chicken - Peanut sauce, roasted red peppers, cheddar jack, carrots, green onion ($11)

Buffalo Chicken ($10)

Buffalo Chicken - Mozzarella, celery, ranch ($10)

Marghareta - Garlic, basil, tomato, mozzarella ($10)

Mediterranean - Kalamata olives, tomato, green pepper, red onion, feta, pesto aioli, mozzarella, balsamic glaze ($10)

The Classic - Marinara, pepperoni, mozzarella ($9)

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was good. It has a sweet zest to it.
Cheese: Great quality.

Crust: This was a little soggy in the middle, but overall it held its crispness on a few of the pizza. The flavor was average (a little on the sweeter side), nothing to write about.

Toppings: The toppings quality was above average.

Mediterranean ($10)

Final Comments/Considerations: This pizza beats any other 'bar' or brewpub pizza we've tried. It is well worth the drive. Personally, I loved the Spicy Thai, but they ALL were good. Worth the trip no doubt!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.57

Cheese 8.57

Sauce 7.71

Topping 9.14

Crust 7.29

Venue 8.14

Favorite: Mediterranean

Balsamic Chicken ($10)

Spicy Thai Chicken ($11)

Pepperoni ($9)

Running Buck ($11)

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Attempt # 73 - Chicago Pizza Tours

Pizano's Venue

The Venues

The Pizza tour visit four of twenty possible pizzerias around Chicago. Because of the variance no two tours are often alike.

Pizano's Pizza & Pasta

61 E Madison St

Chicago, IL 60603

312-236-1777

Flo & Santos

1310 S Wabash Ave

Chicago, IL 60605

312-566-9817

Pequod's Pizza

2207 N Clybourn Ave

Chicago, IL 60614

773-327-1512

Pizano's Thin Sausage Thickness

Coalfire

1321 W Grand Ave

Chicago, IL 60642

312-226-2625

Pizano's – The 11AM pizza tour stated at this res truant. This restaurant is located right next Chicago's to Millennium Park. It is indirectly, one of the original pizzeria's in Chicago which had involvement with the original inventor of the Chicago Style 'Deep Dish' style of pizza. Ike Sewell came up with the idea from a Texas football player who moved to the city around the 1940's. He paired up with an Italian business partner (Uno's original pizza chef Rudy Malnat) to develop the deep dish pizza. Rudy's son, Ruby Malnati Jr. opened up his own pizzeria after he was under-appreciated after years of working over at Pizzeria Uno. The restaurant had lots of seating, and allowed you to mail deliveries of frozen pizza anywhere in the country.

Pizano's Deep Dish Thickness

Flo & Santos – Thin crust tavern style joint in the heart of the South Loop. Features "south side" thin crust pizza with Italian & Polish backgrounds. A south side restaurant, its typical to find a table of Chicago police officers eating inside. Before 'Chicago Style Deep Dish' was invited, the taverns would serve out thin, salty pizza to customers so they would sell more beer. The place has plenty of seating in the front and back (for groups), along with outdoor seating.

Pequod's Pizza – This is the official pizza of the Chicago Black hawks. I saw about 4 banners advertising this while we were there. They have seating on two levels, and offer a thick Sicilian style of pizza with Detroit style crust (Caramelized cheese on the edges). A local legend since 1971 famous for their burnt cheese caramelized crust with the sweet sauce.

Pizano's Slices-
Thin Cheese Sausage
Deep Dish-Cheese

Coalfire – This is new trendy restaurant which specializes in using a coal fired oven to cook their pizzas. Because they use coal, it avoid moisture which leads to a crisp crust on the pizza. In 2015, it was voted as the #1 pizza in town by Chicago Magazine. Chicago's original coal oven pizzeria, this American style of pizza is distinctively different from the Neapolitan style that inspired it.

The Pizza

At each restaurant we tried (usually two different styles of pizza). There were two participants for this pizza attempt.

Pizano's

Cheese - Chicago Deep Dish

Sausage – Thin

Flo & Santos Venue

Flo & Santos

Italian – Thin

Polish Kielbasa - Thin

Pequod's Pizza

Pepperoni – Chicago Deep Dish

Coalfire

Lasagna Pizza

The Verdict

Flo & Santos Menu

Wow. By the time we pulled up to the third place, I was stuffed! Each restaurant had its unique feel and pizza, so I give props to the tour company on the variety of pies they introduced us to. Also, thanks to them, my 4 year old son also got to eat pizza on the side (kids under 6 eat free). The chicago style shocked me as it was great, but not as good as Giodanno or Pizza Uno.

The tour guide and 90% of the people on the bus agreed that Pizano's was the winner of the day. With the tasty whole-milk cheese, and basic pressed tomatoes mixed with olive oil/basil, you could taste the freshness. The guides current favorite was Lou Malnati's. Luckily, on the Metra on the way back, a couple of Cubs fans handed their pizza out to everyone. And guess where it was from? Lou Malnati's! I tried some and found it to be good, like Pizano's (except it wasn't as good cold). As far as great tasting pizza, I personally loved the Flo & Santos Kielbasa pizza. The rich flavor from that Polish sausage was terrific. The Pepperoni form Peqoud's was a let down, because the crust was burnt and it didn't taste great. Not Tomaso's great to say the least!

Flo & Santos Inside

Final Comments/Considerations: This tour is a solid one. Although it is pricey at $60 per adult, its well worth it. You get a bus ride and some historical information on the Second City as well as GREAT pizza. You can book your tours here: https://www.chicagopizzatours.com/

As far as Iowa goes, the pizza in the Cedar Rapids corridor isn't that far off from a lot of Chicago's top pizza joints!