Attempt #9 - Riley's Cafe

The Venue

515 Williams Blvd

Fairfax, IA 

(319) 845-5040

Riley’s Café used to have their own pizza joint located in the back of their Fairfax restaurant’s business, however, it has since conciliated into one business.  Each Monday night, their specialty large 16” pizzas go on special, so instead of $12.99, the price drops to $8.00 for a pie.  The restaurant has a heartland, home cookin’ feel to it, lightly decorated with old memorabilia.  They have large booths that could easily fit three people in each side, perfect for a family.  This is the only location that still serves pizza.  For those of you who don’t know, Riley’s has two other locations in the Cedar Rapids area, one on Center Point Road, and another on 1^st Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids. 

The Pizza

“The Hawaiian Delight” [toppings:  ham, pineapple]

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 5 participants; we ordered just two large 16” pizzas.  The first was called “The Carnivore” [toppings:  pepperoni, italian sausage, canadian bacon, ham, hamburger], and the second was “The Hawaiian Delight” [toppings:  ham, pineapple].  My favorite was the meat loaded carnivore; however, others preferred the hawaiian, since Italian sausage isn’t always the most appetizing to some.  

Cross-section of "The Carnivore"

The Verdict

The pizza was cut into squares, which gave us a more “traditional” feel when digging in.  The toppings were plentiful, and the cheese was just about right.  For some of us, the pizza was not as thick and saucy as they would have liked.  The crust was New York style, so all those thin crust lovers might be in for a treat.  It wasn’t super thin though, and certainly not crispy.  There was a slight amount of breadyness to it which made this pizza on par with that of Miguel’s (in my opinion).  Overall, it is a great value for the $8 price.  I would go back and order another pizza, especially after a long day from work on a cold Monday when I didn’t want to cook. 

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall = 8.0
Cheese = 8.2
Toppings = 8.6

Sauce = 6.2
Crust = 7.0

“The Carnivore” [toppings:  pepperoni, italian sausage, canadian bacon, ham, hamburger].