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).
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
Overall = 8.28
Cheese = 7.33
Toppings = 7.56
Sauce = 8.11
Crust = 9.56
Venue = 7.22
