The Iowan Pizza Chronicles: Attempt #29

Monday, September 9, 2013

Attempt #29 - Union Station

Outside Venue

The Venue

1730 16th Ave SW

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

(319) 364-2779

Quite a few locals tend to suggest Union Station because of their consistent, widely offered pizza on the South West side of Cedar Rapids. In fact, they have a Union Station Pizza (carry out only) place right next to the bar. Their wait staff was extremely friendly, and helpful. They had high chairs and booster seats for the little ones, a basketball hoop with a few arcade games, and a few pool tables. The bar/restaurant itself is a bit dated; however, you get the cozy sense while you're there. Pizza specials are on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays which entail that a two-topping, 14" thin crust pizza is just $9. You can find them online at: http://www.unionstationcr.com/

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin/Regular

Our group consisted of 6 participants; so we ordered 3 pizzas. All three consisted of specialty pizzas. We ordered them in the larger 14" size (with 10" was the smaller size available). Overall, with tip it came up to $7.75 a person, with leftovers. They offered six specialty pizzas that vary in their toppings-but nothing too out of the ordinary. The pizzas were:

Taco - Beef, Italian Sausage, Covered with Lettuce, Tomatoes, Black Olives and Fresh Grated Cheese (Large, Thin Crust [14”], $13.50)

Fire Eater - Meatballs, Mushrooms, Onion, Red & Green Peppers, and Mozzarella Cheese (Large, Thin Crust [10”], $12.00)

Large (14"), Fire Eater, Thin ($12.00)

Combo - Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Ham, Black Olives, Mushrooms, Green Peppers and Onions (Large, Regular Crust [14”], $15.00)

The Verdict

Large (14"), Taco, Thin ($13.50)

The thin crust pizzas were cut into small rectangle shapes, but the regular Combo pizza was cut into the familiar pie shaped triangles we've all grown to love. Each pizza had a distinct sauce...the Combo had a Smokey flavor, the Fire Eater had a strong spicy bang to it, and the Taco was a bit on the sweet side. Each pizza was good; however, I think that the regular crust was much better than the thin. I noticed that the Taco and even the Fire Eater (both thin crust) were soggy in the middle. The Fire Eater was the spiciest pizza we've had to date...I've done the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazing Hot Wings Challenge and the Nuclear Wings Challenge (at Beef 'O' Brady's [current time record holder]), and I almost felt that the heat was a little much for enjoyment; unless you are like me and love spicy food. Each pizza scored evenly with two votes each, so there was no clear winner in this month's pizza review.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.17

Cheese 7.67