Thursday, January 30, 2014

Attempt #33 - Sykora Bakery


The Venue
73 16th Avenue Southwest
Venue
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
(319) 364-5271
Oven
Large (16"), Hawaiian ($19.99)

Large (16"), Supreme ($19.99)
Since the great flood of 2008, the Sykora Bakery reopened, continuing their legacy of serving the Cedar Rapids, IA community with fresh baked goods for over 80 years!  Recently, after perfecting their pizza dough recipe, they decided to start selling pizza on Friday and Saturday evenings after 5pm, or you may be able to call a day in advance if you plan on ordering a pizza at another time.  The bakery itself is not very large, it has around 10 tables that seat roughly 20-26 people.  The pizza attempt marked an important departure of the Wissinks, one of the couples who have participated in well over two years (24 events) of pizza attempts with us.  Since time is limited, the owner of the bakery, John, sent his workers home, and worked himself so he could stay open on Thursday night from 5:30-7:30 for our attempt.  This kind act of hospitality alone earned the Sykora Bakery to have the #1 venue of the 33 places that we have tried so far.  Aside from the pizza, they sold bread loaves, cookies, pastries, ice cream, post cards, books, magnets, bottled water, pop, etc...  They had one high chair which was well used with three little ones, and had napkins, red pepper, and cheese on each table-ready to go for us! 

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No
Crust Thickness:  Thick

Large (16"), Pepperoni ($16.99)
Our group consisted of 13 (1 of which, was a watcher) participants; so we ordered 4 large pizzas.  They currently serve four specialty pizzas, so we ordered one of each except for the Veggie.  Each pizza only came with only one crust, Sykora's thick, delicious homemade bready crust. We ordered them in the large 16" size; they also have a 14" medium.  Each pizza costs roughly $20.  The pizzas were: 

Supreme - Pepperoni, sausage, beef, onions, mushrooms, with mozzarella cheese  ($19.99 for the 16" large)
Taco  - Seasoned ground beef, green peppers, refried beans, lettuce, onions,  topped with tortilla chips covered with mozzarella cheese  ($19.99 for the 16" large)
Hawaiian - Canadian bacon, pineapple, and mozzarella cheese ($19.99 for the 16" large)
Pepperoni - Pepperoni and mozzarella ($16.99 for the 16" large)

The Verdict

Large (16"), Taco ($19.99)
Large (16"), Hawaiian ($19.99)
Taco and Supreme Slice
The pizzas were cut into triangular-shaped pieces.  The crust was on the thick and bready side (DELICIOUS!).  One drawback about the bakery is the price of a large pizza will set you back $20; however, if you factor in all of the bready goodness you are getting from it, it is almost as if you are getting two pizzas because the crust make the pie filling.  The sauce was prepared well, in house, one gallon at a time.  Since they are relatively new in the pizza business, they do not have the large scale demand to make a lot of sauce and have it keep, therefore they make them in smaller increments.  Their bready delicious crust is what sets this apart from the other places in town, as John pointed out to me.  The topping consistency was average, not as plentiful as some other venue's but not as scarce as others.  The favorite pizza of the group was the Hawaiian.  Half of the Hawaiian had sauerkraut whereas the other half did not.  I must admit that although I voted for the Supreme, the Hawaiian was the best Hawaiian pizza that I have ever had.   I would even consider ordering it standalone next time, as it fills up my wife, son, and myself quite well.   It may not be the first place to consider on getting a pizza, but when you are in the Czech Village in Cedar Rapids, give the Sykora Bakery a try along with your next batches of Kolaches.  If you call in advance, they may even make your pizza on an off day (Sunday-Thursday), like they did for myself!  I would defiantly give this place if you are like me, and enjoy a thick, bready crust!!!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall            8.73
Cheese            8.91
Sauce               8.09
Topping           8.91
Crust                9.09
Venue              9.55






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