Attempt #35 - A & A Pagliai's Pizza

Menu

Venue Outside

The Venue

302 E Bloomington St

Iowa City, IA 52245

(319) 351-5073

Large (14") Black Olive, Beef, Green Pepper ($18.45)

The atmosphere at Pagliai's Pizza is quite a throwback of a classic New York pizza joint.  The store is lined with several college-aged guys, tossing pizza dough and preparing pizzas while wearing classic white paper hats.  The restaurant has booths, and several smaller tables.  They offer frozen pizzas that you can take home, perfect for the University of Iowa crowd.  They do not take reservations, nor do they offer specials throughout the week.  Check out their menu online here:  http://www.pagliaisic.com/menu.html

The Pizza

Large (14") Broccoli, Shrimp ($16.70)

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 7 participants; so we ordered 3 14"pizzas.  They currently serve 2 specialty pizzas (a all meat and a veggie), so we ordered a selection of make-your-owns.  Each pizza only came with only one thin baked crust. We ordered them in the only size, 9"..  Each pizza costs roughly $10.  The pizzas were: 

Black Olive, Beef, & Green Pepper (14" crust, $18.45)

Large (14") Palace Special ($20.20)

Palace Special - Sausage, Beef, Pepperoni, Mushroom &, Onion (14" crust, $20.20)

Broccoli, Shrimp (14" crust, $16.70)

The Verdict

The personal pizzas were cut into triangular-shaped pieces.  The crust was on the thin side, yet having a firm, crisp bottom.  The sauce was light, and the toppings were a bit on the sparse side.  The pizza was good, especially being thin crust.  It is easy to see why this pizza place is consistently voted as being Iowa City's #1 pizza restaurant year after year.   

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall            8.86

Slice

Cheese            7.86

Sauce               8.14

Topping           8.57

Crust                8.71

Venue              9.29

Attempt #34 - Backpocket Brewery

The Venue

903 Quarry Rd,

Coralville, IA 52241

(319) 466-4444

Backpocket Brewery - Venue

The Backpocket Brewery is located in Coralville, Iowa directly between two hotels and a up-and-coming swanky shopping district.  Beside from offering tours, they have a kitchen that is open until about 9pm. Seating can be difficult to find, so call ahead and make a reservation.  This is a very popular hotspot among many of the college students at the University of Iowa.  They have one section of high bar tables (about 6, seating four each), and another section of normal lower dining tables.  They also have an outdoor gas fire pit, lawn chairs around a few large outdoor tables, and two sets of bags on hand for the patrons.  They offer 'flights' which is a sampler o  A bit hoppy for my taste, but then again, I'm a Hefeweizen kind-of-guy. 

Inside the venue - Bar

f their in-house brew that they offer as well.

The Pizza
Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Thin

Our group consisted of 9 participants; so we ordered 9 personal pizzas.  They currently serve 12 specialty pizzas, so we ordered a selection from among the twelve.  Each pizza only came with only one thin brick oven baked crust. We ordered them in the only size, 9"..  Each pizza costs roughly $10.  The pizzas were: 

Margherita Extra - Fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato ($9.00)

Meatza - Bacon, pepperoni, sausage, & meatball ($9.00)

Solid Combo - Sausage, mushroom, roasted yellow pepper & onion ($9.00)

Yo Adrian! ($10.00)

Weekly Special - Spicy! ($10.00)

Drunken Clam ($10.00)

Dessert Pizza - Nutella and powdered sugar ($8.00)

Yo Adrian! - Sausage, pepperoni, meatball, provolone, & giardiniera ($10.00)

Drunken Clam - Clam, bacon & lemon ($10.00)

Weekly Special - Spicy! Jalapeños, ham, sausage, chicken, onion, feta cheese ($10.00)

The Verdict

Solid Combo ($9.00)

Meatza ($9.00)

The personal pizzas were cut into triangular-shaped pieces.  The crust was on the thin side.  The sauce was light, and the toppings were a bit on the sparse side.  However, the pizzas were meant to serve one person.  They were baked in a brick oven, so the crust had a distinct take of being baked on brick.  Since this is in the Iowa City region, and this is a brand new trendy place to visit, right next to two hotels, I felt this was a little bit on the expensive side.  The Yo Adrian! was the most popular pizza amongst the 9 participants, and it is the most popular pizza overall, according to our waitress.  Cibo fusion in Cedar Rapids seemed to offer a wider selection of pizzas that were also cooked in the same manner, and yet it was a bit cheaper.  Others in the group loved the atmosphere, being able to order a smaller of various beers that are brewed in house.  After eating the pizzas, I was  not quite full, so , I would highly suggest ordering pizzas from Backpocket over lunch at some point with a brew. 

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall            8.06

Cheese            7.44

Sauce               6.33

Topping           8.44

Crust                8.56

Venue              8.78

Margherita Extra ($9.00)

Dessert Pizza ($9.00)

Dessert Pizza Slice ($9.00)