Attempt #48 - Mellow Mushroom

Venue Inside

The Venue

1451 Coral Ridge Mall #700.

Coralville, IA 52241

(319) 625-2031

Mellow Mushroom is located in the Coralridge Mall where Bennigans used to be located. It is a Pizza chain based in the South (Atlanta, Georgia) and I believe this is the first location in Iowa. It opened up earlier this year.  The restaurant is groovy, with a large silver cow rotating around the center pole, lots of legacy video game references posted on the wall. You get a funky/stoner feeling being in there. It's as if the guys from the movie Grandma's Boy made a pizza place. That's what this place would be. There is plenty of room in the restaurant, with lots of table and large booth setting. There corporate menu can be found here:  http://mellowmushroom.com/corpmenu

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Average

Our group consisted of five participants, so we ordered three pizzas. They can come in three sizes (10" = Small, 14" Medium, 16" Large), with only one styles of crust.
Mighty Meat - Red sauce base with mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham and Applewood smoked bacon (14" Medium, $19.99).

Funky Q Chicken - BBQ Chicken, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, caramelized onions, and Applewood smoked bacon. Finished with a BBQ sauce swirl (10" Small, $12.99).

Philosopher's Pie - Pesto Olive oil and garlic base, all natural grilled steak, Portobello mushrooms, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, Provolone, feta and mozzarella cheeses (10" Small, $13.99).

Mighty Meaty, Medium 14", $19.99

Funky Q Chicken, Small 10", $12.99

The Verdict

The pizza came out in circular-shaped pizzas with rectangle pieces for the smalls and triangular pieces for the Mighty Meaty Medium pizza. The crust racked up a 9.9, one of our highest. It was not soggy, nor cracker thin.  It was baked at a good consistency from the center to the edges. The pizzas themselves were not greasy, which was a big plus. Compared to our last attempt at Old Chicago, most of us preferred this place since it wasn't a bready. After eating the pizza, you didn't feel sick from the bread and grease like some did from Old Chicago. It was very well balanced. The sauce was a little disappointing since it was on the light side, however that is probably what made the crust so good (since it couldn't get soggy). The votes were split between the Mighty Meaty and the Philosopher's Pie as the favorite (I oddly voted for the Funky Q Chicken). If you are around the Coralville Mall sometime, you should totally check this new (chain) out.

Philosopher's Pie, Small 10", $13.99

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall            8.50

Cheese            8.10

Sauce               7.40

Topping           8.70

Crust                9.90

Venue              8.20