Attempt #67 - The Wedge (Riverside Drive, Iowa City)

Menu

The Venue

517 Riverside Drive

Iowa City, IA 52246

(319) 337-6677

This restaurant is located stone is in the historic college town of Iowa City, Iowa. This serves as a important dining establishment for the Iowa City locals-either you are a Mesa Pizza fan or a Wedge Pizza fan. They offer carry out or delivery options, as their 'pizza by the slice' slogan implies its more of a grab-and-go kind of place. The Nutcracker is their signature pizza according to many locals.

The Pizza

X-Large 16 Inch, The Nutcracker, $21.49

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin-Average

Menu: http://www.thewedgepizza.com/menu2015-april.pdf

Participants: 14

Pizza Ordered: 8

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Medium (12”), Large (14”), X-Large (16”)/2 Medium and 6 X-Large

Crusts Offered/Ordered: Regular only

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped

Pepperoni - Regular Crust, $13.75.

Cheese – Medium 12”, Regular Crust, $12.00.
Love Supreme - Sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, red onions and green peppers, laid down under a bed of white cheddar and mozzarella with tomato sauce. Truly a love supreme, X-Large 16”, Regular Crust, $21.49.

The Meatball Parmesan - Our homemade meatballs, red onions, tomato slices, and fresh garlic, covered in mozzarella, white cheddar, and Parmesan cheese, all on a tomato sauce base, X-Large 16”, Regular Crust, $21.49.

X-Large 16 Inch, Oliver Twist, $21.49

The Red Baron - Tomato sauce, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, tomato slices, feta and mozzarella, X-Large 16”, Regular Crust, $21.49.

Riverside Pesto - A fountain of fresh garlic, sun dried tomatoes, fontina cheese & freshly grated Parmesan on our house basil pesto sauce, overflowing with mozzarella, X-Large 16”, Regular Crust, $21.49.

The Oliver Twist - Black olives, green olives, Kalamata olives, spinach, red onion, mozzarella and Parmesan on tomato sauce, X-Large 16”, Regular Crust, $21.49.

The Nutcracker - An enchanting creation of mozzarella, Parmesan, gorgonzola, and

fontina cheeses, sprinkled with pistachios and roasted peppers, all topping our house basil pesto, X-Large 16”, Regular Crust, $21.49.

The Verdict,

After cooking, the pizzas cut into triangular shaped wedges.

X-Large 16 Inch, Riverside Pesto, $21.49

Sauce: Traditional sauce, a little on the lighter side
Cheese: A little on the light side, just about right for my likings

Crust: Lacking heartiness, it seemed a little like cardboard

Toppings: Average spread, just about right.

Participant Favorite: Tie between Oliver Twist (Olive Pizza) and Riverside Pesto!

Final Comments/Considerations: I would seriously consider giving them a shot when you don't have to drive an hour after picking up the pizzas. It would be good to try them side by side with Mesa and see an outcome. Although I preferred The Wedge, many in my participant pool favored Mesa after this attempt.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.29

Cheese 7.07

Sauce 6.50

Topping 8.00

Crust 6.79

Venue 0.00

Favorite: Oliver Twist / Riverside Pesto

Medium 12 Inch, Cheese, $12.00

Medium 12 Inch, Pepperoni, $13.75

X-Large 16 Inch, Love Supreme, $21.49

X-Large 16 Inch, Meatball Parmesan, $21.49

X-Large 16 Inch, The Red Baron, $21.49

Attempt #66 - Basta Pizzeria Ristorante

The Venue

Venue Outside

121 Iowa Ave.

Iowa City, IA 52240

(319) 337-2010

This restaurant is located stone is in the historic college town of Iowa City, Iowa. Among many college bars lies this classy establishment, with thick dark curtains, classy wood paneling, tile flooring, and high end Italian food. Aside from the pizza, common favorites include the meatball sub, prosciutto chicken, and chicken milanese. The wait staff was professional,and accommodating. One thing to note is try to make reservations even on weeknights. They luckily got our large group in at the last minute. Major props to them!

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin-Average

Menu: http://www.bastaiowacity.com/images/Basta%20Dinner%20menu%207-7-16.pdf

We had eight participants so we ordered five pizzas. They offer one size, somewhere between 12” to 14”. They serve three types of crusts, regular, thin, and gluten free.

Margherita - San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, extra-virgin olive oil, Regular, $13.00.

Salsiccia – Handmade Italian sausage, San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil Crust, $15.00.
Pepperoni x2 - Regular Crust, $13.50.Lobster – Maine Lobster, sweet corn, fire roasted leeks, pancetta, mozzarella, ricotta, Regular Crust, $18.00.

Chef making pizzas

The Verdict,

After cooking, the pizzas cut into triangular shaped wedges. The sauce had a nice spicy zing to it, it was delicious! The crust was a little burnt on the edges of some of the pizzas, yet it was chewy, which is terrific for my tastes. Unfortunately, it was soggy in the middle of most pizzas. The pepperoni. Where do I start?!? It was simply the best I've ever had!!!!! Upon seeing the chef make the pizzas, I noticed the the pepperoni had big chunks of fat on it-no wonder why it tasted SO good. It was clearly not your mass store bought topping-this was high quality ingredients. 

Oven

The cheese also was high quality. The entire time I kept thinking that this place is about on par with the Lincoln wine bar in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The main difference lies in the crust-the wine bar's was thinner and less chewy than Basta's. The sausage on the Salsiccia was spicy...awesome for those of us who enjoy a little heat. Many participants raved about the lobster and its white sauce. In fact, the Lobster and Salsiccia tied for the favorite pizza. So, if you have some extra cash in your wallet and want to try out Basta's, you won't be disappointed!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.94

Cheese 8.63

Sauce 8.25

Topping 9.00

Crust 8.25

Venue 9.00

Favorite: Lobster / Salsiccia (Spicy Sausage)

Lobster, $18.00

Margherita, 13.00

Pepperoni, 13.50

Salsiccia, 15.00

Slices

Attempt #65 - General Store Pub

The Venue

Venue Outside

12612 Stone City Road

Anamosa, IA 52205

(319) 2462-4399

This restaurant is located stone is in the historic Stone City, Iowa (which is now an unincorporated community in the city limits of Anamosa). Once, there were three rock quarries in the town, and now there only remains one, along with the General Store Pub. Many visitors stop in for their burgers, beers, and sometimes even a pizza or two. They have seating upstairs, downstairs (where the bar is), and even outside overlooking the Wapsipinicon River.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin-Average

Menu: http://www.generalstorepub.com/menu.html

Menu

We had seven participants so we ordered four pizzas. They offer two sizes, 14” (Large), and 12”, 7” (Personal). They serve three types of crusts, regular, thin, and gluten free.

Conglomeration - Pepperoni, Sausage, Red Onions, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, Black Olives, 14” (Large), Regular, $18.00.

Taco – Taco Beef, Mozzarella, Cheddar, topped with Queso, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Black Olives, Nacho Chips, with sides of sour cream and taco sauce, 14” (Large), Thin Crust, $17.00.
Pepperoni - 14” (Large), Regular Crust, $14.00.

BBQ Pork – Barbecue Pork, sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Onions, Red Peppers, 14” (Large), Regular Crust, $18.00.

The Verdict

After cooking, the thin pizzas into square while the regular crust pizzas were cut into triangular shaped wedges. The thin crust was crispy, and the taco was surprisingly better than Happy Joe's (keyword: lettuce), overall the sauce was bland, and the cheese was okay (nothing special). Overall, the pizza was better than your average bar, but it carried a heavier price tag. The scenery and other good food (burgers, anyone) may be a larger draw than the pizza. The favorite was a close match between the Taco and Conglomeration, but the Conglomeration won by one vote. One thing that was unique about our experience was that the plates consisted of aluminum foil wrappers (sort of like a taco wrapper), it felt hip and trendy!

Large 14 Inch, Regular, Conglomeration, 18.00

Large 14 Inch, Thin, Taco, 17.00

Large 14 Inch, Thin, BBQ Pork, 18.00

Large 14 Inch, Regular, Pepperoni, 14.00

Slices on the 'plate'

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.21

Cheese 6.00

Sauce 6.57

Topping 7.57

Crust 6.57

Venue 8.86

Favorite: Conglomeration

Attempt #64 - Papa Murphy's (Boyson Road, Cedar Rapids)

Venue

The Venue

560 Boyson Rd NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(319) 294-8170

Once again, this is an non-traditional pizza attempt, as it is a Take and Bake pizza attempt. I was sure to cook all the pizzas according to the restaurant's packaging to replicate the desired outcome as close as I could get it. This attempt, we tried the Boyson Road Papa Murphy's. On Tuesdays, they have a $10 special that means you can get any large pizza on their menu for just $10. What a deal! They have no seating inside, however, they do have an oven, which they may be able to cook a pizza for you if you call ahead.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No (claimed to be 'Yes')

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu

We had eight participants so we ordered three pizzas. They offer two sizes, 14” (Large, serves 3-4), and 16” (Family, serves 4-6). They serve four types of crusts, original, pan, stuffed, and thin in both gourmet and build your own pizzas.

Chicago-Style Stuffed™ - Red Sauce, Salami, Pepperoni, Sausage, Ground Beef, Mixed Onions, topped with Tomatoes, Green Onions, Provolone, Cheddar, 14” (Large), Stuffed Crust, $15.00.

Prior to Cooking

5-Meat Stuffed™ - Red Sauce, Canadian Bacon, Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Bacon, topped with Ground Beef, Provolone, Cheddar, 14” (Large), Stuffed Crust, $15.00.
Gourmet Vegetarian - Creamy Garlic Sauce, Spinach, Zucchini, Mushrooms, Artichoke Hearts, Tomatoes, Mixed Onions, Herb & Cheese Blend, 14” (Large), Pan Crust, $13.00.

The Verdict

5-Meat and Chicago

Large Gourmet Vegetarian, 13.00

After cooking, we cut the pizzas into triangular shaped wedges. The claimed 'Chicago' deep dish was disappointing, as it wasn't true Chicago style, but for $10...not bad. Overall, the pizza was good, especially considering the $10 special. However, most of us agreed that if we were to go out for pizza, this would not be the place. Much to my surprise, the 5-meat was the most popular pizza, securing five of the votes.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 6.88

Cheese 6.75

Sauce 6.63

Topping 6.63

Crust 7.63

Venue 0.00

Favorite: 5-Meat

Large 5-Meat, 15.00

Large Chicago Style, 15.00

Attempt #63 - Bazbeaux

Venue

The Venue

329 Massachusetts Ave.

Indianapolis, IN 46204

(317) 255-5711

Bazbeaux advertises it has been Indianapolis's best pizza since 1986. Since we were out in Indianapolis for Gen Con 2016, we figured why not give some of Indy's best pizza a try. Even though this is out of state, it is a noteworthy pizza attempt for comparison's sake (for travelers, as well as to see how the Cedar Rapids corridor compares to elsewhere). We knew going into it that it was going to be an average to thin style of pizza, AND to expect a wait. It is common for a line to be out of the door for this pizza joint on Massachusetts Avenue. Inside, table and booth seating exist, with patio furniture seating exists for the outdoor guests. You can find their menu online at http://www.bazbeaux.com/menu.html.

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had five participants so we ordered five pizzas. They offer three sizes, 10”, 12”, and 16” in both gourmet pizzas and build your own pizzas. 25 gourmet pizzas were listed, we ordered three along with two build-your-own's. They offered only one type of crust, which was thin.

Pepperoni – 10”, $8.65.

Cajun Chicken, Cajun Shrimp, Prosciutto – ”12, $16.25.

Colossus – Pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, mushroom, red onion, green pepper, black olive, 12”, $14.95.

Get Fresh – Fresh mozzarella, house roasted tomatoes, garnished with lots of fresh arugula and topped with olive oil & balsamic vinegar. No red sauce and no cheese blend, 12”, $13.95.

Pizza Alla Quattro Formaggio – Romano, cheddar, ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, bacon and mushroom, 16”, $14.95.

The Verdict

Slices

The pizzas were squarely, except for the small pepperoni. One participant even preferred the simplicity of the pepperoni (which resembled Jack's frozen pizza due its density). Overall, the pizza was good, but I wasn't highly impressed given their reputation. The sauce was on the light side with a mild taste, the topping quantity and quality were vast, which is always a plus-the deal breaker for me personally was that the crust was so thin and the pizza didn't fill me up. All of the ingredients were of high quality. The favorite pizza was the Pizza Alla Quattro Formaggio, the taste of the cheeses was simply exquisite!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.80

Cheese 8.20

Sauce 8.20

Topping 8.00

Crust 6.00

Venue 7.10

Favorite: Four Cheese

12 Inch Get Fresh, $13.95

12 Inch Colossus, $14.95

12 Inch Pizza Alla Quattro Formaggio, $14.95

12 Inch Cajun Chicken, Cajun
Shrimp, Prosciutto, $16.25

10 Inch Pepperoni, $8.65

Attempt #62 - Dublin City Pub

Venue-Outside

The Venue

615 1st Ave SE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

(319) 247-7180

Dublin City Pub is a neat bar located right on the Cedar river in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids. From what I recall it was relocated there after the flood of 2008 and has grown into an institution. Known for a laid back bar during the afternoon to early evening, it quickly turns into a youthful bar scene during the later hours. I also enjoy that it isn't plagued with TV's everywhere. This gives you a small taste of what a bar or pub in the UK's resembles.

The pub has two stories, the first contains the main bar with two large rooms of high and low tables. The room upstairs consists of a smaller bar, wood flooring, and a large area for more tables and possibly a dance floor in the later hours. The gem of upstairs is the hidden back event room that overlooks the river.

The Irishman, 16 Inch, 14.99

We got sat downstairs in the first front area overlooking the street. The wait staff was extremely helpful and friendly. On Thursdays, 2 topping 9” pizzas are on special for only $6.

You can check out the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DublinCityPub/ and their menu at http://www.dublincitypub.com/DublinCityPub_Menu_2015.pdf

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had ten participants so we ordered seven pizzas! They offer two sizes, 9”, and 16” in both gourmet pizzas and build your own pizzas. They offered only one type of crust, which was thin.

Pepperoni – 9”, $6.00.

Pineapple, Banana Pepper – 9”, $6.00.

Danny Boy, 16 Inch, 15.99

Mac & Cheese (one with Bacon and one without)– Creamy mac and cheese with bacon topped with mozzarella and baked to perfection, 16”, $14.99.

Danny Boy – Beef, ham, bacon, sausage, and pepperoni, 16”, $15.99.

Irishman Pizza – Your favourite sandwich on a pizza. Corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, 16”, $14.99.

Killkenny's Garden – Green peppers, red and yellow onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black and green olives, 16”, $14.99.

The Verdict

The pieces came out in rectangular-shaped for the 16” pizzas and triangular shaped for the 9” pizzas. The crust was thin and crispy – yet it was a hearty basic crust. The sauce was on the light side, while the cheese was just right. The toppings seemed a little scattered on some of the pizzas...I noticed on the veggie and meat one, some pieces didn't have very many toppings on them. The pizzas were excellent-no soggy, and they were crispy. I was surprised at how small the 9” was compared with the 16”

Pepperoni, 9 Inch, 6.00

The winner of the favorite pizza was the Danny Boy with five of the votes. The Irishman was a close second with 3 votes.

Dublin City pub is a fun place to go-which by the way on Thursdays the pints were $2!-and its pizza is noteworthy. If you haven't already tried it, I would suggest making a stop when you are in the area.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.25

Cheese 9.30

Sauce 8.90

Topping 7.30

Crust 7.20

Venue 8.80

Banana Pepper and Pineapple, 9 Inch, 6.00

Favorite: Danny Boy (meat pizza)

Mac & Cheese without Bacon, 16 Inch, 14.99

Mac & Cheese with Bacon, 16 Inch, 14.99

Killkenny's Garden, 16”, $14.99

Slices

Attempt #61 - The Quarter Barrel

Venue Outside

The Venue

616 2^nd Ave SE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

(319) 200-4140

The Quarter Barrel is located in downtown Cedar Rapids. Its main draw is the vintage video games alongside the locally crafted beer on tap. One will quickly notice that the pizza offerings are all unique. They don't have the typical sausage, pepperoni, and cheese that one might expect from a bar. After talking with some of the management, as far as pizza goes, they intend on only producing thin crust pizza pies. That serves their target market appropriately.

Venue Inside

Seating consists of tables with chairs, or high tables with bar stool chairs. They currently host about 25 classic arcade games. One of the newest games they have, Mortal Combat 2, was played by myself and another friend. I seem to recall myself being a lot better at it in my younger years. Also, they have 2-3 games that do not require quarters to play, which is great for goofing around. A change machine is located conveniently right when you walk in, next to the ATM. For weeknights, feel free to call them for reservations; however, they do not take them on Friday or Saturday nights-its first come first serve.

You can check out the facebook page and menu at https://www.facebook.com/thequarterbarrel/

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Venue - Open Concept Kitchen

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had sixteen participants so we ordered ten pizzas! They offer two sizes, 12” for gourmet pizzas and 12” or 18” for a build your own pizza. They offered only one type of crust, which was thin.

Pepperoni – 18”, $18.50.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza – House buffalo sauce, roasted chicken, beer caramelized onion, blue cheese. Topped with celery slaw, sweet potato chips, and your choice of ranch or blue cheese dressing, $14.00.

Blueberry BBQ – Roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella on a base of blueberry BBQ sauce featuring our house porter. Topped with beer marinated shoestring onion rings, carrot ribbons and greens tossed in citrus vinaigrette, $13.00.

Menu

Shrimp Alfredo – Alfredo sauce, garlic shrimp, Parmesan, scallions, arugula, and fried capers, $14.00.

Crab RanGoonies – Cream cheese vase, with crab and green onion, finished with fried wanton chips and sweet chili. Crab can be omitted to make it vegetarian, $13.00.

Holy Shiitake! - Garlic oil base, lemon herbed ricotta, green onion, local shiitake mushrooms, and beer caramelized onion. Finished with arugula tossed in citrus vinaigrette, $13.00.

Stir Fry – Brown sauce, white rice, broccoli, carrots, crimini mushrooms, red onion, finished with sesame seeds and green onions, $13.

Margherita – House marinara, fresh mozzarella, garlic oil, finished with applewood smoked salt, fresh basil, and balsamic reduction, $12.00.

Roasted Fennel and Sausage – Cumin garlic oil, red onion, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, finished with arugula tossed in orange vinaigrette, $14.00.

Pesto – Broccoli presto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, red onions, and roasted cherry tomatoes, $13.00.

The Verdict

The pieces came out in triangular-shaped for the 12” pizzas and rectangular triangular shaped for the 18” pepperoni pizza. The crust seemed to be thin, and a little dry. Personally, I would rather have it dry than wet and soggy; however, I felt that it would have been a little better with some more sauce. The sauce that was present was great-high quality ingredients that you can taste. The cheese was also lacking on some of our pizzas, which was a little disappointing. Because they only made the gourmet pizzas in 12”, I would have liked to see a larger size for the establishment to take on. The crust was great for the size, not soggy, and hand tossed. The ingredients and gourmet options were also very good-uniqueness is a important factor aside from the typical cheese and sausage offerings. Our waiter, Patrick, was also terrific, very helpful for being on a busy Friday night.

The winner of the favorite pizza was a three way tie for the second month in a row! Roasted Fennel and Sausage / Crab RanGoonies / Stir Fry all seemed like great choices. I personally enjoyed the Fennel/Sausage pizza because the tasted reminded me of a Gyro. The Crab Rangoon pizza was also terrific and the stir fry was as well (it was vegetarian, too). If you have some time on a weeknight or even a weekend, stop on by and give one of these 12”ers a try! And watch for the pinball machines, some of the paddles are a little sticky.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.25

Cheese 6.92

Sauce 8.29

Topping 7.00

Crust 7.79

Venue 9.16

Favorite Roasted Fennel and Sausage / Crab RanGoonies / Stir Fry

18" Pepperoni, 18.50

Blueberry BBQ, 13.00

Buffalo Chicken, 14.00

Holy Shiitake!, 13.00

Margherita, 12.00

Pesto, 13.00

Stir Fry, 13.00

Shrimp Alfredo, 14.00

Roasted Fennel and Sausage, 14.00

Crab RanGoonies, 13.00