The Iowan Pizza Chronicles: February 2016

Venue

Menu

The Venue

200 1^st Ave NE,

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

(319) 826-1015

Once known as the Chop house, Jersey's bought the downtown restaurant back after the great flood of 2008. From that point on, it changed from being primarily a restaurant to being primarily a bar. The awesome part is, that the restaurant section is separate from the bar, so you can have a quiet dinner in a well furnished room. On Monday's all pizzas are 50% (below I've listed the full price), which is a GREAT deal! Apart from that, the wait staff was very nice, and accommodating.

Fire Eater – Sausage, pepperoni, jalapenos,
roaster red peppers, and green peppers,
Large 16”, Pan Crust, $20.99

You can check out their website at http://www.jerseyscr.com/menu.html or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JerseysCRDowntown.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

We had twelve participants so we ordered six large 16” pizzas.. They offered 12” and 16” in thin and pan crust. We went with two thin and the rest in pan.

Fire Eater – Sausage, pepperoni, jalapenos, roaster red peppers, and green peppers, Large 16”, Pan Crust, $20.99

Combo – Pepperoni, sausage, beef, Canadian bacon, green pepper, onions, mushrooms, black olives, green olives, and cheese, Large 16”, Thin Crust, $20.99

Meat – Pepperoni, sausage, beef, Canadian bacon and cheese, Large 16”, Pan Crust, $21.99

Garlic Jalapeno –
Garlic, ranch, jalapenos, grilled chicken,
and pineapple chunks,
Large 16”, Pan Crust, $20.99

Pepperoni – Large, Thin Crust, $13.99

Taco – Hamburger, blended cheese, lettuce, tomato, and refried beans, Large 16”, Pan Crust, $20.99

Garlic Jalapeno – Garlic, ranch, jalapenos, grilled chicken, and pineapple chunks, Large 16”, Pan Crust, $20.99

The Verdict

I am a Chicago style fan. I am shocked to say this but the thin was WAY better than the pan style crusts. The bready taste of the thicker pizzas was off, and many perfected the better tasting thin crusts. This was a strange turn of events for me, since I would have lost money on that bet :). The sauce, and toppings were average-overall the pizza itself did not stand out among many of the other places we've tried. The lack of flavors failed to come out with most of us, and the pizza was a bit greasy alongside the thicker crusts. Perhaps it was the standard offerings that we've had well over 50 times, or the fact that I'm betting most of the ingredients was straight from the can/freezer with little prep work. Nothing surprising for those who work at a bar, serving pizza (as I was in my younger years).