Attempt #91 - Pizza Hut (Marion, IA)

Venue

The Venue
1300 7^th Street,
Marion, IA 52302
(319) 373-2100

Venue Inside

Some love Pizza Hut for childhood memories.  Some love it for 90s nostalgia.  Some simply love it and some don’t.  The nations largest and most well-known pizza chain is put to the test.  The location in Marion Iowa is directly next to a Dominos, right on the main strip in 7^th avenue. Indoor seating is limited so we ate it to go at one of our houses.

Menu

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: https://www.pizzahut.com/index.php?menu=pizza#/menu/pizza

Participants: 14 (plus 5 children)

Pizza Ordered: 8

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Medium and Large

Crusts Offered/Ordered: Hand Tossed, Thin, Pan ($1 extra), Stuffed Crust ($2 extra)

Pieces Cut: Triangular

All The Pizzas

Pepperoni – Large, Stuffed Crust

Pepperoni – Large, Hand Tossed Crust

Cheese – Large, Hand Tossed Crust

Buffalo Chicken – Large, Hand Tossed Crust

Buffalo Chicken – Large, Thin Crust (Screw Up, it should have been BBQ Chicken, Pizza Hut Refunded us for the mistake)

Meat Lovers – Large, Stuffed Crust

Supreme – Large, Pan Crust

Hawaiian – Large, Hand Tossed Crust

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was okay. 

Cheese: The cheese dried quickly, and tasted artificial.  Gross.

Crust: Many of the pizzas were oily, and therefore made for soaked spongy crust. I would advise to get the Hand Tossed Crust, because the Stuff Crust and the Pan were saturated. The crust was sweat, so they clearly added sugar to it, while brushing the rims with melted (fake?) butter.

Toppings: Average. 

Final Comments/Considerations: I do not recommend Pizza Hut, unless you are in a rush, or you have kids who insist upon it (thanks for that Book It! reading program).  

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

Buffalo Chicken, Hand Tossed Crust

Overall 5.73

Cheese 4.91

Sauce 6.27

Topping 5.73

Crust 6.36

Venue 0

Favorite: Supreme

Pepperoni, Hand Tossed Crust

Pepperoni, Stuffed Crust

Cheese, Hand Tossed Crust

Meat Lovers, Stuffed Crust

Supreme, Pan Crust

Hawaiian, Hand Tossed Crust

Slices

Attempt #90 - The Airliner

Venue Outside

The Venue
22 S Clinton St,
Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 351-9259

The Airliner opened in 1944 and has remained a Iowa City landmark for decades. Famous for pizza and its sports bar atmosphere closely tied with aviation with world known Rockwell Collins, an aviation giant headquartered 22 miles north, it’s a bit flattering working in that field. The bar has several tables, booths, and has two floors. Most dining is done downstairs. They do not accept reservations, so if you have a large party, you may have to wait. They are usually busy.  Weekday or weekend, there is usually a crowd. Game days are especially packed, so try to avoid them unless you don’t mind being packed in the bar.

Venue Inside

The Pizza

Chicago Style: Yes

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: http://theairlinerbar.com/

Participants: 6 (plus 2 children)

Pizza Ordered: 5

Sizes Offered/Ordered: 10” Small (all five ordered were small) and 16" Large

Crusts Offered/Ordered: Chicago Deep Dish, Airliner Regular, New York Thin, Glutten-free

Pieces Cut: Triangular

Airliner Taco Pizza - Your choice of crust covered with red sauce or refried beans followed by seasoned beef, black olives and onions. Then, special cheese blend, lettuce, tomato, and corn chips. Served with a side of sour cream and salsa. Sub chicken for $1.00 (10” Small Average Crust, $15.99).

Menu

Greek Special Pizza - Your choice of crust covered with an olive oil, garlic and herb sauce. Then topped with spinach, black olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and lightly covered with our special blend of cheeses (10” Small, New York Thin Crust, $15.99).

Philly Cheese Steak - Alfredo sauce, sliced beef, green peppers, sliced onions and cheese blend (10” Small, Chicago Deep Dish Crust, $15.99).

Supreme - Pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, black olives, onions, mushrooms and green peppers, then smothered in our own cheese blend (10” Small, Chicago Deep Dish Crust, $15.99).

Alfredo Chicken Pizza - Alfredo base topped with grilled chicken, scallions, tomato and artichoke hearts (10” Small, Chicago Deep Dish Crust, $15.99).

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was noticeably sweat.

Cheese: Too much cheese on the Greek, it lacked sauce!

Crust: The deep dish pizza’s crust made a tasty breadstick after eating the pizza, which was good. I did enjoy the crust. Some pizzas were a bit wet in the center of the pizza pie though.

Toppings: The staff put the incorrect topping on our Philly Cheesesteak, they used chicken instead of beef!  An unpleasant surprise to some of us, but it worked out since we didn’t mind too much.

Final Comments/Considerations: The pizza was good, nothing spectacular, but good.  Better than Mesa’s or Pizza on Dubuque by far. If I were to attend again, I would try it on a Sunday afternoon when there is no football game playing, it would be more enjoyable for a group/family. We went when there was a football game being played from out of town, which caused the seating to be tight.

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

Overall 8.17

Cheese 8.92

Sauce 8.83

Topping 8.67

Crust 8.17

Venue 5.50

Favorite: THREE WAY TIE.  Alfredo Chicken/Philly Cheesesteak (Chicken Screwup)/ Airliner Taco Pizza

 

Alfredo Chicken Pizza, Small 10 Inch, Chicago Deep Dish Crust, $15.99

Greek Special Pizza, Small 10 Inch, New York Thin Crust, $15.99

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, Small 10 Inch, Chicago Deep Dish Crust, $15.99

Supreme, Small 10 Inch, Chicago Deep Dish Crust, $15.99

Taco, Small 10 Inch, Average Crust, $15.99

Attempt #89 - Fong's Pizza

Venue Outside

Menu

The Venue
1006 3rd St SE,
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
(319) 320-9992

Fong's pizza originated in Des Moines, Iowa and is well known for their oriental pizza combinations. The restaurant does not take reservations, and as a result, if you are trying to get a large group in on the weekends, you might have to wait. The restaurant has low table, high table, booth, and bar seating in a narrow room. This was the former Beta's restaurant, where Pizza Attempt #77 took place (http://iowanpizzachronicles.blogspot.com/2017/10/attempt-77-betas.html). 

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: https://fongspizza.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Fongs_11x14_menu_CR.pdf

Participants: 11 (plus 5 children)

Pizza Ordered: 6

Sizes Offered/Ordered: 10” and 16"

Crab Rangoon (16", $22)

Crusts Offered/Ordered: Wheat or White, Glutten-free

Pieces Cut: Triangular

Crab Rangoon - Crab Rangoon base, surimi, green onion, asiago and mozzarella; topped with crispy wontons and a sweet chili lattice. (16", $22)

Fongolian Beef© - Mongolian sauce, sliced beef, roasted red pepper,green pepper, and sauteed green onions tossed stir-fry style with mozzarella. (16", $21)
Mac And Cheese - Big D’s mac and cheese topped with mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan topped with toasted Parmesan; breadcrumbs. (16”, $21 with Bacon $22.50)

Bacon Popper - Cream cheese base with bacon, Graziano sausage, onion, green pepper, roasted red pepper, jalapeno, and mozzarella. (16”, $21)
Honey and Garlic - Alfredo sauce, fresh garlic, honey and mozzarella. (16”, $20)

Mac and Cheese (16", $22.50)

Street Taco - Pepper jack, cheddar, and mozzarella base, with Cajun corn and black bean blend, julienned red onion, jalapeno and mojo marinated beef steak. Topped with fresh lettuce, cilantro, and house made Pico de Gallo; served with cilantro lime sour cream and taco sauce. (16", $22)

The Verdict

Sauce: All pizzas were light on the sauce.

Cheese: Average.

Crust: The Fongolian beef was soggy, but the rest were thin. The taste between the wheat and the white was not significant, I couldn't  tell.

Fongolian Beef (16", $22)

Toppings: The toppings were unique. The Street Taco was superb bursting with flavor and the tasty lime cilantro sauce was awesome.

Final Comments/Considerations: The pizza was delivered in a prompt manner, and they were tastey, even if on the thin side. Given the low price

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.68

Cheese 8.00

Sauce 8.00

Honey and Garlic (16", $20)

Topping 9.18

Crust 6.91

Venue 7.73

Favorite: Street Taco

Street Taco (16", $22)

Bacon Popper (16", $21)

Attempt #88 - Blaze Pizza

Venue Outside

The Venue
201 S. Clinton St #167,
Iowa City, IA 52240

(319) 519-0075

Blaze is a chain pizzeria where customers walk through a line and pay $7.49 for one pizza on a personal pan with either thin or average crust. The employees will ask you if you are okay with the amount of toppings placed on the pizza, which is a good idea, since often I found them to be a bit on the light side. Seating had booth or table, and each party serviced themselves.

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: https://blazepizza.com/menu/

Participants: 6 (plus 2 children)

Pizza Ordered: 7

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Standard 12” pan
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangular

Topping Creations

2x Hot Link - Spicy red sauce, jalepeños, sausage, black olives, red onions, banana peppers, mozzarella

Meat Eater - Pepperoni, crumbled meatballs, red onion, mozzarella, red sauce

Art Lover - Artichokes, mozzarella, ricotta, chopped garlic, red sauce dollops

White Top - White cream sauce with mozzarella, applewood bacon, chopped garlic, oregano, arugula

The Verdict

Sauce: Good flavor.

Cheese: Loved the variety of cheeses.

Crust: Either burnt or soggy. The crust seemed inconsistent.

Toppings: Average to sparse. I had to ask several times for more toppings

More Toppings

Final Comments/Considerations: The pizza was delivered in a prompt manner, and they were tastey, even if on the thin side. Given the low price point, its a great concept for a college town, $8.43 after tax is hard to beat. However, if you are looking for a truly awesome pizza, I would suggest moving on. These pizzas are a lower end of the individual gourmet pesonal-style-pizza. Try Bata's in Iowa City for some truly gourmet, delicious pizza!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.Overall 7.33

Cheese 8.00

Sauce 7.67

Half White Top Half Pepperoni

Topping 8.17

Crust 6.67

Venue 8.00

Favorite: Art Lover

     

Hot Link with Ham, Salami, and Pepperoni Added

Thicker Style Crust Pizza

Pizza Oven

Meatlovers

Attempt #87 - Kalona Brewing Company

Venue Outside

The Venue
405 B Ave.,
Kalona, IA 52247

(319) 656-3335

As seen on Travel Iowa, the Kalona Brewing Company has existed since 2012 serving beer and pizza. The clean restaurant, has a drinking lounge to the right and a restaurant area on the left side along with an outdoor seating area in the rear. There are booths as well as tables, and it is kid friendly. A stone oven cooks up the pizzas while the chief tosses the dough up into the air, like you see in the movies. 

Venue Inside Facing Brewing Company Section

The wait staff is incredibly friendly and easy going. It is a good idea to call ahead of time for weekend nights with a larger group. Forty-five minutes in advance on a Friday night and they still found room for a group of nine.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

Venue Kitchen

Menu: http://www.kalonabrewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Menu-Aug-2018.pdf

Participants: 5 (plus 4 children)

Pizza Ordered: 6

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Standard 12” pan
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangular

Meat Lovers - House-made sausage, beef, pepperoni, mozzarella, red onion, parmesan ($16)

Pesto Prawn - Shrimp, roasted peppers, tomato, red onion, feta, mozzarella ($15)

Sausage & Fennel - Sausage, caramelized fennel, grapes, red pepper flakes, mozzarella ($14)

Bacon & Scallion Pesto - Bacon, onion, scallion pesto, crème fraîche, mozzarella ($14)

Buffalo Chicken - Chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, mozzarella, roasted peppers, pepperoncini, caramelized onions ($15)

Pepperoni - ($11)

The Verdict

Sauce: Good flavor and well placed.

Cheese: Wonderful cheeses that were fresh and unique. The meat lovers had large slices of a dryer mozzarella that was very tasty.

Menu

Crust: The rim was bready. The middle was slight soggy, but held up well.

Toppings: High quality with a great unique flavors.

Final Comments/Considerations: Everyone, even the kids, loved this place. No wonder it was on Travel Iowa.

The wait took some time, but the dough was fresh and homemade, while the pizza toppings were fresh and unique. For a thin crust you couldn't ask for a better one. In fact, it rates the highest to date for the toppings category, and the fourth highest for the overall category. If you can spare the time to drive out to this lovely town, its worth the effort!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.Overall 9.00

Cheese 9.20

Sauce 9.00

Topping 9.80

Crust 8.20

Venue 9.00

Bacon & Scallion Pesto, $14

Buffalo Chicken, $15

Meat Lovers, $15

Pepperoni, $11

Pesto Prawn, $15

Sausage & Fennel, $15

Slices

Favorite: Meat Lovers

Attempt #86 - Big Grove (Solan, IA)

Venue Outside

The Venue
101 W Main St,
Solon, IA 52333

(319) 624-2337

Big Grove is an up and coming brewery in the eastern Iowa area. Two locations exist, one in Solan, Iowa and the other in Iowa City, Iowa. Only the one in Solan has pizzas. The retaruant has a bar area, plenty of booth and table seating indoors, and an out door patio for additional seating. Free sample are suggested, as beer goes along well with pizza.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: http://biggrovebrewery.com/menus-solon/

Beer

Participants: 8 (plus 9 children, 2 infants)

Pizza Ordered: 10 (all menu pizzas)

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Standard 12” pan
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangular

Pizza Margherita - San Marzano Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, Olive Oil, Sea Salt ($12)

White Sausage - Crème Fraiche, House Made Fennel Pork Sausage, Fresh Mozzarella, Red Onion, Scallion, Marinated Tomato, Fennel Pollen ($14)

Traditional Sausage - House Made Fennel Pork Sausage, San Marzano Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella ($13)

Salumi - Pepperoni Style Sausage, San Marzano Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella ($13)

Menu

Heirloom Tomato And Smoked Burrata - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, Fleur De Sel ($15)

Roasted Mushroom - Rotating Selection Of Locally Grown Mushrooms, Garlic Confit, Fontina Cheese, Arugula ($14)

The Verdict

Sauce: Good flavor and well placed.

Cheese: Average per the style they were serving.

Crust: The edges were great, but every pizza was soagy in the middle. This was the major downside commonly stated among participants.

Toppings: High quality with a great balance of flavors.

Final Comments/Considerations: I loved the flavors of the mushroom and the white sausage pizzas. They truly were unique and worthy of a order. The Salumi was also great, but predictable (who doesn't love meat, right?). The margherita and sausage were average, and the heirloom/burrata made the pizza soaking with juices. If you are going to try, I strongly suggest the White Sausage, Roasted Mushroom, or Salumi.

Kids Pizzas - 2 Cheese and a Salumi

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 7.50

Cheese 7.88

Sauce 6.75

Topping 7.88

Crust 6.00

Venue 8.81

Favorite: White Sausage

Heirloom Tomato And Smoked Burrata($15)

Roasted Mushroom ($13)

Pizza Margherita ($12)

Salumi ($13)

'

White Sausage ($14)

Slices

Traditional Sausage ($13)