Attempt #99 - Monica's

The Venue

Venue Outside

303 2nd St,

Coralville, IA 52241

(319) 338-7400

Venue Inside

Menu

Monica’s is a well-known long time standing Italian restaurant on the Coralville strip.  They are known for their Italian food in general; however, I was surprised to see as much pizza offered, since many high-end Italian places tend to limit the amount of pizza offered.  The restaurant was clean, the wait staff was attentive and friendly.  Traditional bread and olive oil was offered as an appetizer.  Table and booth seating was available.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

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

Participants: 7 (plus 4 children)

Pizza Ordered: 6

Sizes Offered/Ordered: 16” Large, 10” Medium, 7” Personal

Crusts Offered/Ordered: Average

Pieces Cut: Triangular

Sausage and pepperoni (Megan Gustafson) - Led the nation in scoring two years in a row and was not only 1st Team All-American but national Player of the Year this year. A 70% shooter, and Big Ten All-Defensive team as well. Iowa's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, our Greatest of all time, and a wonderful person too. Fellow seniors Hannah Stewart and Tania Davis earned hefty places in her circle of glory as Iowa's best team in decades. Sausage and pepperoni (Medium 10”, $18.95).

Margherita Pizza (Peter Jok) - Peter is one of the great pure shooters in Iowa history. He won the 3-pt shooting contest this year at the Final Four, led the Big Ten in scoring this year as an All-Big Ten first team selection and opponents couldn't stop him when he got on a roll without roughing him up. I foresee a long NBA career. Margherita Pizza: tomatoes, basil and roasted garlic. Great traditional Italian pizza, perfect for our oven (Large 16”, $27.95).

Crab and Artichoke Dip, $18.95

White Pizza (Acie Earl) - A lightly-recruited 7-footer out of Moline, Illinois, he used great coaching from Dr. Davis and plenty of smarts and perseverance to have a tremendous career at Iowa (23 records still); as a 12 year pro, including 4 in the NBA; and continues that success today as a teacher, coach, Realtor and entrepreneur. White pizza: Alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce, spinach (tossed in garlic oil), chicken, feta and provolone and mozzarella cheese (Medium 10”, $18.95).

Crab and Artichoke Dip (Sam Logic) - Only player in NCAA history with 1500 points, 900 rebounds, 800 assists and 200 steals. And Iowa's best defender all four years. Arguably the best player in Iowa history and one of the most impactful players in national history. Her unselfishness on the court was matched by her unselfishness as a person--when she worked summers at Bob's your Uncle everybody loved her. Crab and Artichoke dip: our crab and artichoke dip instead of pizza sauce, with provolone and mozzarella, shrimp and bacon (Medium 10”, $18.95).

Sausage and Pepperoni, $18.95

Taco (Jarrod Uthoff) - Jarrod is going to play in the NBA a long time. He was Iowa's first consensus All-American in 53 years... Think about that; our best player in 53 years. And the Academic All-American of the year nationally as well. Unselfish, family-oriented, and a two-way player every trip. Along with Matt Gatens my fave Hawk ever. Taco pizza: Refried bean & taco sauce instead of pizza sauce, ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and taco chips (Medium 10”, $18.95).

Supreme (Matt Gatens) - We have waited patiently for Matt to get his pizza (against NCAA rules until you complete college) since 9th grade when we first predicted stardom at Iowa. He's been amazing as a leader, a defender, a shooter, a guy who embraces wholeheartedly playing the right way and sacrificed personal stats for it, and above all, a role-model as a man with integrity, character and virtue. My favorite Hawkeye ever. 'Nuff said. Supreme: Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Mushroom, Green Pepper, Black Olives and Onion (Medium 10”, $18.95).

Margherita, $27.95

The Verdict

Sauce: The red sauces were a hit, however, the white sauces weren’t always as consistent.  The artichoke dip sauce comes to mind as been a bit lacking.

Cheese: An acceptable consistency.

Crust: Flakey.  Something seemed off to me on this, it seemed…premanufactured.

Toppings: Average, bland toppings.

Taco, $18.95

Final Comments/Considerations: The pizza was good; however, given the high cost for the pizza, myself and others felt disappointed.  Some of the pizzas felt too bland and generic – given all of the fancy naming conventions, I would have expected a higher level of quality toppings or different flavor twists.   

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

Overall 8.21

Cheese 8.57

Topping 8.29

Supreme, $18.95

Sauce 8.43

Crust 8.29

Venue 8.71

Favorite: Taco

White, $18.95