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Let's talk about mainstream pizza chains

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shinobi602

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Obviously they don't come close to some more authentic restaurants and smaller shops, but they get the job done in a pinch. About to have me some Papa John's in a little bit so I started wondering what's the consensus on the "best" one.

Starving right about now so it's looking pretty damn good. I almost can't stomach Pizza Hut anymore, shit's vile. Little Caesar's, Domino's, Hungry Howies, Five Star, Marco's, etc.

Cqas5ea.jpg
 
Does Little Caesars count as a mainstream chain? I love them where I live.

If that isn't the case, Domino's Pizza is still very good, but the price isn't just right.
 
Feltrol said:
Does Little Caesars count as a mainstream chain? I love them where I live.

If that isn't the case, Domino's Pizza is still very good, but the price isn't just right.
Click to expand...

Little Caesars is all up and down the east coast, so I'd say so.

Myself, i'm no pizza connoisseur so Pizza Hut Pan Pizza is OK for me. I'm a fan of deeper dish pizzas.
 
Dominos is consistently "okay" for delivery pizza, especially if you get a pan.
Pizza Hut is too sweet. It's like pizza toppings on a donut.
Papa Johns is misery personified. Only thing it has going for it is price.
Little Caesars can be acceptable in certain scenarios. It's the "this event is promising free pizza" pizza.

But the best nationwide chain is, hands-down, Papa Murphy's. It's take-and-bake, but their quality & value is just a country mile above anything I could get delivered.
 
Jet's is invading the Chicagoland area from Michigan and I have to admit, for cheap chain pizza it's the best option.
 
Pizza Hut for me, Costco if I'm short on cash, and Little Caesar's if I'm broke as fuck.
Neither top Big Al's Halal pizzeria though
 
Feltrol said:
Does Little Caesars count as a mainstream chain? I love them where I live.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing commercials all the time when I was in Nebraska in the '90s, but they were always inside K-Marts. When we moved to Colorado, I never heard from them again, and thought they had disappeared while K-Mart was declining. Now in Arizona, we do have them, but I wasn't impressed.

Pizza Hut is the best for me, honestly. I also enjoy Hungry Howie's.
 
Little Ceasar's pizza is terrible. Only thing going for it is that it's $5 for a box and it's ready to pick up as soon as you enter the store.
 
Dominos is the only place I can get pizza where the crust isn't pure sugar (Pizza Hut), pure cardboard (Little Caesars), or pure grease.
 
For me (In the UK)

Papa Johns >>>>>>> Pizza Hut >>>>>>> Domino's.

They are the 3 basically. All vastly less superior to local joints.
 
I actually really like Papa Johns. Get it quite a bit. After that it would be dominoes. I live in Chicago though, so I have tons of great options for pizza, with Piece being at the top of those.
 
shinobi602 said:
Obviously they don't come close to some more authentic restaurants and smaller shops, but they get the job done in a pinch. About to have me some Papa John's in a little bit so I started wondering what's the consensus on the "best" one.

Starving right about now so it's looking pretty damn good. I almost can't stomach Pizza Hut anymore, shit's vile. Little Caesar's, Domino's, Hungry Howies, Five Star, Marco's, etc.

Cqas5ea.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah they HAVE to have changed their ingredients. Their Meat Lovers used to be the best, but all thier meats and ingredients in general taste like crap.

Papa Johns has really good simple pizzas and great ingredients. I still for for basic things there like Six Cheese or Pepperoni because their garlic sauce is the greatest. They have some pretty bomb cookies too.

Dominos have stepped up their game too. Crust is pretty good and their Hawaiian is to die for. Overall, I'd have to say their specialties are probably the best mainstream wise.

Grimaldis is some overpriced stuff for being only marginally better than the average place you can go to.

I can't make myself to go to Hungry Howies because my two cousins that have worked in the two location in Tampa recently have told us about how they use their arms to stir the pizza sauce and how they lick the pizzas pre-cooked if they ask for for anything special.

Little Caesers is like the Wendy's of pizza. If you eat it hot, it's great for $5, but their breadsticks and pizza just suddenly taste bad after they get cold, and even if you heat them up.

The real stuff in the mom-and-pops though.
 
3Sixty said:
For me (In the UK)

Papa Johns >>>>>>> Pizza Hut >>>>>>> Domino's.

They are the 3 basically. All vastly less superior to local joints.
Click to expand...

UK is shit for pizza chains, so expensive as well.

Pizza Express is godly though, if only they delivered.
 
I don't know a lot of Pizza chains. Only Pizza Hut and Domino's

Pizza Hut: Fucking shit
Domino's: Pretty good, especially the Hot & Spicy. Really overpriced but they do have some great deals if you do take-away instead of delivery.
 
I'll eat pretty much any type of pizza but most large pizza chains are pretty shitty.

For those tt live in the DC//Maryland/Virginia area, Ledo Pizza is easily the best
 
Pizza Hut is the Call of Duty of Pizza in my mind. I have no idea how I came to that correlation.

My favorite is probably Papa Johns.
 
Generally speaking, my opinion is Ledo's (local) > Pizza Hut > Jerry's (local) ~= Domino's > Papa John's >>> Sbarro ~= Little Caesar's.

There also used to be a local chain called "Philadelphia Style". They specialized in subs, but did pizza on the side. You could tell it wasn't their forte, because it tasted like vomit. I wish that were hyperbole, but somehow it's not - it literally tasted like regurgitation.
 
Shadow Hog said:
Generally speaking, my opinion is Ledo's (local) > Pizza Hut > Jerry's (local) ~= Domino's > Papa John's >>> Sbarro ~= Little Caesar's.

There also used to be a local chain called "Philadelphia Style". They specialized in subs, but did pizza on the side. You could tell it wasn't their forte, because it tasted like vomit. I wish that were hyperbole, but somehow it's not - it literally tasted like regurgitation.
Click to expand...

The worst pizza I ever had was on my honeymoon. We went to Disneyland, and one night decided to order pizza delivered to our room. It was awful. Like it was sauce on paper.

Ugh.
 
Dominos pan pizza is pretty ok in a pinch. Load it full of toppings and various cheese, and you got yourself a cardboard heart attack that tastes respectable.
 
213372bu said:
I can't make myself to go to Hungry Howies because my two cousins that have worked in the two location in Tampa recently have told us about how they use their arms to stir the pizza sauce and how they lick the pizzas pre-cooked if they ask for for anything special.
Click to expand...

I've had family and friends in food production and using arms to stir large batches of product is very common, since it will be cooked anyways.
 
Dominos is the best balance of quality and price.



as far as quality regardless of price its Round Table.
a cheap alternative for that Round Table Taste is Costco pizza
 
Shadow Hog said:
Generally speaking, my opinion is Ledo's (local) > Pizza Hut > Jerry's (local) ~= Domino's > Papa John's >>> Sbarro ~= Little Caesar's..
Click to expand...

Papa John's over Sbarro? Maybe they vary by location but the Sbarros here (central FL) are excellent. Thin crust, crunchy, cheese is great...love it.
 
Shadow Hog said:
Generally speaking, my opinion is Ledo's (local) > Pizza Hut > Jerry's (local) ~= Domino's > Papa John's >>> Sbarro ~= Little Caesar's.

There also used to be a local chain called "Philadelphia Style". They specialized in subs, but did pizza on the side. You could tell it wasn't their forte, because it tasted like vomit. I wish that were hyperbole, but somehow it's not - it literally tasted like regurgitation.
Click to expand...
Fuck yeah. Ledos is amazing. I'm actually managing at one right now as I type this message. If you're in the Montgomery County area, shoot me a PM and I'll hook you up with a pizza some time.
 
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