Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Man, I never heard of Jets.
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Let’s talk national chain pizzas 🍕 (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter wazoo11
- Start date
nirad3
Footballguy
I live close to both those places and have tried both. I recall Z-Pizza is pretty good. Need to get them back into the rotation.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
i don't think you guys understand what "national" means. i've never heard of a lot of the places mentioned.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
No doubt ...but when you go look at articles to list/rank "national pizza chains" you certainly get some of the regional ones throw in there ...
Here's a list of likely/definite candidates - who did I miss?
Dominos
Pizza Hut
Little Caesars
Chucky Cheese
Sbarro
Papa Johns
Marcos
California Pizza Kitchen
Blaze
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
Never heard of Marcos.
does Costco count? And Whole Foods pizza is pretty decent and only $14
Pigskin Fanatic
Footballguy
went there recently. their deep dish is fantastic. too bad it's only in OC, i think there might be one in Long Beach also.
BigJohn
Footballguy
1. Donato's - the mariachi beef is hard to beat
2. Jet's - Best overall, but price per square inch makes it pretty infrequent for us
3. Domino's - the $5.99/$6.99 deal s a great way to feed our family with 3 teenagers. Our most frequent.
4. Pizza Hut - Mostly nostalgia at this point. Pan Meat Lover's was my jam in high school. Son loves it, but the girls hate it so him and I usually get voted out.
2. Jet's - Best overall, but price per square inch makes it pretty infrequent for us
3. Domino's - the $5.99/$6.99 deal s a great way to feed our family with 3 teenagers. Our most frequent.
4. Pizza Hut - Mostly nostalgia at this point. Pan Meat Lover's was my jam in high school. Son loves it, but the girls hate it so him and I usually get voted out.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
I would think they would qualify since they are so national ...
here is Marco's Pizza footprint
1,120 locations around the country
nirad3
Footballguy
There's a few out near Perris/Temecula area. I see ads on TV from time to time and the 'za looks pretty good (from sight only). They have those pepperonis that curl up nicely.
Yeah there's one in LB. The one in Costa Mesa is on my way home from work, so I need to grab a tavern style soon. Will report back.
the moops
Footballguy
Pigskin Fanatic
Footballguy
Let's face it, there's like 6 national pizza chains and it's been discussed. Summarize, pizza hut is not what it use to be, dominoes is good when you get cheap coupons and promos, papa johns is not what it use to be, and everything else is a crapshoot depending on where you live. on that last point, it really does depend on where you live. I can say dominos, pizza hut, and papa johns by my house all suck, ones I been to recently further south (of LA County) are noticeably better. They are not all the same as they should be. I can say the same about Carl's Jr by my house, i would tell you how terrible it is but i don't wanna get banned for talking burgers in the pizza thread. Let me tell you, it's bad.
if any of you angelenos have any suggestions on good pizza north of the 101 i'm all ears!
if any of you angelenos have any suggestions on good pizza north of the 101 i'm all ears!
Poke_4_Life
Footballguy
Is Papa Murphy's a national chain? We get their pizza occasionally when out and about so we can cook and eat it later in the day. It's not bad, especially because I have perfected the cooking of it.
Otherwise we go with local options.
When kids were younger we used to get Little Caesers from time to time because it was easy/cheap/fast. Still crave it from time to time, but it's not great.
We also have Mazzio's around here, but I assume that's also not national. It's fine, but in my younger days I used to love getting their buffet at lunch. The salad bar with it was also decent. It would probably kill me if I ate the salad bar and pizza buffet now.
Otherwise we go with local options.
When kids were younger we used to get Little Caesers from time to time because it was easy/cheap/fast. Still crave it from time to time, but it's not great.
We also have Mazzio's around here, but I assume that's also not national. It's fine, but in my younger days I used to love getting their buffet at lunch. The salad bar with it was also decent. It would probably kill me if I ate the salad bar and pizza buffet now.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
pro tip: we can call our dominos in the morning and ask them to make us the school lunch pizza. less sugar in the dough and the sauce. pretty good pizza for dominos. 
Keith R
The Don
Good to know. Last two times I had Domino's, I couldn't get over how much sugar I tastedpro tip: we can call our dominos in the morning and ask them to make us the school lunch pizza. less sugar in the dough and the sauce. pretty good pizza for dominos.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
we only found out about because my kid said the pizza was way better at school. so we asked the dominos that provides the pizza to the school. pretty crazy that the sugar laden one, is what research apparently says, is more popular.
jvdesigns2002
Footballguy
Honestly—no idea. I’ve never had the Mexican pizza at Taco Bell. I know some people that claim it’s amazing—but I’ve never gotten around to trying it. Lol
Pigskin Fanatic
Footballguy
imagine a regular taco bell taco. the shell is flat and you get two of them instead of one. and they put different cheese on the outside of the taco. and some tomatos too. that's it.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
jvdesigns2002
Footballguy
Oh wow. I would have thought there was more to it than that. I’m okay with not trying it in that case. Lol. Taco Bell is kinda interesting. Seems like they are kings at arranging the same major 5-7 ingredients in different fashions and creating an entire menu out of them. Lol
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jamny
Footballguy
Hmmm, there's one 2 blocks away from me but I never even thought of trying it. Not a fan of chains. Maybe I'll give it a shot now.
Haven't had pizza from a chain in probably 20+ years.
eta: I take that back. Someone brought Dominoes to a job site probably 10 years ago and it was horrible.
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the moops
Footballguy
Looks like it really is only 4 that are truly national. Pizza Hut,, Dominos, Little Caesars, and Papa John's.
My ranking of those 4 would be
1. Domino's brooklyn style
2. Little Caesars
99. Pizza Hut
100. Papa Murphy's
Chaos Commish
Footballguy
My favorite pizza in the world, and one of the most award winning pizzas in the world is north of the 101. The founder has won pizza competitions in Naples, in NYC and at the world's largest bakers convention in Vegas. Delivery services during covid put such a stress on his business he closed for lunch. Only open from 5 to whenever now. I discovered him early days and posted about it in a couple threads around here. He was literally a pizza nazi in the beginning. You were not allowed to taka a pizza to go. Nope. He feared you would ruin it travel. Later, if you promised to reheat it per his instructions he would let you have a to go order only if you already ate some in the restaurant. Such a character.
I am Kramer. Ali is my friend. I understand he suffers for his pizza. It's nothing to drive an hour out of my way to visit. Which I will a couple times in the next few weeks. The guy has become a celebrity. Could easily be rich as xxxx and have parlors all over the country. But he won't do that to his pizza.
786 degrees. Just scroll.
Don't be freaked out by the menu. Every pie is amazing. He had a Pasedena pop up running for awhile and it is now open thur-sunday if that works. But the Sun Valley location is the only one I use. Still a dive after all these years.
That's not quite right. The shells are actually fried flour tortillas (not corn like the tacos) and it has ground beef and beans sandwiched between those fried flour tortillas. Then in has red sauce over the top followed by cheese, green onions and diced tomatoes. Also, no lettuce (which is in a regular taco).
(Sorry I worked there for three years in my high school days).
They are a master at coming up with new things but they still have nothing on the special creations the workers will create for themselves.
Also - the Mexican Pizza is good (even if it's a bit pricey for fast food).
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
I had one after their recent return to the menu. Not too bad but like you said not exactly a value for the money. Of course they ran out after a coup!e weeks and were forced to create a page to explain themselves.
https://www.tacobell.com/mexican-pizza?
This apology is a crock. They already have all the ingredients. The only thing that isn't really used on other items they sell every day is the fried flower tortillas. How hard is it to get that done? Don't blame running out of them. This is just a marketing ploy to increase the demand. Rather smart but only because we are dumb.
ETA: Back in my day as a TB worker we would fry them up each day from the flour tortillas we already had for burritos and soft tacos. It wasn't that hard. Jeesh....blaming running out of ingredients just gets worse and worse the more I think about it.
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BigJohn
Footballguy
Gr00vus
Footballguy
That place is good.
If you're looking for more "traditional" pizza, technically north of the 101 (it's not in the valley), there's also Casa Bianca in Eagle Rock.
In Pasadena, I like Pie Life, Tarantino's, and Domenico's (they have square cut pieces on their larger pies). Be advised with Domenico's that they use a lot of vegetables when you include vegetable toppings, to the extent that if you don't eat the pizza relatively quick, the fluid from some of the fresh vegetables (e.g. tomatoes) can make the pizza soggy. I know that's a general complaint with that place - so order accordingly.
Caveat: These places are good for southern california. My wife is from Rhode Island, and insists there is no good pizza in southern california. I think that's a bit extreme, but through experience, I do believe there's better pizza to be had in other areas of the U.S. than our best southern california offerings.
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AAABatteries
Footballguy
Cutting that quote may have been a bad idea.Love to have you, but on one condition: no playlists from the early '70s.
Pigskin Fanatic
Footballguy
i really believed the shell was the same taco shell, thanks for the correction. and to be clear i love taco bell and i still eat like i'm 16 at my much more advanced age.
i will be eating this sometime this week, one of those is close enough to my office. any on the menu you would recommend i definitely try?
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Marco’s does the circle pizza cut in to squares - I’m a fan.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
200 locations in 11 states.
I would think 11 states is still regional.
btw ...I like Donato's - but they are an inferior version to Marions > Cassano's > Donatos (yeah, those are much smaller family chains)
Mellow Mushroom has over 200 locations but looks like not many west of the Mississippi and hardly any out West. So that seems to say they aren't truly a national chain.
map
Osaurus
Footballguy
the moops
Footballguy
I'm gonna start making Sicilian rectangle pizza and cut those slices into circles to prove how dumb this whole thing isMarco’s does the circle pizza cut in to squares - I’m a fan.
Mister CIA
Footballguy
I'm a big fan of Paul Newman frozen sausage and pepperoni.
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Chaos Commish
Footballguy
I usually get three pies for two people.
The routine is to get one with traditional toppings. The Americana, Slumdog, NYer, Sausage and shrooms (from the secret menu)...
Get another from the creations. Istanbul is my favorite, Tikka Marsala a big hit, El Chapo fantasitc mexi pie, etc....
The third is always Chef's Choice. Surprise experimental pies being created for next competition. We'll eat a slice of each in the outdoor area, pack the rest up and take it home. Home is inland in the desert. Bon appetit.
seahawk 17
Footballguy
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
PM me next time you’re at PPort. I’ll buy you a beer, say hello, and shoot the #### with you for 10 minutes. There’s a decent chance I’m there anyway; I’ve had more beers there than any other bar in my life. The Jetty IPA is the locals favorite.
Ron Swanson
Footballguy
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
No, you have to have a license to prove it’s you to get the locals discount for Torrey Pines Gold Course. City residents play for $65. Non- residents more likely $200.
Jaysus
Good times!
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
BigJohn
Footballguy
Marion's>>>>>>>>Donato's>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Cassano's(they have gone WWWAAAAYYYYYYYY downhill, IMO)
/hijack
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Galileo
Footballguy
This was exactly the problem with Donato's. It tasted fine, in fact I would rate it over any of these national brands being discussed in terms of taste. However that thin crust just isn't filling and you could plow through large quantities of that pizza and be left unsatisfied.
Galileo
Footballguy
I've seen it done, but this isn't typical from most in my experience. Teresa's pizza which is a local chain puts the toppings under the cheese. When I make my own pepperoni pizza, I put the pepperoni under and on top of the cheese.
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