It’s almost the ultimate question in life … for college students, at least. What’s the best local option for pizza? Fear not, the Chronicle brought together four of their ultimate pizza experts to judge four of the most popular local pie joints: Tonino’s, Droogie’s, Primo, and the freshman favorite, Domino’s. After a blind test, the winner blew everyone away. The judges: Jamie Hill, Robin Schuppert, Michele Snow, and Maxx McNall.
1. DOMINO’S…wait, what?? – The fastest of fast food pizza came 18 minutes after we placed the order on Sunday afternoon, and the taste won over half of our judges, but not Maxx McNall.
Snow-“The pepperoni slices were thin, easy to eat, and generally, magically delicious. Pizza foul No. 1, the cheese slid off after the second bite. Big no-no. But the sauce makes up for it, which is this pizza’s main selling point. The crust had an extra kick of some delicious spice, definitely garlic, maybe a little Parmesan. Basically this one just kept throwing me pleasant surprises with every bite.”
Schupert-“The sauce actually tasted like tomato sauce. I liked the crust, it had some flavor. This pizza didn’t fall apart, and wasn’t greasy. People may call me crazy, but this was my favorite. (Even though I ranked this No. 1, it doesn’t even come close to a good bratwurst.)”
McNall-“The seasoning sprinkled on top was a nice change of pace to look at but the sauce has the consistency of a chocolate pudding. Continuously taking bites was nearly comparable to pulling teeth: a lot of pain, not a whole lot of pleasure. The crust, with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, felt like scoring the only goal for a team that lost 10-1.”
2. Primo…the greaser pie – Jamie Hill and Maxx McNall said this greasy pie was the best. Robin Schuppert, though, ranked it last.
McNall-“Give me another slice please! Everything from the light seasoning all over the cheese and crust gave the pizza a little kick at the end. This was the only pizza that lived up to my appearance-based expectations. I want more!”
Schuppert-“Greasy for my liking. Pepperoni pieces didn’t have much flavor in them. The crust tasted like nothing. It was greasy, but at least it didn’t fall apart like some of the others.”
Hill-“Best so far, most flavorful on first bite. It had the right amount of cheese, sauce and crust combination. The crust was chewy, but the right amount of crispy. Pepperoni wasn’t that flavorful but I don’t like pepperoni that much anyway.“
3. Tonino’s…nothing too special – Those who gambled picked Tonino’s to win, but all four judges thought it was middle of the road pizza.
Snow-“I couldn’t really enjoy the pepperoni slices themselves due to the pools of grease inside them, but the rest of the pizza was soft and fluffy. The very edge of the crust was burnt, which I know some people enjoy but I hate the aftertaste of charred carbs.”
McNall-“The smokiness of the pepperoni more than made up for the shortcomings with the sauce and cheese. The crust, usually the best part, was more like overcooked cardboard than anything else.”
Hill- “This pizza was floppy, the crust was a little burnt and not flavorful, also it separated from rest of pizza and fell apart. No spices noticeable at all, and there was too much sauce near the crust.”
4. Droogie’s…bringing up the rear – The two male judges enjoyed the pizza, even though it wasn’t great, but Michele Snow…well, read her review.
Schuppert-“The pizza didn’t have much flavor in it, but it was still good. The crust didn’t have much flavor in it either. It fell apart. I might be weird, but this is crappy pizza. But it’s good college pizza, I guess.”
McNall-“The crust took up half the pie, and the piece was paper thin. But my first bite was a wave of flavor. The cheese and the sauce complemented each other very well and the pepperoni was cooked perfectly.”
Snow-“I believe the sound that came out of my mouth upon first viewing this pizza was a disgusted sort of “euhh.” The cheese had been scraped off the tip before I even picked it up. For a fleeting moment after you finish it, you wish you were bulimic.”
