You can simply scroll through my blog posts (below) to see the reviews, images, etc. Or, see the list below for links to each review:
NWI – TOP 5 LEADER BOARD – Running List of the Best Pizza in Northwest Indiana: Tomato Bar………….A- Cafe Borgia………….A- Giovanni’s………….. B+ Mod Pizza……………B+ Rico’s………………….B-
Granted, I’ve been living in the Midwest for the past dozen years. So, just walking into this place made me smile. The selection of pizzas by the slice was beyond adequate and the formula simple; get a drink, order, sit until the slices are hot, and enjoy. Today however, I ordered ahead for me and the kiddos. Two pies, one half pepperoni (you don’t even have to say “half plain” because it’s understood) and…. wait for it…. chicken/bacon/ranch. Yes, a little surprise for the kids since they’re still confused that the grocery store doesn’t have two full isles of Ranch dressing. When I walked in, the pies, in boxes, we’re sitting on top of the oven to keep them warm. The pies looked beautiful and they were PROPERLY CUT into slices.
Dough:
Perfectly proportioned – thickness and firm/crispiness. The slices folded nicely with a slight crunch. Overall, the crust was thin, but not too thin and it was crispy with a great taste and texture.
Sauce:
The sauce was very good; not too sweet, but with enough flavor to taste.
Cheese:
The cheese… oh the cheese. Perfect amount – so the cheese to sauce ratio was wonderful with a good texture.
Oil:
Not oily at all. Even after folding and holding it, no dripping mess, which shows further there was the right amount of sauce on the pie.
Smell:
Heaven.
Other:
Polite. Efficient. Warm ambiance. Only about 4 or 5 tables, with a countertop near the window for people to eat and people watch. Today, that included a lovely lady in riding pants and garb (obviously she’d been to the stables today) and she was feeding her two lovely kids some pizza from the box.
Grade:
B-
Comments:
The half pepperoni was a very good pie. I actually really enjoyed the chicken/bacon/Ranch one as well. Would I order it again? Yes. Without question. I may wait a while though as there are so many other places to try.
OK, how many times have I walked by the Pizza at Whole Foods? Many. Very many. Today, I thought I’d order a whole pie and take it home. I ordered a plain pizza (meaning cheese only for you Midwesterners) and I asked they make it crispy. The nice lady’s response? “Well, I won’t keep it in too long, I don’t want to burn it.” My retort? “Go ahead, burn it a bit. I like it with a bit of charr.” She said it would normally be ready in 7 minutes, but I should come back in 10. I went back in ten minutes and the pizza was ready. The pizza was boxed nicely in strong, branded box. I paid at the register and off I went. The pizza travelled nicely. Once home, I opened the box and saw my beloved PIE SLICE! The pizza was quite nice looking.
Dough:
It was the perfect combo of thickness and firm/crispiness. The slices folded nicely. Overall, the crust was thin, but not too thin and it was crispy with a great taste and texture.
Sauce:
The sauce was good with a good taste.
Cheese:
The cheese had an interesting taste. I suspect it was a blend of two cheeses, though I could be wrong. The cheese to sauce ratio was perfect and overall, the cheese had a good texture.
Oil:
Not oily at all.
Smell:
Good smell; nothing amazing, but good, for sure.
Other:
In true Whole Foods fashion, the lovely young lady was very polite.
Grade:
B-
Comments:
This was a very good pie and perfect if you’re already in Whole Foods and want to get a quick pizza to go. Would I order it again? Yes. Would I go to Whole Foods just to get a pizza? I’m not sure. You can’t walk into Whole Foods and not buy other stuff, so my pizza cost about $100 (because I got some fig spread, and a bunch of other items.) I DO think next time, I’ll order a pizza and have a beer while I’m waiting. That seems to be a better plan.
Langel’s is one of the pizzerias that has been recommended to me quite often. So, when my wife had some friends and their kids over, someone said “Why don’t we order Langel’s?” So, we did. We ordered delivery and I have to say, it took a while to come, but it wasn’t horribly long. It was nicely boxed in a well-branded box. We ordered a bunch of items, but one of the pizzas was half cheese and half crumbled sausage. I only review cheese and honestly not a fan of crumbled sausage, so I didn’t have any of that. Of course, the first thing I saw when I opened the box was the cut. Dear Lord, they use a modified WTF cut; half WTF and half checkerboard. (Read my post on the proper pizza cut.) Why – WHY do people cut a pizza in this fashion? I simply don’t understand it. Anyway, they put a plastic topper in the pizza, so combined with the box, the pizza travelled well.
Dough:
It was a little too thick and given the travel time, it was a little tough, so while it wasn’t floppy, it was chewy. The crust had a good taste though.
Sauce:
I have to say, the sauce had a very good taste. It certainly wasn’t too sweet, as is the norm around here.
Cheese:
Good cheese to sauce to crust ratio. The cheese had a nice taste and texture.
Oil:
Good amount. Not oily.
Smell:
Again, because of the delivery time, the aroma was just okay.
Other:
It was okay.
Grade:
C+
Comments:
This was pretty good. With a bit more speed in delivery, I bet it would’ve been better. Would I order it again? Sure.
This place was recommended to me by my friend, Frank. When I told him about this blog, his response was “You have to review State Line Pizza!” When someone is so enthusiastic about a pizzeria, I’ve learned to temper my enthusiasm. Why? Well, because I’m a pizza snob. There. I said it. Are you happy?
Anyway, here goes….
Date:
04/16/2021 – delivery
Type / Appearance:
Boxed properly, in a branded by I might add. While I’m only reviewing the plain (sorry, “Cheese”) pizza, we also ordered a Margherita and the nonsense my wife likes (sausage, peppers, onions, and mushrooms – what I call hell’s garden pizza). So.. the cheese pizza was okay looking. A little sloppy, but okay.
Dough:
Here’s where the pizza starts to go downhill. The crust was bland and reminded me of a saltine cracker – without the salt.
Sauce:
The sauce was okay (there’s that word again – “okay”). It wasn’t too sweet, so that’s good. There was a definite taste of something, but I couldn’t place it. If I had to guess, I’d say onion powder, but I’m not sure. Either way, it was the best part of the pizza.
Cheese:
Good tasting, but a bit too much cheese in the center of the pie. (FYI, the Margherita was a bust – way too much cheese, sliced tomatoes on top. They need to call it something else because it isn’t anything close to Margherita, but I digress.)
Oil:
Right amount – not too greasy at all. Again, the sauce was good.
Smell:
Quite nice – enough to make you even hungrier.
Other:
For the record my fellow Hoosiers, see the pic with ALL the pieces with crust gone and all that remains are the interior pieces? THIS is why you don’t cut pizza into silly, little squares. Pie-cut man! This isn’t a 10-year-old’s birthday party!
Grade:
C
Comments:
This was okay. I don’t know what else to say about it…. okay? Would I get it again? Sorry, but no.
Hang on. Before you say “Papa John’s??” Know this review is for my son, who is a fan of the chain. Me? Um, no. We take turns selecting the pizzeria and today was his turn. That said, when I told him I refused to do a review on fast food pizza, he called me out. So, here we are. I’ll give them this – it came quickly. It is nicely packaged in a branded box. Ordering via the app was easy. And, by the way, pie slice (aka “normal”) is the default cut. Good for them. When I opened the box, it is okay looking. It’s…. commercial. But okay.
Dough:
We ordered the regular pizza, meaning a little thick. There is also a thin. The dough was, well, doughy. The crust was a little better. I ordered “well done” so I can’t even imagine what normal cook time would’ve been like.
Sauce:
Way. Too. Sweet.
Cheese:
Good cheese quantity but very bland. Texture was okay.
Oil:
Not too oily. (What exactly am I supposed to do with the Garlic “sauce”?)
Smell:
Maybe it was the delivery aspect, but there wasn’t a waft of awesome pizza smell.
Other:
I can’t say anything other than I just don’t like it. It’s commercial and with the choices of pizza around here, it perplexes me when people tell me they order all the time. But they do. That’s for sure.
Grade:
C-
Comments:
Look, I’m just not a fan and that’s ok. My son and his friends are. I don’t know how my NJ born kid whose Dad (i.e. me) is a pizza snob, likes this pizza. But okay, for me, it’s like the Wendy’s of pizza. Would I order it for myself? Clearly, no. But they have great operations and I’m sure the people there are nice.
Takeout was easy. I called in the order and 25 minutes later, it was ready. I parked in the designated spots in front (nicely and professionally marked with proper metal signs) and my food was brought out. The pizza is packaged in nicely branded boxes, consistent with the overall brand of the restaurant. Once opened, you see a really nice looking pie. I ordered both the Margherita (fresh mozzarella, and basil. And, I ordered the FOUR CHEESE (mozzarella, gorgonzola, mascarpone, and parmesan.
Dough:
Thin and crispy. The way it should be. Firm, but not brittle.
Sauce:
The sauce is delicious. Not too sweet and in perfect proportion to the pie.
Cheese:
VERY tasty. Both pizza pies offered a great cheese taste, in a very good cheese to sauce ratio.
Oil:
Not too oily at all.
Smell:
The waft of cheese and dough was great.
Other:
What else is there?
Grade:
A-
Comments:
Cafe Borgia embodies what a good restaurant should be. More restauranteurs in the area should take note. As you can already tell, I love this place. It is elegant not only for the area, but elegant for any area. It is nicely decorated, the staff is friendly and amazingly professional, and the food is consistently good. They have a nice, varied menu, but not too many options. This is for consistency, and it works. This is like a little slice of Italy right here in Munster. So…. the pizza. It fits with the menu and is consistently good. There have been no “off” days for the pizza or any other dish for that matter.
It had been a while since I last ate at Tomato Bar. So, it was clearly time to officially review their pizza. I originally tried to order online, but the process is flawed and cumbersome, so I just called. I ordered two pizzas; one half plain (meaning cheese only for you midwesterners) and half pepperoni. The other pizza was with grilled chicken with light swirl of BBQ sauce. They said 40 minutes and I was there at the 45 minute mark and they were ready. I picked them up through the drive-through window, so that was convenient. The pizzas were boxed nicely in strong, branded boxes and the pizzas travelled well on the way home. And then, you open the box and, wait for it…… PIE SLICED! Damn – two pie-sliced pizzas. They were beautiful!
Dough:
Good thickness, so nice and thin. I bit of semolina on the bottom, but not overpowering at all. The slices folded nicely. My son looked at me and said “This is great! It is almost like New York Pizza.” And I have to say, so far, this is THE closest thing I’ve tasted to NYC pizza around here. The crust was thin, but not too thin and it was crispy with a great taste and texture.
Sauce:
Very good sauce. Great taste.
Cheese:
Great blend and the cheese to sauce ratio was perfect. The cheese had a great taste and texture.
Oil:
Not oily at all. The pepperoni half was a bit greasy, but that’s just the meat making that happen.
Smell:
Simply a wonderful smell.
Other:
Really polite staff on the phone and at the drive-through.
Grade:
A-
Comments:
This was a great pie and you can taste the quality ingredients. Honestly, I enjoyed the pie with the BBQ chicken on it more than the pepperoni, but that’s just me. Really, this was a great ordering experience and a great-tasting pizza. The other pizza places in the area should all order a pie from here and taste it. They’d all learn something.
I’ve eaten at Mod Pizza quite a few times, but I wanted to give it a fair review, with the same level of scrutiny as the other reviews. I ordered through the app and we ended getting 7 pizzas; one for each person. The app is pretty cool, allowing you to easily customize each pizza, choosing everything from the crust, the sauce, the toppings and more. On top of that, there’s a free-form section where you can add notes to the maker of the pizza. For me, 11-inch, thin crust, red sauce, grilled chicken, and red onions, cooked extra crispy, or as we say in NJ, charred. The app said the pizzas would be ready in 20 minutes and sure enough, we walked in 20 minutes later and they were there, waiting for us. Boxed nicely in a branded box, the pizzas travel well. And then, you open the box and, wait for it…… PIE SLICED! Well done Mod Pizza!.
Dough:
Good thickness, so nice and thin. This is pretty close to a real Neopolitan pizza, at least what is available around here. The crust was nicely thin, crispy, and had a great texture and taste.
Sauce:
Very good sauce. Not too sweet.
Cheese:
Perfect cheese to sauce to crust ratio. The cheese had a nice taste and texture.
Oil:
Not oily at all, which tells you it didn’t have too much sauce.
Smell:
Really great smell.
Other:
They have a nice selection of toppings and crust, even offering a cauliflower crust which I’ve had, and it’s quite good.
Grade:
B+
Comments:
Mod Pizza is a chain. As such, when I first tried it, I didn’t have high expectation. Mod Pizza though made a very good pie. What I like most is that you can order a different pie for each person, customized the way they want. Every ends up happy. At our house, six out of seven people thought the pizza was VERY good, and the one who didn’t obviously ordered toppings she wasn’t really crazy about. There is no question that I’d orderMod Pizza again.
First, this place is a beloved NWI establishment, now in the second generation. Read any reviews and you’ll see most people love this place, including some of my family and friends. Then, like me, you’ll have the random folks who don’t get it. I’m going to keep trying this place, because I keep thinking I’m missing something. Nicely packaged in a good box. Pickup was easy. People were friendly. This is one of those places that cuts the pizza using what I call the “WTF” cut and they’ve always done this. See my page on “The Proper Cut” here. I’m just not sure what to do with these strips. I end up either eating them with a knife and fork or rolling them. Overall, it was a good looking pie though.
Dough:
I’m not sure if Original John’s uses semolina dough, but they clearly put a bit of semolina on the bottom of the crust. This technique helps the pizza come off the peel easily when placing the pizza in the oven. My pizza was soggy. If it was cooked more, this would be a much better pizza.
Sauce:
I found the sauce good tasting, but there was a bit too much of it.
Cheese:
Good cheese quantity. Texture was good.
Oil:
I found it too oily.
Smell:
This pizza smelled good.
Other:
For me, this pizza has great potential. First, I’d cook it longer. That would firm it up. Second, I’d reduce the quantity of sauce, to make it less oily and then I’d pie-cut this pizza. I’m not a fan of the semolina on the bottom, but who am I to suggest a change to the family recipe.
Grade:
C-
Comments:
As I’ve said, people RAVE about this place. So, I’m going to have to order again because A) that’s all some of my family members want and B) I must be missing something. BUT, I’m going to order light sauce, well-done and pie-cut. I bet it’ll be great.
That Pizza Guy 