My overall rankings for the 5 pizza’s I sampled on our trip are as follows:
1. Marty’s Pizza - Brookfield, WI
2. Bordenaro’s Pizza – Des Moines, IA
3. Glass Nickel Pizza – Madison, WI
4. Joe’s Pizza – Dixon, IL
5. Happy Joe’s Pizza – Coralville IA
I will say that I would eat pizza from any of these establishments again if I am ever in the area, with a couple of exceptions. For Glass Nickel, I would try different toppings, but basically it was good pizza. For Happy Joe’s, I would be willing to try another location again and just see how it compares to the pizza I had in Coralville. I will say that HJ’s still was better than if I had ordered delivery from Pizza Hut or Dominos. Next time, if I am in the Iowa City area, I will brave the weather and find a completely non-chain pizza parlor to put to the test of my tastebuds. Thanks for sticking with me on this journey. I had fun and would like to try this again sometime in other towns and cities.
Ciao,
-ME
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Day Six - Happy Joe's Pizza, Coralville, IA
Day Six - Happy Joe’s Pizza
The final stop on our trip back home was originally going to be Davenport, IA, but we decided to press on and ended up in the land of the Hawkeyes. We actually ended up staying in Coralville, right next to Iowa City. I had originally thought about Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream as a final stop on our trip. Although it is a regional chain, there has not been a Happy Joe’s in the Kansas City area since 1987, so it still met our criteria. I found out the Happy Joe’s restaurant in Iowa City had been demolished courtesy of a tornado that came through the area in spring of 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Week_2006_Tornado_Outbreak_Sequence
So, since it was raining pretty heavily outside, I decided not to try and brave it all the way to downtown Iowa City anyway and just find something close to our hotel. The answer came in the form of the remaining Happy Joe’s Pizza in the area – a delivery and carry-out only place.
I decided to pick up the pizza just so I could have a glimpse of the operation. The Happy Joe’s in Coralville, IA is pretty Spartan, as one might expect. I did see a big Hobart mixer in the back, indicating they probably make the dough on site rather than get it shipped frozen. However, the mixer could just have been leftover from a by-gone time. The oven was one of those conveyor types, which I am not particularly fond of. Give me a good Blodgett deck oven any day. One thing I noticed as my pizza was coming through is there was a little door on the side of the oven where the cook could stick a long hooked metal rod through and punch down any bubbles that crept up. I am sure I have seen this done before in other places using similar types of crusts and deck ovens but it looked kind of funny to me seeing it done with a conveyor oven. Once the pizza was ready, I took it back to our hotel room. By this time my wife was rebelling against the whole pizza thing, going on about something called vegetables. Although I offered to let her choose whatever toppings she wanted, she was adamant about something other than pizza. So I purchased a medium pizza, this time half Italian sausage & mushroom and half Canadian bacon and pineapple.
It has been at least 25 years since I had an authentic Happy Joe’s pizza, so my memory may be a little off. One thing that struck me was how the look of the pizza reminded me of Round Table pizza from the West Coast. I don’t recall the taste being completely the same, but the thickness and texture are the same and certainly appearances are worth noting. I also noticed the HJ guys had docked the pizza, as evidenced from underneath.My overall impression of this pizza was a letdown. I’m not sure if my memory had failed me, or if this Happy Joe’s did, but the taste was not there. There needed to be just a little more sauce. And the sauce that was there tasted different than I remembered. It needed something, but I’m not sure what. The cheese was good, and they clearly use a blend (probably mozzarella, cheddar and provolone). The toppings were okay. The Italian sausage was not as good as Marty’s, the mushrooms were canned instead of fresh, but the shredded Canadian bacon and pineapple were fairly good. I couldn’t finish the whole thing, nor did I want to. I’m not certain if my taste buds were off at this point, or the pizza was, but overall I would give this HJ pizza 3 of 5 pizzas. It was okay, but probably not worth going back for. I might be willing to try a different HJ’s in the future just to compare and not totally fault the brand, but the one in Coralville was lacking, in my opinion.
As an aside, I have been to a pizza place in Independence, MO called Tim’s Pizza which does a kind of Happy Joe’s clone. http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/3352/tims-pizza
I would say Tim’s does a better job in all categories, both in replicating my memory of Happy Joe’s Pizza and just in general taste than the pizza I had in Coralville, IA.
Day Five - Brookfield, WI
Day Five - Marty’s Pizza and Subs
Right from the time we pulled into Marty’s parking lot, I could tell this would be more reminiscent of our stops at Bordenaro’s and Joe’s Pizza. The sign said in business since 1957 (I assume at this location). They have one other location in Delafield, WI according to their website.The place was hopping when we arrived. Most of the tables were full, including what appeared to be a couple family get-togethers with masses of bodies. We were seated at a booth and presented with menus. My wife was still on a pizza-aversion kick, so she opted to go with a calzone (it would prove to be far more than she bargained for). I, of course, returned to my staple of Italian sausage and mushrooms, medium size. We each ordered salads and had the typical 20-25 minute wait for our pizzas to arrive.On first inspection, what makes Marty’s Pizza unique is that it is square (or rectangular if you order an x-large pizza or bigger). Marty’s boasts pizzas (not pies) that go up to 14” x 60”. I, personally, would like to see one of those animals live just to witness it. Their medium pizzas are 12” x 12”.
Where do I begin? Well, the crust was more cracker style than any of the other pizzas we had tried so far. In fact, it was not only thin and appeared to be cracker style in texture, but also in taste. The edges were narrow but crisp and had almost a soda cracker-like taste. Looking underneath, they do appear to dock their dough. I liked the taste quite a bit, actually, but I was disappointed the rest of the crust was not as crisp and crunchy as the outer edge. The inner crust where all of the toppings lay was soggy.
The fifth evening of our trip put us in the western suburbs of Milwaukee, Brookfield to be exact. We spent a good part of the day at the Milwaukee Zoo and planned to cap it off with some local pizza. I knew there were a variety of local places from which to choose. As a kid living in New Berlin in the 70’s, my family tended to choose either the Shakey’s on National Avenue (closed a year ago) or the Pizza Hut on S.108th Street, both in West Allis. So, since Shakey’s was long gone and Pizza Hut violated our rules (and my personal taste these days), I went searching for a local mom-and-pop type pizza place. It was a tough choice, but I decided on one close to where we were staying: Marty’s Pizza, Pasta and Subs located on W. Bluemound Road (Hwy 18): http://www.foodspot.com/martys/martyspizza/
Right from the time we pulled into Marty’s parking lot, I could tell this would be more reminiscent of our stops at Bordenaro’s and Joe’s Pizza. The sign said in business since 1957 (I assume at this location). They have one other location in Delafield, WI according to their website.The place was hopping when we arrived. Most of the tables were full, including what appeared to be a couple family get-togethers with masses of bodies. We were seated at a booth and presented with menus. My wife was still on a pizza-aversion kick, so she opted to go with a calzone (it would prove to be far more than she bargained for). I, of course, returned to my staple of Italian sausage and mushrooms, medium size. We each ordered salads and had the typical 20-25 minute wait for our pizzas to arrive.On first inspection, what makes Marty’s Pizza unique is that it is square (or rectangular if you order an x-large pizza or bigger). Marty’s boasts pizzas (not pies) that go up to 14” x 60”. I, personally, would like to see one of those animals live just to witness it. Their medium pizzas are 12” x 12”.
Where do I begin? Well, the crust was more cracker style than any of the other pizzas we had tried so far. In fact, it was not only thin and appeared to be cracker style in texture, but also in taste. The edges were narrow but crisp and had almost a soda cracker-like taste. Looking underneath, they do appear to dock their dough. I liked the taste quite a bit, actually, but I was disappointed the rest of the crust was not as crisp and crunchy as the outer edge. The inner crust where all of the toppings lay was soggy.The sauce was excellent: tangy, a little sweet, with just the right amount of seasoning (oregano, a little garlic and probably onion powder; not hot at all); just the right amount of sauce, also, not too much or too little.The cheese was superb. Hard to beat Wisconsin mozzarella for a Midwestern kid. I know there are more expensive mozz cheeses with richer flavors out there, but it’s hard to go wrong with this cheese from the Dairyland. By the way, that was another plus for Glass Nickel Pizza. I didn’t detect any blend of cheeses with Marty’s pizza.
What really aced this pizza for me were the toppings. Get this: REAL Italian sausage! In beautiful little tasty globs! The flavor was perfect. Just the right amount of spices, including fennel. And the mushrooms were spot-on, too. Fresh mushrooms were used, not canned.
What really aced this pizza for me were the toppings. Get this: REAL Italian sausage! In beautiful little tasty globs! The flavor was perfect. Just the right amount of spices, including fennel. And the mushrooms were spot-on, too. Fresh mushrooms were used, not canned.As for the calzone, not only awesomely delicious, but it would have fed our entire family, easily. My wife had opted for some veggie fillings and she made it through maybe one-third. I have to say, Marty’s pizza blew me away. After some letdowns on the trip so far, I was impressed. I am going to give Marty’s Pizza, Pasta, and Subs 4½ out of 5 pizzas. The only letdown was the softer, soggier crust outside the cornicione. I would most definitely go back and tell my friends. This is the place for all of the other pizza restaurants to beat on our trip so far.
Last stop: back to Iowa.
Pizza Pilgrimage - Day Four
Day Four - Glass Nickel Pizza Co.
Our journey on Day 4 was not over until we arrived in Madison, WI. I had been trying to scout the area via the internet to see what our possibilities might be for pizza that evening. We were due to meet up with some friends of ours the next morning. After letting them know we arrived and our intention was to go out and eat pizza, they invited us over to their house and ordered pizza to be delivered. So our third (or fourth) stop for pizza would not be at a restaurant. No matter.Glass Nickel Pizza Co. sounds like a place that you would find in a college town, but if you go to their website and read their history, it will make more sense: http://www.glassnickelpizza.com/
Glass Nickel had been one of the choices I was contemplating on our pizza road-trip. Reading the various comments about it on the web, it appeared to fall into one of those “you either really like it or really don’t” categories. It is a small chain, found only in Wisconsin, so it met our criteria for pizza sampling. I had originally thought about going out to dinner at Picaso’s Pizza in nearby Verona, WI, but Glass Nickel was offered and I had no strong feelings on the matter.
The pizzas that were ordered were cheese, chicken, and a Fetalicious®, so no Italian sausage or mushroom this time around. Glass Nickel appears to be one of those places that experiment’s with toppings in the California tradition. If you go to their menu on their website, you’ll see good examples of their finished products (I forgot to take the camera so I don’t have any personal pics of the pizza): http://www.glassnickelpizza.com/Menu/menu.html
This was definitely a different animal than our 2 previous pizza samplings. The crust was thicker and chewy, so I can only surmise they use bread or high gluten flour. In that sense, the crust was somewhat reminiscent of a foldable New York pie, but the crust was thicker, even a little bit more than a Pizza Hut Hand-tossed pie, with a nice thick cornicione. I also suspect they use some wheat flour in their pizza dough, although my friend and their website could not confirm it. The taste was very good. The closest we have in our neighborhood to what this pizza crust reminded me of would be Wheat State Pizza: http://wheatstatepizza.com/
The cheese pizza had their typical red sauce. Like our previous samplings, it was still on the sweet side but had more of an herby flavor to it. The sauce was not as abundant on these pizzas and was not as big a player in the flavor factor.The cheese was plentiful on all of the pizzas. The chicken pizza was more bland and the chicken pieces were a little on the dry side, but overall it was still good. The Fetalicious was interesting. As you can tell by the name, they used feta cheese along with tomatoes, onions, spinach, and mushrooms. I’m usually not a big fan of feta cheese on pizza, but it seemed to work on this one. Perhaps it was the particular blend of cheese they used.
Overall, I give Glass Nickel Pizza Co. 4 out of 5 pizzas. I’m glad we were able to sample it. I would order it again but would probably skip the foo-foo toppings and go straight to my standard 2 toppings to see how it really measured up.
Our next stop: the Milwaukee area.
Our journey on Day 4 was not over until we arrived in Madison, WI. I had been trying to scout the area via the internet to see what our possibilities might be for pizza that evening. We were due to meet up with some friends of ours the next morning. After letting them know we arrived and our intention was to go out and eat pizza, they invited us over to their house and ordered pizza to be delivered. So our third (or fourth) stop for pizza would not be at a restaurant. No matter.Glass Nickel Pizza Co. sounds like a place that you would find in a college town, but if you go to their website and read their history, it will make more sense: http://www.glassnickelpizza.com/
Glass Nickel had been one of the choices I was contemplating on our pizza road-trip. Reading the various comments about it on the web, it appeared to fall into one of those “you either really like it or really don’t” categories. It is a small chain, found only in Wisconsin, so it met our criteria for pizza sampling. I had originally thought about going out to dinner at Picaso’s Pizza in nearby Verona, WI, but Glass Nickel was offered and I had no strong feelings on the matter.
The pizzas that were ordered were cheese, chicken, and a Fetalicious®, so no Italian sausage or mushroom this time around. Glass Nickel appears to be one of those places that experiment’s with toppings in the California tradition. If you go to their menu on their website, you’ll see good examples of their finished products (I forgot to take the camera so I don’t have any personal pics of the pizza): http://www.glassnickelpizza.com/Menu/menu.html
This was definitely a different animal than our 2 previous pizza samplings. The crust was thicker and chewy, so I can only surmise they use bread or high gluten flour. In that sense, the crust was somewhat reminiscent of a foldable New York pie, but the crust was thicker, even a little bit more than a Pizza Hut Hand-tossed pie, with a nice thick cornicione. I also suspect they use some wheat flour in their pizza dough, although my friend and their website could not confirm it. The taste was very good. The closest we have in our neighborhood to what this pizza crust reminded me of would be Wheat State Pizza: http://wheatstatepizza.com/
The cheese pizza had their typical red sauce. Like our previous samplings, it was still on the sweet side but had more of an herby flavor to it. The sauce was not as abundant on these pizzas and was not as big a player in the flavor factor.The cheese was plentiful on all of the pizzas. The chicken pizza was more bland and the chicken pieces were a little on the dry side, but overall it was still good. The Fetalicious was interesting. As you can tell by the name, they used feta cheese along with tomatoes, onions, spinach, and mushrooms. I’m usually not a big fan of feta cheese on pizza, but it seemed to work on this one. Perhaps it was the particular blend of cheese they used.
Overall, I give Glass Nickel Pizza Co. 4 out of 5 pizzas. I’m glad we were able to sample it. I would order it again but would probably skip the foo-foo toppings and go straight to my standard 2 toppings to see how it really measured up.
Our next stop: the Milwaukee area.
Day Three-to-Four - Freeport, IL
Day Three-Four
We ended up staying in Dixon, IL on May 23 without a pizza visit, so by May 24th we were headed north to Freeport, IL. Our intended stop was Cannova's Pizzeria on Empire Street. Unfortunately, it being a Sunday, we found out that Cannova's did not open until 4 PM and we were there for an early lunch! So, we went about our Memorial Day weekend business in town and found some place else to eat. By this time, my wife was beginning to regret the agreement to eat pizza anyway, so we did not choose a different restaurant in search of some place that served anything but (although we regret choosing the one at which we did stop to eat lunch).
Here is the website for Cannova's http://cannovaspizza.lbu.com/
The pizza looks rather upscale for the town that it is in, so it intrigued me. It has received mostly consistently good comments on the web. Alas, I will have to report on Cannova's some time in the future. If anyone on the forum has ever eaten pizza from there, I would be interested to hear your opinion. That brought us down now to only 5 potential pizzas to sample.
Our next stop ... Madison, WI.
We ended up staying in Dixon, IL on May 23 without a pizza visit, so by May 24th we were headed north to Freeport, IL. Our intended stop was Cannova's Pizzeria on Empire Street. Unfortunately, it being a Sunday, we found out that Cannova's did not open until 4 PM and we were there for an early lunch! So, we went about our Memorial Day weekend business in town and found some place else to eat. By this time, my wife was beginning to regret the agreement to eat pizza anyway, so we did not choose a different restaurant in search of some place that served anything but (although we regret choosing the one at which we did stop to eat lunch).
Here is the website for Cannova's http://cannovaspizza.lbu.com/
The pizza looks rather upscale for the town that it is in, so it intrigued me. It has received mostly consistently good comments on the web. Alas, I will have to report on Cannova's some time in the future. If anyone on the forum has ever eaten pizza from there, I would be interested to hear your opinion. That brought us down now to only 5 potential pizzas to sample.
Our next stop ... Madison, WI.
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