Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Adriatico's Pizza

Location:  265 W. 11th Ave
                   Columbus, OH 

Adriatico's is an Ohio State student tradition.  You'd be hard pressed to find some students not in favor of this pie, so the Peetz Police decided to conduct their own investigation.

Service:  We decided to call ahead to place our order and were very pleased to find that we would be able to dine in, even though they were just under a half hour from closing.  They even helped us pick a great special to get us some quality pie at a nice price!

Environment:  Definitely decorated to fit into campus, including the tiles on the ground.  They've got a big screen tv in the middle and two other tv's located around the area to view some games while enjoying your pie too!  Authentic pizza place silverware (plastic plates and glasses, always a sign of true peetz!) were provided with our pizza.  The bathroom, however, was questionable.  The toilet and urinal were very awkwardly placed with and it had a unique, sketchy kind of smell to it.  You'd never know from the outside though!

Crust:  Adriatico's offers two crusts; thin or Sicilian (thick).  The best part is they cost the same!  They are known for their thick crust though, so we had to opt for the Sicilian pie.  The crust was a nice thickness with a crisp edge and softer center.  It had a very nice flavor to it, being very fresh and obviously a unique recipe.  Adriatico's mastered the art of matching the perfect amount of crust to the rest of the pie.

Sauce:  From what we could tell, this is the real deal.  Seemed to have really good flavor, but we would have liked to see more of it.  One of their topping options is extra sauce, so while it may cost as much as some peps, it might be worth it!

Cheese:  Adriatico's got the cheese the way we like it.  We believe when you eat some peetz cheese, it should stretch with you, not just glob off the pie.  Our hopes were fulfilled with this salty and "real" tasting cheese.  Good stuff!

Peps:  These King Kong sized peps wreaked havoc over the entire pie!!!  Seriously, at least twice as big as your average pep and lightly glazed with grease, creating a mouthful of flavor.  The Peetz Police were pleased with a blend of nicely cupped peps in addition to softer peps, keeping your mouth surprised!  

Value:  Adriatico's has some excellent specials on various days, so make sure to ask when you order to see what deals are available!  Even without the specials, the pies are reasonably priced.  We've seen better, but at the same time this pie will really fill you up.  And the ingredients are fresh and fantastic.

Overall:  A very good pie, catering to those who like both the thick and thin crust.  The Peetz Police were impressed by the fresh and flavorful ingredients, the friendly wait staff, and our bill when it came time to pay.  If you're on campus or in Columbus, this is a pie worth looking in to.   We give this pie a gold badge, something that would make your sherif proud.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Plaza Pizza - The First Peetz Policing

Pre-Text:  We are the Peetz Police.  Our mission, is to find each and every pizza place in the entire world and review them for your pleasure and ours.  We hope that by using our blog you can find the perfect peetz to compliment all of your partying.  Enjoy, and let us know how we can help you enjoy the perfect peetz.  (Note:  For any peetz-virgins, peetz means pizza.  Its just cooler.)

Location:  1130 Mount Vernon Road
                   Newark, OH



The first official Peetz Police review!  This particular establishment was brought to our attention under very positive pretenses.  A Newark tradition for quality pie, this had to be a stop on our Peetz Police peetz-capades.  Onto the breakdown.

Service:  We had to wait about an hour for this pie, dining in.  This pie definitely had some hype!  But...the people were very friendly and made our wait very pleasurable.

Environment:  This restaurant was very homey.  The scent of the peps cooking could smelled from the parking lot, and could convert a vegan to a raging pizzaholic!!!  The interior was filled with fabulous pizza paraphernalia...pizza Christmas lights, a pizza clock (whoa!), pizza paintings, and the pizza oven was in plain sight!  Everything was prepared right in front of us and the lady chefs weren't afraid to give you a glance.  Although we were the only ones eating in, there were plenty of people there waiting to pick up their peetz.



Crust:  The base of all peetz.  This was the biggest disappointment for the Peetz Police.  The Plaza Pizza crust was brittle, flaky, and thin, utterly without flavor.  Don't get us wrong, a thin crusted pizza can be great!  This one just didn't quite cut it.  Not much to hold on to, but messy hands aren't always a huge deal.

Sauce:  Tangy, but enjoyable.  These people know how to sauce a pie, putting just about the perfect amount on each and every piece!  Can you believe it??  We barely could!

Cheese:  Nothing to brag about.  Not bad, but certainly didn't stand out.  This cheese fell apart a bit too easily, what's with that!?  Not a terrible flavor though, so don't let us scare you.

Peps:  Plentiful, although lacking in crispness.  They didn't cup like we hoped, and weren't spiced to our taste.  They provided a thin layer of grease, not overwhelming.  It was edge to edge, which has its pros and cons.

Value:  $11 for a 15 inch single topping pie.  Incredible!  Don't let this fool you though, because it's not the most filling pie.  We put the cuffs on two pies between three hungry police.  $0.50 sodas, in high variety, will keep us going back though!  Seriously, every type of soda you could ever imagine all for just half a dollar.  Red cream soda, bizznatch!

Overall:  With all the hype, we were slightly disappointed.  By all means, not a terrible pie but not really worth an hour wait.  Tasted like something that could be made at home, but a pretty good value overall.  This is a bronze badge pie, something for the rookie.