Local Denton Pizza An Inside Review. Stormy Durant, Jeffrey Harris, Mathew Noble

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1 11 1 Local Denton Pizza An Inside Review Stormy Durant, Jeffrey Harris, Mathew Noble

3 An Inside Review iii Table of Contents Contents Denton, Texas and its Pizza... 1 Results... 1 J & J s... 2 Pricing... 2 Selection... 2 Quality of Toppings... 2 Quantity of Toppings... 2 Cheeses Used... 2 Service Atmosphere... 3 TJ s Wings N Thing... 4 Pricing... 4 Quality of Toppings... 4 Quantity of Toppings... 4 Cheeses Use... 5 Service/ Atmosphere... 5 The Mellow Mushroom... 6 Pricing... 6 Quality of Toppings... 6 Quantity of Toppings... 6 Selection... 7 Service/ Atmosphere... 7 Crooked Crust... 8 Pricing... 8 Quality of Toppings... 8 Quantity of Toppings... 8 Cheese used... 9 Service/Atmosphere... 9 Palio s Pizza Pricing Quality of Toppings... 10

4 Quantity of Toppings (23) Cheese Used Service/Atmosphere Luca Pizzeria Pricing Selection Quality of Toppings Quantity of Toppings Cheeses Used Service/Atmosphere Recommendation on Local Denton Pizza Index... 14

5 An Inside Review 1 Denton, Texas and its Pizza Being the home to the University of North Texas, Texas Women s University and down the road from several other campuses makes Denton a prime location to find great pizza. This report will examine several pizza places locally known in Denton for quality/quantity of ingredients, cheeses used, expense, and service/atmosphere. These Pizza places that will be examined are: - J and J s - TJ s wings n things - The Mellow Mushroom - Crooked Crust - Palio s Pizza - Luca Pizzeria Each category being examined will be assigned points on a level of Achieving a 10 will mean that the pizza place in question has achieved maximum satisfaction in the field, whereas a 1 will mean there was no satisfaction. Results Expense Quality/Quantity Cheeses Service/Atmosphere Total of Ingredients Used J & J s TJ s Wings N Things Mellow Mushroom Crooked Crust Palio/s Pizza Luca Pizzeria

6 An Inside Review 2 J & J s Pricing - New York Style Medium: $ New York Style Large: $ New York Style x-large: $ Chicago Style Medium: $ Chicago Style Large: $ Chicago Style X-Large: $ Single Slice: $5.00 Selection - Vegan Pizza - Supreme - Veggie - Meat Lovers - Chicken Spinach Alfredo Quality of Toppings The ingredients used tasted fresh and well selected. The pre-made pizzas all looked like lovely collages of fresh vegetables and meats. Quantity of Toppings - Toppings (18) o pepperoni o ham o hamburger o sausage o bacon o mushrooms o onions o green olives o chicken o black olives o spinach o bell peppers o tomatoes o jalapenos o anchovies o pineapple o garlic o artichoke Cheeses Used The cheese used for the pizza was the basic mozzarella and Parmesan.

7 An Inside Review 3 Service Atmosphere J and J s has a very eclectic atmosphere, this is one of the best parts about this place. Located on the Denton square, there is venue in the basement where musical guests perform every night. The walls of J and J s are covered with art, local and non-local, giving this place a very in tune feel with the Denton arts culture.

8 4 Local Denton Pizza TJ s Wings N Thing Pricing TJ s offers affordable prices on whole pizzas. The starting price for a small pizza is $3.99. I split a large pepperoni pizza with my friend and it only cost about $10. The delivery price, $.75, is also fairly inexpensive. Quality of Toppings TJ s offers a wide variety of pizzas. Two of the pizzas that stuck out to me from the menu were the smoked salmon pizza and the sweet-n-sour chicken pizza. As you can see from these pizzas, TJ s is creative with their pizzas, and they go above and beyond what pizza places usually do. Quantity of Toppings Toppings (24)- California Black Olives, Sicilian Green Olives, Fresh Green Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Fresh Mushrooms, Fresh Red Onions, Fresh Roma Tomatoes, Dole Pineapple, Oven Roasted Garlic, Fresh Salsa, Marinated Artichokes, Sauteed Spinach Garlic Pepperoni Mild Sausage Canadian Bacon Real Link Italian Sausage Real Bacon Pieces Seasoned Bee, Anchovy Filets Smoked Chicken Fontanini Meatballs Shrimp Smoked Salmon Cheddar Parmesan/Romano Gorgonzola

9 An Inside Review 5 Chevre Goat Grande Mozzarella Cheeses Use TJ s uses a moderate amount of cheese. While the pizza was not overly cheesy, the cheese also came off pretty easily. The pizza was pretty much just bread and sauce by the time I was about half way done with the slice. Service/ Atmosphere TJ s has an extremely friendly staff. They are also quick. I ordered a large pizza and I received it about 10 minutes later. TJ s is not a sit down restaurant.

10 6 Local Denton Pizza The Mellow Mushroom Pricing Prices range from $11.95 to $27.95 depending on toppings. Quality of Toppings The pizza and toppings is very fresh and delicious. They offer a variety of specialty pizzas and a multitude of toppings and cheeses. Quantity of Toppings Ingredients (47) o Olive oil & garlic o Pesto o Red sauce o Mozzarella o Blue Cheese o Feta o Dayan Vegan Cheese o Buffalo Mozzarella o Mantamore o Artichoke Hearts o Banana peppers o Black olives o Broccoli o Caramelized onions o Cucumbers o Garlic o Green olives o Green peppers o Jalapeños o Mushrooms o Onions o Pepperoncini o Pineapple o Roasted red peppers o Roma tomatoes o Spinach o Fresh basil o Kalamata olives o Pesto swirl o Portobello mushrooms o Sun-dried tomatoes o Anchovies o Ground beef o Ham

11 An Inside Review 7 o Italian sausage o Pepperoni o Salami o Tempeh o Tofu o Turkey o Andouille sausage o Applewood smoked bacon o Avocado o Meatballs o Grilled chicken o Shrimp o Steak Selection (16) House Special Gourmet White Mega Veggie Kosmic Karma Magical Mystery Tour Funky Q Chicken Philosopher's Pie Buffalo Chicken Cheese Red Skin Potato Pie Mellowterranean Mighty Meaty Holy Shiitake Pie Maui Wowie Thai Dye Bayou Bleu Service/ Atmosphere The atmosphere at the Mellow Mushroom is phenomenal. It is a great place to enjoy some pizza and a drink with family or friends. The service is good and the staff is friendly. It is not as personal of an experience as Luca s, but the atmosphere outweighs that. It offers a lot of seating. It offers a patio in the back with lots of character.

12 8 Local Denton Pizza Crooked Crust Pricing Crooked Crust offers fair prices that make it easy to either get an individual meal or a shared meal. While buying a whole pizza does seem expense, the individual sized meals are more than filling and they are cheap. 1/4 of any pizza & 1 drink = $6.00 1/2 of any pizza & 2 drinks = $10.00 any whole pizza = $16.00 hoagie & 1 drink = $6.00 Quality of Toppings Crooked Crust offers a wide variety of pizzas and toppings that are appealing to all customers. They offer 14 different veggies and fruits and 8 different meats and cheeses. This works out well for picky eaters like me, but it also provides a wide variety of options for adventurous eaters as well. Quantity of Toppings Toppings (24) o Artichoke o Cherry peppers o Mushroom o Banana peppers o Diced tomatoes o Olives (Green/Black) o Bell peppers o Fresh spinach o Onions (White/Red) o Broccoli o Jalapeño o Pineapple o Meat and Cheese o Canadian Bacon o Meatball o Sausage Chicken, Pepperoni, Crispy Bacon, Ricotta Cream Cheese o Meat and Cheese o Canadian Bacon o Meatball o Sausage o Chicken o Pepperoni o Crispy Bacon o Ricotta o Cream Cheese

13 An Inside Review 9 Cheese used Crooked Crust uses a moderate amount of cheese on their pizzas. Unlike most pizza places, Crooked Crust avoids over layering their pizzas with cheese. This makes the pizza easier to eat because the cheese does not come off with every bite. Service/Atmosphere Crooked Crust has fast and friendly service. You order your meal and pay at the cash register. I usually only have to wait a couple of minutes for my pizza to come out. This helps Crooked Crust stand out against its competitors. Crooked Crust has a college friendly feel because most of the staff is relatively young. The staff is also friendly and outgoing. The restaurant is also dimly lit which also makes the experience feel intimate.

14 10 Local Denton Pizza Palio s Pizza Pricing The Cheese pizzas and Calzones with single topping ranges from $6.50 to $11.99 Quality of Toppings The Quality of ingredients used at Palio s Pizza is very satisfactory with fresh, premium ingredients. Quantity of Toppings (23) - beef - sausage - Canadian bacon - pepperoni - Italian sausage - roasted Chicken - anchovies - sliced meatballs - black olives - green olives - bacon - fresh mushrooms - red onions - jalapenos - baby spinach - Roma tomatoes - artichoke hearts - pineapple - Feta - Fresh basil - Fresh garlic - Red, yellow, and green onions - Cashews Cheese Used The cheeses utilized were mozzarella and parmesan. Service/Atmosphere The service was great, with a very friendly and polite staff. The atmosphere is a small pizza kitchen that would be great for sit in dining with a friend.

15 An Inside Review 11 Luca Pizzeria Pricing - Pizza by the slice: $ Cheese Pizza Prices - Personal : $6.00 plus $1.00 per topping - Medium: $8.99 plus $1.50 per topping - Large: $10.99 plus $1.75 per topping - X-Large: $12.99 plus $2.00 per topping - XX-Large: $13.99 plus $2.00 per topping - Gourmet Pizza Prices - Medium $ Large $ X-Large $ XX-Large $19.99 Selection They do have gourmet pizzas. (9) - New Yorker - Hawaiian - Buffalo Chicken - Alfredo Chicken - Deluxe Supreme - Veggie Lover - Meat Lovers - Brooklyn Special Di Pollo - The Works - Philly Steak - Bianco - Stuffed pizza with all meat - Stuffed pizza supreme Quality of Toppings Pizza is well made and tastes very good. Slices are very large. Cheese tasted very fresh and the crust is homemade. You can even watch them make the dough. Multiple selections for toppings: Quantity of Toppings - Regular Toppings (19) o Pepperoni o sausage o meatball o ham o ground beef

16 12 Local Denton Pizza o Canadian bacon o bacon o mushroom o onion o bell pepper o black olive o green olive o tomato o jalapeno o spinach o fresh garlic o roasted garlic o broccoli o extra cheese - Gourmet Toppings (10) o chicken o fresh mozzarella o parmesan o pickled basil o pineapple o buffalo sauce o Alfredo sauce o meatball o roasted garlic o roasted peppers Cheeses Used They only use mozzarella cheese on their pizza with parmesan only on a couple of gourmet pizzas. Service/Atmosphere The service was quick and friendly with an Italian feel. The pizza chefs are both Italian adding to the authenticity of the food. The restaurant is small, seating only 40. It has the atmosphere of a small café, quaint, friendly and personal. The restaurant was clean and well kept.

17 An Inside Review 13 Recommendation on Local Denton Pizza After reviewing six well known Denton pizza locations and using the proposed criteria to examine each place, our findings have concluded that Mellow Mushroom is the better of the 6 places to get pizza. Mellow Mushroom offers the widest range of options, a very nice atmosphere, as well as fine ingredient and service. They are this place scored lowest at would be pricing; they were in fact the most expensive of the six. For the budget pizza shopper: J&J s Pizza on the Square in our recommendation for a great slice in a desirable atmosphere for a good price. The venue basement mixed with an eclectic upstairs makes J&J s a hub for local Denton culture and arts.

18 14 Local Denton Pizza Index C L Crooked Crust, 1, 8, 9 Luca Pizzeria, 1, 11 I P Ingredients, 1, 2, 10 Palio s Pizza, 1, 10 J T J and J s, 1, 3 The Mellow Mushroom, 1, 6 TJ s wings n things, 1

19 An Inside Review 15

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