Deep Dish Northern Lights Pizza Review

Believe it or not, this is a "deep dish pizza" from Northern Lights.

I did not get out a ruler, but by best guess, it was almost 3/4 of an inch thick! (The prior statement was sarcasm.) I've had deeper dish pizzas that were sold as normal. So, I was immediately disappointed.

However, my previous review of Northern Lights was not positive, and this pizza did not change my mind. The sauce, cheese, and crust were all pitiful and had a "Midwestern blandness" to them that I need only reference, and everyone knows what I'm talking about. It lacked any sort of opinion about pizza and reminded me of a Godfather pizza from 2008 that I'd get reheated from the school cafeteria.

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Soppresatta Pizza District 36

 Finally, a pizza that isn’t cut into squares! I’ll try to keep this bias out of the review, but I was thrilled to see it. An actual pizza I would be happy to eat again—and all it took was going to a real restaurant instead of a bar.

The crust had an excellent texture and flavor. Just enough of it was charred to provide a satisfying crunch, yet it remained light and airy throughout. The structure held up well, with no floppy slices. The Sopressata was perhaps a bit spicier than I would prefer, but the cheese blend provided a great contrast and balanced the spiciness to an enjoyable level.

The main drawback when eating this pizza was the sauce—or should I say, the lack thereof. While it had a reasonable amount, the cheese was so abundant that the sauce didn’t have a chance to shine, leaving the flavor as just "tomato." My wife and I eat at this restaurant semi-regularly, and I’m excited to try more of their pizza options in the future. My suspicion is they may all be overloaded with cheese but still tasty.

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The Cubbie Pizza at Brick and Ivy

The most generous comment I can make about this pizza is that it almost met my expectations. I've eaten at Brick and Ivy a couple of times before, but I’ve always opted for sandwiches. I would recommend getting anything else besides the pizza at this restaurant. For the purposes of this review, I won't deduct points for it being cut into squares—partially because I've given up hope of ever getting a properly cut pizza, and partially because I don’t want to give a pizza a 0.

The first thing to consider when eating pizza is the taste and balance of the three main components: crust, cheese, and sauce. These are all integral, because without them, it’s not a pizza. The crust of "The Cubbie" would be lucky to have as much flavor as a Lunchables party pizza crust. If you had told me it was cardboard, I might have believed you.

Finding something positive to say about the sauce or cheese/toppings is nearly impossible. Since I must say something, I’ll say, “Well, they were there.”

To reiterate, I’ve eaten multiple other meals at Brick and Ivy, which I would rate as average Midwestern bar food, but this pizza struck out.

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Dough CO Pizza

 Starting off, this was a shock of a slice of pizza. Absolutely massive. I am not 100% sure of the radius as both slices I ate have long since been consumed. My estimate would be about 12" radius. was informed that all the pizza is prepared as cheese, then toppings thrown on when you order and each slice is then heated, which is a great way to keep the integrity of the big 3 pizza foundations in check.

I’ve mentioned a few times that this is a slice, but careful observers will notice that the pizza I ordered was cut into squares—immediately a knock against it. If a slice is served to me, I’ll do any additional cutting myself. As this was sold as a "New York" style slice, I expected a thin crust, large pieces, and the ability to fold it in half. Cutting it into squares may appease the masses, but grabbing a pizza piece by the edges with no crust just feels wrong.

Many know I do not prefer thin crust pizza. I find that it creates an unbalanced texture between cheese, crust and sauce. The crust is either too thin, creating a cracker-like texture that makes a mess, or it’s a mushy disaster, unable to support the weight of the toppings. I’m happy to report that neither of these issues were present in the slices I had. The balance of the big three was excellent.

The taste was fantastic as well. The cheese had a great balance of mozzarella and cheddar, and the sauce had a slight sweetness without being overpowering. The crust around the edges was just thick enough to be airy and had a faint hint of seasoning. Overall, the balance was spot on. However, I will say that quality control could be an issue, as the slice pictured had a large section with no sauce, leaving just burnt cheese and bread. I’m willing to overlook this, though, as mistakes happen, and one rushed order doesn’t make a bad restaurant.

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Cabaret Sports Bar & Grille

Obvious from the second this pizza was laid in front of me—with no plate or silverware and cut into squares—my expectations dropped from their already abysmal starting point. To be fair, this restaurant is named after something it did not provide and could easily be called “Generic Sports Bar #29.” I digress; the subject of this review is not the misnomer of the establishment but the quality of the pizza, which everyone knows is the pinnacle of sports bar and grill cuisine.

To my surprise, the menu had an entire page of ten specialty pizza options named things like Cyclone, Hawk, and Jaguar. These are all staple names in my area as they represent local sports teams. So, nothing to note there; I went with the Spinach and Artichoke, as it was one of the three options that did not contain pepperoni—a glaring mistake in the menu.

With no crust options, my assumption is that all pizzas come on the thin cardboard crust mine was served on. It was passable at best and completely devoid of flavor. The toppings provided almost no additional taste over the mountain of mozzarella melted on top. Determining if there was actually an artichoke sauce, as the menu described, was perplexing. While not as salty as many pizzas I've had, the flavor could have been improved with even a hint of cheddar. The texture was also that of mushed oatmeal, save for the cardboard crust, which had a spongy inside but a wet cracker exterior.

This isn't a pizza place, and the “Cabaret” in the title is a misnomer, but they do allow dogs on the patio, so that is a win. The company I had while eating this pizza undoubtedly improved my mood, as it was a lovely meal spent with my love. You won’t be disappointed with this Spinach and Artichoke pizza, but you certainly won’t be impressed. It deserves a non-enthusiastic pass, and not a bad option to pick should you find yourself at this restaurant. As long as they fix their cut into squares issue.

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Pizza Review: Casey's Bacon Breakfast Pizza

What could make pizza even better than eating for lunch and dinner? Why, eating it at breakfast of course! I wish that rang true of Casey's breakfast pizza. As it stands, it's better to reheat pizza from the previous night, or even straight out of the fridge instead of this falsehood that calls itself a pizza. 

All pizzas is crust, sauce, and toppings. The balance and quality of these three items must be of utmost importance when constructing a pizza. I will give credit where credit is due, Casey's crust is good, maybe a bit bland and undercooked, but overall good. However the complete lack of care Casey's shows when selecting toppings and sauce for their now-famous breakfast pizza is amateur This is one of the very few pizzas I have always felt the need to dab off the grease. Of the few times I haven't, I could literally watch as pure grease falls off the slice. No crust could stand up to that torture.

Regarding the sauce and toppings, choosing a nacho cheese as a sauce initially seems like a good idea, but the quanity would need to be reduced by at least half for their to be any balance. The bacon is a nice choice, but they might as well have just put little blocks of pure salt on top, and it would have tasted the same. Coming from the state of Iowa,  I would expect more of the bacon in one of the top pork producers in the country.

Maybe when pigs fly, I will choose to order this 'pizza,' but until that time, I'll go for other offerings from Casey's.

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Nonna's Pizza Reivew

Second chances. How do you earn them? This is my second time at Nonna’s Pizza. The first visit was some of the best pizza I’ve had, but the Chicken Alfredo Pizza was a letdown.
My expectations were high, but it’s unreasonable to expect the same success with a different pizza. The three main aspects were high quality, but the balance was off, causing a breakdown in structural integrity and flavor.

There was too much cheese and sauce, leaving the crust almost raw in the center. A real shame as the fully cooked crust was sublime.

Unless someone suggests Nonna’s, I can’t see myself eating there again.

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Pizza Review Portifinos

A pizza for people who want to go to Chuck E. Cheese for the food. I would not recommend anyone visit Portofino’s for their pizza. I had low expectations, but even those were leagues above than what was delivered to me

The crust was undercooked and bland, the cheese was indistinguishable from just spreading salt on the top, and the sauce was more water than anything else. Clearly, the other pizzas from Portofino’s rely on toppings to distract from these three core abysmal aspects of the pizza.

It should be stated that I have been to Portofino’s and had a great pasta dish, but this pizza ain’t it. The upside is that it was $12 for a 16” pizza and should provide me lunches and leftover dinners for a few days. I won’t enjoy those meals, but I have them.

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 Grimaldi's Pizzeria 

It's exciting to try something new, and I was lucky to stumble into Grimaldi's during their opening week. It was apparent due to some of the mistakes by the staff and being 'checked on' by multiple people with collared pull over shirts. I expected these people to be managers as they seemed to not be handling any tables or cooking, just doing general table touches, and various conversations with staff. 

These reviews however, have nothing to do with the greenhorn experience that comes with a newly opened restaurant, all of which can be forgiven and will improve with time.  The pizza itself is exactly what you expect of a  midwestern "New York" style pizza. 

It was well prepared and had good flavor, perhaps a bit expensive for the quality but overall good. Of the local pizza places I could order from, this is one of the few I could see myself recommending to people. The 3 building blocks of a pizza were well balanced and the crust and sauce were adequate. Perhaps the pesto was a bit overpowering, with a touch to much garlic, but it would be difficult to blame the restaurant for what might be a bad combination on our ordering part. 

I'll be going back to test more  pizzas hopefully soon.

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Basta Quattro Formaggi

Without a doubt the crust on this pie was the standout. Every pizza relies on its crust for the foundation of its flavor and its structure, and this made me say “wow” upon first bite. The cheese blend was excellent, but the citrus vinaigrette and heaping pile of arugula seemed misplaced. I’d recommend less of both moving forwards.

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