pizza gone wrong

Weird

For whats its worth a few weeks back I stopped into DiOrio's Pizza. I had heard good things about the pizza there from a few folks whom I think know a thing or two about pizza. I ordered two slices to go and thats when the complications started. The person at the register had trouble entering my order into the system. Somebody had to come from the back and after about ten to fifteen minutes struggling with the machine they got the order in.. I wasn't in a hurry, so it was not much of an issue for me, but it did seem a bit odd. They told me the "regular" staff were all out that day. Aside from myself, there was only one two top in the place,so I wouldnt say they were in the "weeds" or anything like that. I got my slices after some time and headed over to the park a few blocks away to eat. The pizza looked ok from the top but when I tried to pick it up, the whole crust had fused to the bottom of the box. I know pizza is best eaten fresh from the oven,but this was less five minutes from leaving their door. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the crust was hardly cooked at all,just a messy glob of dough that had laminated itself to my box. Dont get me wrong I like my pizza crust the thinner the better,but this was just nasty. I chalked it up to the fact that the regular staff/cooks were not there that day. That said,it might be better just to temporarily close when you cant put out a consistent product.

For whats its worth a few weeks back I stopped into DiOrio's Pizza. I had heard good things about the pizza there from a few folks whom I think know a thing or two about pizza.

Dude, Gotta tell ya, after being so high on DiOrio's a couple of months back, we were left a bit less than impressed on our last visit. Multiple issues, most not worth repeating...It was just not the pie we had come to expect. Won't take it off the "A" list just yet but...

I thought this was going to be about when people try and pass off pies with BBQ sauce or Ranch as pizza

I thought this was going to be about when people try and pass off pies with BBQ sauce or Ranch as pizza

+1 very true!

We stopped into diorios back in February and placed a carry-out order. After we ordered we sat at table right beside the heating lamps to wait until our pizza was done. We then waited...and waited...and waited...and waited. About 30 minutes later they grab a pizza from under the heating lamps that had been sitting there for god knows how long and and let us know our order was ready. The thing that pissed me off is everyone could see us sitting there forever and noone thought to ask "hey, is their order ready yet?"? I don't really consider that an honest mistake, it was just indifference. I haven't been back. It was good pizza but there are a lot of restaurant options in this city, so even one mistake can make you forgettable.

I hate to make a negative post about a local but if other people are having problems with them too, perhaps they need to look in the mirror.

this is not a slight on anyone. this is just my opinion phrased in honest questions...

why would you pay for food that you watched get ruined right before your very eyes?

why you would not alert management of said food-ruining store so that they could fix your food, reimburse you the cost, or at the very least see to it that the ruination doesnt go unnoticed?

why would you go to to the trouble of posting a compaint, albeit legitimate, about a restaurant and let it go unnamed so that a)people will unknowingly go to that place and b)speculate openly about a different place and let 'them' get thrown under the bus for a couple of days?

if my food got abused like that, theres no way i come off of one rusty farthing. much less post on a message board without talking matters over with the folks that did the abuse.

I love it! I would probably have done exactliy the same. Once at Kohls there were 5 people waiting in line to pay. No-one at any of the registers. I was first in line, so I reached over, picked up the phone and dialed 0. Someone answered, and I asked them for someone to come to the checkout lines. She asked "Are you a customer?" I answered "Yes, and there are 5 people here waiting to buy something." Unbelievable!

just for the record, my issue was not with d'orio's.
having a pizza sit under a heat lamp for that amount a time when the customer is right there waiting for it, is beyond me. makes no sense. especially pizza, when one needs to eat it fresh out of the oven.
a few days ago i was at macaroni grill ordering a pasta dish to go, i watched them make it, and put it those aluminum containers and slide under the heat lamp. (waiting for the hostess to wisk it away and put it in a bag).
and i watched and watched, 20 minutes later my dish was still under the heat lamp and no one bothers to get it. after i see a few workers going up to the kitchen counter my dish was still sitting there under the heat lamp. so i walk over to my dish, grabbed a lid and walked over and helped my self to a shopping bag, walked over to the counter and asked the cook behind the counter for a loaf of bread, i helped my self to a small container of olive oil and i walked out. but not before finding my receipt which was left out by the register, i scratched out my tip. there was no service. i served myself...
i had already paid when i first walked in. the funny thing is the place was not busy at all. the hostess just disappeared on me and sometimes you got to take the bull by the horns.

@Annemarie sorry I realize your thread probably wasn't about DiOrios, just a couple of other people mentioned it by name so I added my comment.

In response to Matt F:

I paid for the food at the time I ordered. It was super bowl sunday (or some big game day I can't remember) and I had just gotten back from a trip and i was tired, just wanted to get home and watch the game, and didn't feel like arguing to get my money back or waiting longer for a new pizza. (And no the game had nothing to do with the service. There were maybe 3 tables in the place. It wasn't busy.)

Its really not my responsibility to alert management of the problem at that time unless i want immediate remedy. I certainly had the right to, but as i said i was tired an in a hurry. I have no vested interest in whether DiOrios succeeds or fails. I don't think not immediately alerting management precludes me from ever writing an honest review of my experience, especially when i realize my experience may not have been an exception to the norm.

I can't speak for everyone else but i wasn't speculating on the place of business the thread was about. If DiOrios didn't have any issues, they wouldn't have gotten mentioned in a bad pizza thread, period. It did get mentioned so i just contributed my experience. That's all.

@Annemarie sorry I realize your thread probably wasn't about DiOrios, just a couple of other people mentioned it by name so I added my comment.

In response to Matt F:

I paid for the food at the time I ordered. It was super bowl sunday (or some big game day I can't remember) and I had just gotten back from a trip and i was tired, just wanted to get home and watch the game, and didn't feel like arguing to get my money back or waiting longer for a new pizza. (And no the game had nothing to do with the service. There were maybe 3 tables in the place. It wasn't busy.)

Its really not my responsibility to alert management of the problem at that time unless i want immediate remedy. I certainly had the right to, but as i said i was tired an in a hurry. I have no vested interest in whether DiOrios succeeds or fails. I don't think not immediately alerting management precludes me from ever writing an honest review of my experience, especially when i realize my experience may not have been an exception to the norm.

I can't speak for everyone else but i wasn't speculating on the place of business the thread was about. If DiOrios didn't have any issues, they wouldn't have gotten mentioned in a bad pizza thread, period. It did get mentioned so i just contributed my experience. That's all.

thats fair and honest

i enjoy the back and forth here and like to share and gain perspective , so thanks.

if this is directed at me, first off i did make it known to management.
second the issue was a one time mistake. easter only falls once a year. and i know for a fact, they have learned a hard lesson.
third. i didn't know the pizza was different until i got home, opened the box and we all dug in. looks aren't everything, but taste is.
reread my post as i did complain. and i don't feel i'm throwing anyone under the bus. shit happens and this was not a habitual problem. it was a one time deal. everyone makes mistakes. am i going to punish them forever? no...
and for the record, people that know me, know i never have a problem speaking up if something is off kilter.

i think perhaps you mistake my expressing my own view with denouncing yours. im sorry if my post came across that way.
im pretty sure theres room for us all to see things our own ways

[Robin Garr]

im pretty sure theres room for us all to see things our own ways

That is definitely a forum policy.

matt, no biggie... we all have our opinions and that's what makes life interesting.
i was just miffed at this line directed at me
"why would you go to to the trouble of posting a compaint, albeit legitimate, about a restaurant and let it go unnamed so that a)people will unknowingly go to that place and b)speculate openly about a different place and let 'them' get thrown under the bus for a couple of days?"

if this was a habitual problem at this place i have no problem mentioning there name. i felt it was a one time mistake and i'm willing to forgive. we all makes mistakes and out of those mistakes a lesson can be learned. and they definitely learned a lesson.

i can understand your point of view there.
in my mind, it seemed more general, but i can see where it didnt neccesarily come through very clearly in my post

I'm gonna pile on d'orio's and say the last time I was there the service was terrible (I made eye contact with 2 of the wait staff and still had to just ask for someone to take my order) and the pizza was just passable.

On a good note, I just had Papalinos with poblano peppers and it was great. The service was friendly as always.

Dominos. One topping pick-up $7.99. The only other pizza worth the trip is Papalinos. I've declared a moratorium on $25 pizzas.