5 best pizza chains in America

Any list that had Dominos at #2 just has to be right:

[Robin Garr]

Great catch, but what an awful Website! Forced ads, forced music, and they want you to click (and get new ads) to see every single entry on the list?

Anyway, to spare us further pain, I finally found my way to a list of the top 25. Frankly, I'm intrigued that Papa John's ranked as high as it did. And Domino's, as you point out. Those just plain aren't very good pizzas.

25) Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom
24) Giovanni’s Pizza Power
23) Marco’s Pizza
22) Pizza Inn
21) Chuck E. Cheese’s
20) Donatos Pizza
19) Hungry Howie’s Pizza & Subs
18) Jet’s Pizza
17) Round Table Pizza
16) Shakey’s Pizza Parlor
15) Monical’s Pizza
14) Godfather’s Pizza
13) CiCi’s Pizza
12) Giordano’s Restaurant & Pizzeria
11) Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant
10) Papa Murphy’s
9) Mellow Mushroom
8 ) Little Caesars
7) Sbarro
6) Papa John’s
5) Uno Chicago Grill
4) Pizza Hut
3) Ledo Pizza
2) Domino’s Pizza
1) California Pizza Kitchen

Any list that had Dominos at #2 just has to be right:

To kick it up another notch, the article linked above contains an additional link to a more robust list of "America's top 25 Best Pizza Chains"

http://www.thedailymeal.com/americas-25 ... -slideshow

Ignoring crap like Chuckie Cheese (#21), CiCi's (#13) and Little Caesars (#8) there are several worthy of comment (or at least inquiry).

Old Chicago (#25) - Personally, I'll put O.C's "Tavern style" pizza up against some of the more popular "indie" pies in town. Not spectacular but really good.

Marco's Pizza (#23) - Hmmmmm....There is a Marco's Pizza in my old hometown in NE Ohio. I always -assumed- it was just some kind of crappy Dominoes/Papa John knockoff (or worse) but the pie pictured in the article actually looks pretty darn tasty.

Jet's Pizza (#18) - Ironically I just "discovered" this place on Shelbyville Rd down the street from the Mauls...Wondered if it was "local" and I just hadn't heard anyone mention it or if it was a "chain" and simply ignored. I think we have our answer.

Giovanni's Pizza Power (#24) - No locations here in the 'Ville but looking at the map of their locations it appears one can't swing a dead cat around Frankfort and Lexington without hitting one. From the photo it appears to be "Garbage Style" (i.e. Wicks).

Donato's (#20) Nothing at all wrong with Donatos, one of the "go to" pies when I lived in Ohio. Closest one to L'ville is Florence.

California Pizza Kitchen (#1) - I get an involuntary full body shudder and shake my head in amazement thinking that -anyone- could vote -anything- with origins in California as "#1".

Jet's is pretty damned good for a Chain....and I *worship* Donatos. Don't care if it's a chain...their Mariachi pizzas are awesome, wish we had one here.

As far as MEGA chains go, Papa Johns, to me, is infinitely better than it's competitors...

[Robin Garr]

As far as MEGA chains go, Papa Johns, to me, is infinitely better than it's competitors...

I respect your opinion, Adrian, but I'm surprised to hear this. I get exposed to a lot of Papa John's in a couple of school and work settings outside the "foodie" world, where people routinely bring PJs to buffets and lunch meetings and such, and as much as I try to approach with an open mind, I just feel consistently disappointed. They seem to me to be bland in both texture and flavor, and the "better ingredients" meme really strikes me as a joke.

Or am I just bringing too-high expectations because I rarely sample PJ's competitors, and they're even worse?

Papa is the worst of the "Big 3" delivery pizza chains around here. Horrible pizza that is 50% crust. Toppings are good, but sauce is bland.

Donato's is very good. But in OH Vic Cassano is still the Pizza King!

CPK earns a spot on the list, those are some really nice pies.

But any list that has both Chuck E Cheese and CPK is a broken list to start with.

When I moved here 16 years ago I'd never had PJ, and I immediately declared it the best chain delivery pizza I'd ever had. Now I can barely stomach it. Did it change, or did I?

When I moved here 16 years ago I'd never had PJ, and I immediately declared it the best chain delivery pizza I'd ever had. Now I can barely stomach it. Did it change, or did I?

Probably a little of both.

And Domino's, as you point out. Those just plain aren't very good pizzas.

Have you tried Domino's in the past year, since they improved their pies? They still can't hold a candle to the locals, but I have to admit that what was cardboard before is now a recognizable pizza!

Also, Little Caesar's has always competed on price among the biggies; they never claimed to be anything other than cheap stomach fillers. They do not deserve to be anywhere near as high as they are.

PJ's does appear to use "better ingredients", but in comparison also use fewer of them than the conmpetition. They are the only chain (I think) that ages their crust, and it truly does taste better because of that (IMHO).

Just noticed that Giordano's is near the bottom of the list.

Giordano's IN GREATER CHICAGO is my absolute favorite pizza of anyone - their specialty is a mushroom and spinach stuffed pizza - thick (as you'd expect in Chicago) and filled with ingredients (NOT crust). I don't know if this is yet another Chicago pie vs thinner pie debates, or if someone started franchising Giordano's outside of Chicago and dumbed down the pizzas (as they did with Uno's, Due's, et al).

With just a couple of exceptions it really looks like an advertising revenue based list to me.

[Robin Garr]

Have you tried Domino's in the past year, since they improved their pies? They still can't hold a candle to the locals, but I have to admit that what was cardboard before is now a recognizable pizza!

No, in fairness, probably not in the past generation. Well, I can't swear to that. Sometimes I think Louisville Seminary lives on chain pizza, so lord knows what I've eaten off of buffets over there. But I don't specifically recall Domino's. It's a fair cop ... thanks, Andrew.

They are the only chain (I think) that ages their crust, and it truly does taste better because of that (IMHO).

Now, that's interesting! By "ages their crust" do you mean some traditional baking practice like starting with a biga to develop as a dough-starter helper overnight? Or keep finished dough in a cool "retarder"? Or something else? Now you've got me curious!

This list just proves that what we've discussed before here (everyone is looking for something different in pizza) is certainly true! I wouldn't put California Pizza Kitchen or Papa John's anywhere near the top of my list! And as mentioned by others some of them that are even on the list such as CiCi's and Little Caesars are only there because of the price point they serve. We also didn't like Jets pizza at all when we tried it, maybe we miss something or is just not our style of pizza?

I haven't had a Shakey's pizza and a long time but they used to be very good if you like a nice and crispy crust! Wish we had one around here to try again.

I guess since Earth Fare (Paddock Shops--Summit) health food store is a small franchise and sells pizza I can officially submit it to the list. I've had their pizza twice now and found it pretty darn good. It is thin crust, NY style and they give a hearty slice for $3 and some change. It reminds me of Spinelli's.

Seems like a number of Jet's locations have popped up around town over the past year. We tried one of their pan pizzas a few weeks ago. It's Detroit-style pizza, kind of a budget version of what Louie Louie's serves. We thought it was pretty good.