Sadly, we do not have a Papa John’s pizza in our area, but last weekend I made a point of stopping at one a few towns over because they’re running this special where if you buy a regular pizza you get a cinnamon dessert pizza free. (Yeah, yeah; they always look better on TV than they actually are, but it was still yummy. 
)
The regular pizza, though, was sooooo good. It was all I could do not to stuff the entire thing in my mouth all at once.
I’d forgotten how much I love Papa John’s. (I haven’t had it, I don’t think, since the Romantic Times convention in, like, 2001 or some such. I know! 
) The sweet sauce, the fresh mushrooms, the soft crust… I’m thinking of either buying into the franchise & building one right in my back yard or renting an apartment so I can live closer & eat it all the time—breakfast, lunch, & dinner. And there’s a very good chance I’ll be ordering another to get me through this weekend. 
I know a few people, however—obviously mentally unstable people 
—who do not think Papa John’s is the greatest pizza ever made. (Don’t worry, I’ve notified the proper authorities. Men with white jackets & access to very powerful elephant tranquilizers are on their way. 
)
And that got me to wondering what your favorite pizza is.
So here’s a fun poll to see what kind of pizza we would most likely have to order if Mistress Heidi ever decided to throw a party in The Dungeon. (It’s going to be Papa John’s, but pretend for a moment you get a vote & let us know what kind you’d like to have. 
)
Definitely my local pizzerias. At work that’s either Mellow Mushroom or Pizza Perfect and at home, Sal’s Pizzeria. My favorite all time pizza places are Sal’s in Nashville, John’s Pizzeria [on West 44th] in NYC and Mystic Pizza in Connecticut.
Even though Papa John himself graduated from my high school (he started Papa John’s in a closet at his dad’s bar) I had to go with Domino’s since I LOVE their hand-tossed dough. There is also a local fave I could have went with as well called Wick’s (if you could see the names of some of their menu items–Mistress Heidi would so approve).
Now if I were to be offered PJ’s I’m not about to turn it down. Un Uh! No Way.
Hey, What about homemade pizza?! Every Friday night is an open invitation to my friends for hand tossed, home made pizza… yummm!
One of our local little Places is Theresa’s Pizza and they have great pizza.I like Papa Johns too, I just love pizza of any kind. Dee you are a pizza expert even have your faves in different cities…. you go girl…
Of course being from Louisvile, KY (where Papa Johns is based) I had to go with Papa Johns (and well I honestly just love PJ)…but sometimes nothing beats a frozen Totino’s pizza…yum! Now I want pizza! Is 9:20 am too early to order?!
Yup, Papa John’s is #1 for the national chains, but when I’m in the mood, I do love Pizzaria Uno. (I miss Wisconsin where they’d have it frozen in the grocery stores!) And I do have to admit, I grill a pretty good pizza. Someday I’ll have to throw a dungeon party and have you all over!
And Heidi? There’s a Papa John’s just a few miles away from the hotel in Nashville. Maybe to get you to watch P&P, Marilyn and I will start with a few Papa John’s pizzas (extra garlic dipping sauce!)
For personal reasons, I’m boycotting Domino’s so they don’t even come close to getting a vote. But we do have a couple of great local places around here that make yummy pizza. Sarina’s & Scotto’s (that’s two separate places in two different towns, btw, not one place with a mom & pop name
), & sometimes even our local grocery store, believe it or not. I just depends on what kind of pizza I’m in the mood for. But right now, my heart belongs to PJ’s. I love their sweet sauce & fresh mushrooms. 
Ah, Miranda, I envy your pizza-making skills. I don’t possess them, unfortunately. Once in a while I do make a pizza from scratch, they never really taste as good as the bought stuff. Altho they’re probably much healthier, since when *I* make one I cover it in carrots & broccoli & such.
Emily~ Yes, yes, sometimes a frozen pizza hits the spot. Like I said, it depends on what you’re in the mood for.
I can’t eat chain pizza…..I also can’t eat at chain Italian like Olive Garden. I grew up in Little Italy and refuse to settle. Never had chain pizza I thought was really good, just okay. Frozen pizza is out of the question.
Oone of our fave pizza joints is a local place called Colombini’s who make awesome white pizza. We get white pizza with artichoke hearts, prosciutto, chopped tomatoes and red onion. Delish.
For a more traditional pizza, we call up to another family owned place called Carbone’s which has fantastic sauce. We always get extra cheese, black olive and Italian sausage (which they make on site) that is to die for.
So sad for you Heidi. If you saw on Twitter on live in a town that saw fit to vote Dairy Queen best dessert (aiiighhh!! my taste buds are crying!) which means, we are incredibly podunk. Even with that we have two, counte ‘em, two Papa Johns. And I like them, particularly the garlic butter you can dip the crust in.
But, being that this is the Pac NW, I like our weirdy weird local Pizza place that has crazy pizzas with chicken homemade sauces and stuff. Also, we have a local place that’s great if you just want pizza to watch football with, crunchy crust, lots of black olives and meat.
Dangit. Now I DO want pizza and my hubby can’t eat dairy for another two weeks so I can’t because he’d curl up and die.
Heidi…you crack me up. I have never had a Papa John’s pizza..now I got to head to town. I like Round Table Pizza, but heard they are going out of business…
Our favorite place is Bruno’s…it is soo yum! I gave up my diet on my bday for that pizza!! But the kids like PJ’s!! especially the grease sauce…when we get that i eat the pepperocinis!!
Emily are you still in Louisville?
I’m just across the river.
Papa John is branching out into the sandwich business with a restaurant called Calistoga (I think), it’s a high-end type/fancy deli, but from what I’ve heard it’s really good.
Here are some of the menu items from the local place that I like that has some naughty sounding names:
Stuffed Breadwick
Wick-a-Dilla
Wicky Tenders
Their speciality The “Big Wick”
Wickety Chickety
and my favorite: The MIGHTY MEATY WICK
Okay–I’m a bit stressed but the menu items above are not from Papa John’s new business but the local pizza place Wick’s.
The Mighty Meat Wick? Oh…dear…wow. Sounds…phallic. And tasty! The two are not, after all, mutually exclusive.
I know Maisey. The first time I went there, I got a real bad case of the giggles reading the menu.
Wicky tenders just sounds…rude. Like hey man you got the wicky tenders or what?
Glad to know I’m not the only one with the dirty mind, Laura.
mighty meaty wick…yeah…my mind went there.
Barb, I’m by no means an expert at all…I just know where the good pizza places are by luck, word of mouth or actually going there for work lunches.
I’m with Grace. While I have eaten chain pizzas more in my college and later years, I did grow up on the mom and pop local pizzeria [Dunwoodie Pizza] which was right across the street from the church I attended as a child. I do eat chain Italian from time to time but nothing beats the cooking of my relatives [my mom, cousin Sharon and my aunt Ginetta]. When it starts hitting December, I start dreaming about the Christmas Eve seafood orgy…
And now I’m horribly off topic but very hungry
If our waiter had been good looking there is no way I could have ordered the mighty meaty wick with a straight face.
I remember I was at this restaurant that had a jumbo shrimp cocktail in a glass and it looked so phallic shaped.
Oh Dee……and toasted pannetone with espresso.
My dad’s cappuccino…
To this day we still do a custom that my dad himself participated in as a little boy. On Christmas Eve, we all leave little notes under my dad’s plate and he reads them and gives us a special little treat. When he was younger, it was candy…but these days he gives us cash. It brings him so much joy that we don’t want to stop the tradition.
It’s like the BK seven incher. I’d love to go to the counter and say to the pimply kid working the register ‘I need a seven incher.’
http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/06/24/burger-kings-super-seven-incher/
Maisey, you just reminded me of something I heard on my favorite morning radio show. They were discussing some sort of make your own pizza oven and Kidd Kraddick, the main DJ on the show, says “If anyone says they need more than 12 inches, then there’s something wrong with you”.
That’s my job, Jennifer. I’m here to amuse.
Oy. So much for Burger King being kid-friendly, huh?
Those are great, Laura. Can’t tell me they didn’t know what they were doing when they came up with those names, tho.
But when it comes to the PJ’s garlic dipping sauce, I have to say… ick, phooey, yucky, poo. No, thank you. I actually wish they wouldn’t stick it in there, cuz I just toss it on the compost heap & recycle the container, but in order to do that, I have to *gurgle* touch it. Blech.
Burger King stopped being kid friendly around the time The King showed up. That guy gives me nightmares. Connected to the blow jobby goodness of the seven incher? *Shudder*
Yeah, anyone who needs more than twelve inches…oh my.
LOL..First off, I have to say I am a Papa John’s virgin…but in my defense I live in a town with exactly 1 stop light! However, we went down to Kalamazoo (in Michigan) for my daughter’s cheerleading competition and had THE BEST PIZZA EVER!!! A place called Godfather’s Pizza. I don’t even like cheese but I was oohing and ahhing over this delightful pie!
Maisey…you crack me up! I remember when I worked at McD’s and the toy of choice for the happy meal was from toy story. Girl comes up and orders her food and asks for a kids meal for her son. Before I can ask anything else, she says “for the toy give me a Woody” LOL. We both cracked up laughing.
Hey, I see you guys are talking about one of my fave food groups…pizza…yep, I said fave food group.
I used to like Dominos, but I am just not into them much any more.
When growing up in NYC, I used to love Ray’s Pizza, and slices from any of the local spots. They were always delicious. I also like Pizza Hut deep pan pizza. I must admit, I have never had Papa Johns.
I don’t cook much, much less make pizza, but I don’t mind eating at all. I hope you all have a great night.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
Laura J – Yes, I’m still here! Working downtown as we speak (or type I should say!)
Danielle~ That is toooo funny.
Sounds like something I would do.
And everyone who hasn’t tried Papa John’s pizza yet, you must. In fact, consider it an order passed down from Mistress Heidi. Get thee to Papa John’s ASAP…then come back & let us know what you think. Go! Now! Do it!