I used to be a manager for Papa John's on the West Side of Cleveland. This was during my teenage years, and unlike a lot of fast food workers, I never developed a dislike for the product. To this day, I firmly believe that Papa John's is one of the best pizzas available.
Hand-tossed dough, fresh ingredients, and sauce made using a drill and a 5-gallon bucket all add up to create a yummy pizza. On our most recent purchase, we ordered the following:
1 large Sicilian pizza, on sale for $11.99
-pepperoni, italian sausage, salami, and sausage
1 Sweet Treat, cinnamon
Including a $3 tip for the delivery driver, the total was just under $20. Using the handy dandy Papa John's website, I placed the order and paid for it with our debit card, and sat back and waited.
About 20 minutes later, we had a knock at our back door, and our pizza had arrived. We also got a free bottle of Vault pop, which had not been part of our original order. The driver was courteous and as is obvious with the timeframe, fast.
Our pizza was still so hot that the cheese was pulling off the toppings! The flavor was that of any good pizza: the sauce was rich without being overpowering, and thick enough to stick to the dough. The dough had a great flavor, with no bubbles. The cheese was gooey and obviously pure mozzarella. My husband is pointing out the yummy and numerous pepperoncini peppers included in the box, and the now-famous garlic butter dipping sauce.
The meats were cooked through, and were not too greasy. The only complaint I could really point out is that one piece of salami on the top of the pizza was burned... which was promptly fed to the dog.
The cinnamon Sweet Treat was hot, with a cinnamon paste-like topping, drizzled with frosting. When eaten while hot, it is a delicacy. Sweet without being overpowering, it had a cinnamon bun-like flavor, but the thick dough crust balances it so it is not mushy. Overall, it is a great follow-up to the pizza.
With this store, I can only think of a few times that I have been irked. On one occassion, we had ordered parmesan breadsticks, and we received the regular sticks, instead, a $1 price difference. On another occassion, we ordered beef topping on a pizza, and the store called me within 3 minutes of clicking the "Submit" button to tell me they don't carry beef. The representative from the store was very polite, and I easily swapped the errant item with italian sausage.
In all instances, we have ordered online. We have always received our order within 30 minutes, and in some cases, we have had drivers play with the dog. One driver in particular appeared to be stoned... and that driver had also brought us the wrong order. I called the store, and the manager told me he had already caught the error and had just sent out a new pizza with the correct toppings to our house. Aside from having to wait an additional 15 minutes to eat (my husband ate the offending pizza anyway, which we were told we could keep), everything arrived and tasted great.
In all, I would highly recommend this store. The customer service is great, and the food always arrives quickly and is hot. You may get a wrong order now and then, but overall, I think that you will be satisfied.
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