4/3/07 Ordered a large deep dish sausage, onion, and mushroom, $26 and a thin slice of veggie combo. I came to Oakland just try the pizza. It has received a lot of good mentions, and to me uncooked dough is not properly prepared food. Some may like a gooey uncooked substance, but this standard for me is unacceptable. What should be gooey is the cheese. Unfortunately this is common throughout the west coast. My first bite of the thin slice was at the wide top of the triangle. My first impression was Wow! But as I continued to chew the gumminess started to make itself known. Darn, I checked the crust and it had a gumline of doughiness. The staff did their best to listen and rectify the situation, but the dough was just not coming out right. Apparently this is how they have been making it for years. So who am I to question California's preference for semi cooked dough. Also their dough did not have much taste. This is very apparent on the thin crust. I will say that the sauce is thick and chunky. The cheese is plentiful. The sausage chunks were very tasty, but I wished there was some in every bite. So when comparing them to 90% of the CA pizza joints, their pizza is pretty good due to the quality of ingredients and the staff's eagerness to please. One more note - on the thin crust pizza, they have gotten in the habit of putting the toppings underneath the cheese. On a NY style pizza I am not sure if this is a good idea. You are trapping in the moisture from the veggies which may contribute to the dough not cooking well. You are also trapping in grease from the pepperoni and other meats which if they were on the top, a loving pizza cook will soak off the grease before serving it to you. If you are looking for a good pizza check my other reviews.
Pros: sauce, staff
Cons: dough, parking
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