Kind of Embarassed, but Thanks Papa Johns!

@Branthog said:

@Atramentous said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Fucking no. NO. Its the Mcdonalds of pizza.

No, no, no. Domino's is the McDonald's of Pizza. Pizza Hutt is maybe the Burger King. Papa Johns is the Wendy's. That is, not as good as a really great slice at your local fine pizza establishment (Hot Lips or Escape from New York in Portland, for example) - but pretty good as far as national fast food / delivery quality goes.

In my experience, Dominos lacks flavor and is kind of dry and card-boardish. Pizza Hutt is pretty decent (good pepperoni), but a little greasy. Probably the most agreeable to buy for a group of people whose preferences you're unsure of, though. I can't recall which, but either Little Ceasar's or Godfathers was one of the worst I ever ate in my life (not that they delivered). I had it one time and it was like eating melted plastic.

Man, I would give anything to live in the hart of NY or SF, though. You can get countless gourmet pizza (not to mention chinese, sandwiches, etc) delivered to your door. Out here, it's just... one of three or four pizza chains and a questionable chinese place. I really gotta get a fucking oven. (It has to be a single unit wall-oven though, which is why it's a hassle. . . and kind of more spendy than I hoped).

Im not sure how John's would be the Wendys of fast food pizza. Its overly seasoned to cover up that its bland and it tastes like they dump a bag of sugar in the gravy. Hell they give you sauce cups to dip the pizza in because they know it cant hold up on its own. I suppose if you dont have better options then its better than not eating pizza at all but I just cant see a situation were there is no local pizzeria with cheaper pizza that actually tastes good.

I am a New Englander, I grew up on New York style pizza and local places run by 4 foot tall Italians or Greeks. Perhaps I am lucky but even though I now live in Indiana I have a place local with great New York pizza.

local hole in the wall pizzeria > Hungry Howies > Papa Johns > Pizza Hut > Little Caesar's > animal kibble > Domino's

Shakey's and Round Table are somewhere in Papa Johns territory.

When I was a freshman in college me and my roommate order Donatos all the time, we had a massive stack of boxes in our dorm room.

@Branthog said:

Man, I would give anything to live in the hart of NY or SF, though. You can get countless gourmet pizza (not to mention chinese, sandwiches, etc) delivered to your door. Out here, it's just... one of three or four pizza chains and a questionable chinese place. I really gotta get a fucking oven. (It has to be a single unit wall-oven though, which is why it's a hassle. . . and kind of more spendy than I hoped).

You are better off then me. When I want delivery I have two options. Dominos and a sandwich shop. The sandwich shop is pretty good but really expensive and dominos is .... well... dominos...

I also live a block from a university. How is it even possible that only two places deliver to a university?!?

Can we all agree that our local pizzerias are the best

@Video_Game_King said:

Can we all agree that our local pizzerias are the best

Eh not really in my city.

Papa Johns, like The Police, is watching you.

I wish Domino's would send me videogames since I make up a good 75% of their business. Not because they're the world's greatest restaurant or anything, they're just the only place that delivers in my neighborhood.

@John1912 said:

@Branthog: Whats the job? Just interested as you can work at home.

Software engineer and tech analyst (lots of random crap in my profile page). I've been fortunate(?) enough to telecommute for the last fifteen years, so it'd be weird working in an office again. Nice having extra hours to sleep or work instead of commuting. Really nice. In fact, it has been the deciding factor in turning down job offers over the years. :)

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

@Video_Game_King said:

Can we all agree that our local pizzerias are the best

Eh not really in my city.

Same here.

The first thing I imagined after reading that was opening the box to find a tiny pizza instead of a blu-ray disc.

@AlexW00d said:

@Branthog said:

If nothing else, it at least tastes like its made of separate actual items of food.

Probably the best you can hope for with fast food. Haha.

I'm not really a huge pizza fan, but I've sampled pizza from some really great places and agree that what passes for pizza in most chains and delivery places is bad. You have to meet a different set of demands when you're catering to discerning pallets that you want repeat business from rather than feeding offices on lunch breaks or high college students or regressed man-children. Really, it shouldn't be called "pizza". It should be something else. Maybe Pyzza. You know, the way they call it wyngz because it's not really made of "wings".

There is a local place that I had the best Hawaiian at, once. They don't deliver, but they had the sweetest pineapple and they were chunks the size of fucking golf balls. They were like suckling on giant fruity testicles.

Probably the best comparison is that chain/delivery pizza is like a hand job. At best, from an average chick. At worst, from yourself. A real pizza from a real pizza place is more like getting laid by the girl of your dreams (the obtainable one; not the one you saw on a magazine or something). Both get the job done, but when you're eating a chain/delivery pizza -- like giving yourself a handjob -- you know exactly what you're doing and that you're just making ends meet.

@cheywoodward2 said:

Papa Johns, like The Police, is watching you.

I spent way too long wondering if you were talking about the police or The Policeor if you cleverly meant both.

It's a shame Papa John's pizzas taste like cancer.

@Branthog said:

I work from home, but I work at night and I typically do about a thirteen hour "shift" at a time. I haven't gotten around to buying a new oven or dishwasher since buying this house last year, either. So, needless to say, I do a lot of ordering out. And most of the time, my brother has lived here (while going to the local university - we're both 1,500 miles from our family on the west coast). Pizza, mostly. Papa John's, mostly.

Anyway, hopefully tons of people had this experience, so that I won't feel like such a pathetic fat fatty fat fat asshat, here.

Despite the more than foot of snow and three degree temperatures, I just went out and checked my mail. There was a package in it. The kind of package videogames tend to come in. Weird. I don't have any outstanding videogame orders right now. Must be something else. Says it was sent from Papa Johns. That's odd. Maybe it's a book of coupons or something?

I open it. Inside is a new copy of Madden NFL 12 for the PS3 and a letter thanking me for being one of their best customers.

That's just fucking crazy.

WHOA.. I've never heard of a pizza place or any other food place rewarding their customers like that. How did they know you were a video gamer also... let alone a PS3 player?

Papa Johns sends me to the John, and I get terrible stomach cramps. Papa Johns has nasty pizza I think. Dominoes has the best pizza, and I sure wish there was one around where I'm at.

@JCTango said:

WHOA.. I've never heard of a pizza place or any other food place rewarding their customers like that. How did they know you were a video gamer also... let alone a PS3 player?

Someone mentioned above that they had a promotion a few months ago where they gave coupons with purchases for $5 off a copy of Madden (way different than a free copy, of course), so I presume that's the relation. As to the PS3...? I wondered that, myself. You would figure most customers would have a 360 so that would be your safest bet. Or send your customers a coupon to get a free copy for the platform of your choice online. Or maybe they only had PS3. Or maybe they just randomly gave people a copy for one platform or the other as they had a supply for?

@Tireyo643 said:

Papa Johns sends me to the John, and I get terrible stomach cramps. Papa Johns has nasty pizza I think. Dominoes has the best pizza, and I sure wish there was one around where I'm at.

Dominoes would have had to make a hell of a quality jump from what I knew of them, but then I haven't had Dominoes for years and I thought I did hear of such a thing, maybe not. Papa Johns is okay and just around the corner almost, but I do 2 other places instead, think they both are at most regional or local chains.

You order a pizza every night...?

Shouldn't they have sent you a copy of Wii Fit or something?

Ha! fat.

It's alright, I give into pizza more than I should too.

@bybeach said:

@Tireyo643 said:

Papa Johns sends me to the John, and I get terrible stomach cramps. Papa Johns has nasty pizza I think. Dominoes has the best pizza, and I sure wish there was one around where I'm at.

Dominoes would have had to make a hell of a quality jump from what I knew of them, but then I haven't had Dominoes for years and I thought I did hear of such a thing, maybe not. Papa Johns is okay and just around the corner almost, but I do 2 other places instead, think they both are at most regional or local chains.

Dominoes had a big campaign a few years ago about how everyone said their pizza tasted like shit, so they went back to the drawing board and made it better, but when I gave it a shot, it still tasted like corrugated cardboard with shit spread on it. Frankly, I don't think they actually did anything to it. I think it was all just an ad campaign and no action (shocker).

By the way, am I the only one who constantly worries if someone making or delivering the pizza has done something to it? Sometimes you get that one bite that tastes off and it makes you worry. Or there's a piece of onion or meat or cheese that just got cooked wrong and that one bite makes you paranoid. That's part of why I tip well (at least 25% - always). I just figure it's the price of (hopefully) nobody jizzing on my pizza. Honestly, I really would not be surprised if I have consumed some amount of jizz with my pizza over the span of my life time.

I feel bad for people who don't live in Chicago/near Gino's East.

@JerichoBlyth said:

You order a pizza every night...?

Shouldn't they have sent you a copy of Wii Fit or something?

No. When there were two or three of us here, maybe three and sometimes four nights a week. With just myself here, probably once or maybe twice a week. Depends on how tired I am and how busy work is. Still, enough to be kind of grossed out at the thought of pizza, most of the time.

@Jimbo said:

A pair of running shoes might have been more thoughtful.

Agreed, but not economically sensible. What a glorious way to invite you in to order more pizza. If they were really smart they would rename all of the players to Papa John's phone number.

@Branthog said:

@AlexW00d said:

@Branthog said:

If nothing else, it at least tastes like its made of separate actual items of food.

Probably the best you can hope for with fast food. Haha.

I'm not really a huge pizza fan, but I've sampled pizza from some really great places and agree that what passes for pizza in most chains and delivery places is bad. You have to meet a different set of demands when you're catering to discerning pallets that you want repeat business from rather than feeding offices on lunch breaks or high college students or regressed man-children. Really, it shouldn't be called "pizza". It should be something else. Maybe Pyzza. You know, the way they call it wyngz because it's not really made of "wings".

There is a local place that I had the best Hawaiian at, once. They don't deliver, but they had the sweetest pineapple and they were chunks the size of fucking golf balls. They were like suckling on giant fruity testicles.

Probably the best comparison is that chain/delivery pizza is like a hand job. At best, from an average chick. At worst, from yourself. A real pizza from a real pizza place is more like getting laid by the girl of your dreams (the obtainable one; not the one you saw on a magazine or something). Both get the job done, but when you're eating a chain/delivery pizza -- like giving yourself a handjob -- you know exactly what you're doing and that you're just making ends meet.

I do think that different restaurant locations (people who perhaps work there) has a little bit to do with pizza quality. I know it's weird, but think of it this way... There is a KFC at my location and they are pretty terrible on their quality of food. In another town that is about 20 minutes away, they have a nice quality of food. So, I think that can happen sometimes.

No matter what Papa Johns I go to though, I tend to get sick. It's not really my fault, it's just that I simply can't handle their pizza for some reason.

@Branthog said:

@mnzy said:

I think the delivery boy loves you and that's how he tells you.

You know, about a decade ago we would order a ton of pizza on game night (when about eight of us from work would gather at my place and play AD&D for a few hours). The delivery person was usually any of a number of very cute college girls or the occasional young dude putting away cash for a new car or something. And now, it's all middle aged to elderly people, presumably trying to make ends meat because of recent financial hardships that we've all seen. Makes me feel really bummed out (and of course I am a nice tipper, because I know it's not fun work), because you like to think that when people hit their 60s or 70s, they spend their time drinking tea and reading books by a fire or playing with grand-kids. Not having to deliver pizzas to ungrateful strangers in the middle of the night.

So, maybe it's one of the elderly male delivery guys? :P

No actually it's the same delivery guys from a decade ago who are still working there lol.

Fun thing about delivery. I order a lot of food too. I was always ordering chicken from the same spot (at least once a week) for a while. I changed restaurant when, one day, I was walking down the street coming back from work and I saw a car slow down. I looked into the car and it was one of the delivery guy waiving at me. He wasn't even working too! It was on his day off and he happened to see me on the street. That fucking creeped me out hahaha.

Did you phone up and yell at them for not getting you Saints Row The Third?

No matter what Papa Johns I go to though, I tend to get sick. It's not really my fault, it's just that I simply can't handle their pizza for some reason.

@Video_Game_King said:

@TheMustacheHero said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Dominos is the best. Papa Johns is..ok at best.

What the fuck? Dominos is OK. I mean, if Dominos is in the room, I'll eat it, but if I'm ordering pizza and the first suggestion somebody gives me is, "Hey, how about Dominos?", I punch them in the fucking mouth because they don't deserve to eat the better pizza I'm gonna order.

Domino's is my last choice. Their breads (cheesy, cinnamon, etc.) are pretty good though. I like their garlic crust but for pizza it's fucking terrible.

Would be awesome if they let you pick from a list of titles though.

So much hate with Domino's. I haven't had Papa John's in a while so I guess I will give them another shot soon.

@coakroach said:

Did you phone up and yell at them for not getting you Saints Row The Third?

Pretty sure no company would be comfortable giving customers a game that features giant dildo swords, they don't wanna end up with angry customers who got offended or something lol

@gale:

Same here man!

@Video_Game_King said:

@TheMustacheHero said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I need to order more pizza. Is Papa John's any good?

Dominos is the best. Papa Johns is..ok at best.

What the fuck? Dominos is OK. I mean, if Dominos is in the room, I'll eat it, but if I'm ordering pizza and the first suggestion somebody gives me is, "Hey, how about Dominos?", I punch them in the fucking mouth because they don't deserve to eat the better pizza I'm gonna order.

This. Fuck Dominos. Papa Johns is the best.

That's pretty great. I usually can't bring myself eat Papa John's more than maybe once a month, but damn are their chicken strips amazing.

Oddly enough, despite this being my first year of college, I have yet to eat at pretty much any of the apparently great local pizza places. Papa John's is good though, for as far as chain pizza goes. My personal favorite would have to be my mom's homemade pizza, but I don't think they deliver down here.

That being said, a free game is certainly a thoughtful (if somewhat creepy) gesture.

@Video_Game_King said:

Can we all agree that our local pizzerias are the best

Big +1 to this

A far Papa John's goes. It's ok, it's chain pizza. They definitely use better dough than Domino's and Little Caesar's. Probably on par or a little better than Pizza Hut. However it is pretty pricey compared to those.

Stuff is way too expensive for me though. If I'm going to drop that kind of cash on pizza I'll buy a local one I know I'll like.

How'd they know you like videogames and have a PS3?