From left, Red’s Savoy doesn’t skimp on toppings, Little Caesars meets expectations and Marco’s Pizza is a solid pizza night player.
Holy toppings. Never have I seen such a crazy toppings-to-crust ratio on a pizza than on the veggie version from Red’s Savoy, just outside Minneapolis. The Minnesota-based franchise boasts a “Sota-style” pizza, which is typically associated with piles of toppings, thin crust and a signature square slice. The specialty veggie pizza at Red’s came with green peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, red sauce and cheese. The pizza stayed warm in its box despite the cold drive home. The pizzas come in two sizes: regular (10-inch) and large (14-inch). For the veggie, the regular size was $16 and the large was $26. The other signature pizzas were about the same price, give or take a couple bucks. At first, $16 felt pretty steep for a 10-inch pizza, but after eating a piece with all the toppings, one slice at Red’s felt like two at any other spot. The brand’s signature thin crust is a winner. There’s no thicker option, although you can order yours “well done” for a crunchier bite.
The upshot: Piles of veggies from Red’s make its offering stand out, though it’s unclear if the 19-unit concept’s Minnesota-style pizza will catch on outside the state. —E.W.
Somehow a first-time Little Caesars customer, curiosity about the brand’s Pizza Portal was the catalyst to order pickup from a Minneapolis location. Introduced as self-service mobile order pickup stations in 2018, the Pizza Portal’s promise of hot and ready pizza was truly tested by Minnesota’s winter weather. The cheesy goodness was indeed hot when I got it out of the portal. The process was also super easy. After a day of hard work, the fact that no human interaction is needed was a massive plus, and a simple online order results in a three-digit code used to access the portal’s individual slots. While in transit the signature Detroit deep dish pizza with pepperoni lost some of its fresh-outta-the-oven hotness, but after a quick reheat the cheese shined and was a lot more indulgent and stretchy. The crust didn’t wow me, but it didn’t disappoint, either, and same goes for the predictably bland sauce.
The upshot: All in all, at $8.99 for eight slices, Little Caesars doesn’t exceed expectations but delivers at about the level you’d assume for that price. Average yes, but certainly not offensive. —M.G.
Frigid Minnesota temperatures meant the simple pepperoni pie and order of cheese bread from Marco’s Pizza lost much of their heat traveling home from the small strip mall store, but there’s only so much a cardboard pizza box can do. Overall, Marco’s is on par with its larger competitors such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s, both in experience and food quality. The pizza was on point, with even pepperoni distribution on each slice, plus a satisfying amount of cheese and a nicely baked crust. Certainly not the fanciest pizza out there, but it does the trick for dinner. The pizza sauce even had bit of a tang to it, making it somewhat different compared to its counterparts. The prices were reasonable, too: $15.49 for the large pizza and $6.49 for the cheese bread. The online ordering experience is easy, with an accurate pickup time, and at the store friendly employees seemed in good spirits as they hung holiday decorations.
The upshot: Comparable in quality and price, Marco’s, with more than 1,100 locations and growing, is a solid alternative to mix it up from the usual Pizza Hut, Domino’s or Papa Johns. —M.L.