What makes the best slice?

Ordering a pizza has become the solution for many occasions. Maybe you’re too lazy to cook, the babysitter is coming, or your kids are having friends over. Maybe you’re having a birthday party or enjoying a pool party. There are so many pizza chains that people tend to stick with what they’re familiar with, or, let’s be honest, what’s most convenient to get to them.

Another option is to grab a pizza from Costco. With more than 600 locations nationwide, the popular warehouse club actually ranks among the largest pizza purveyors in America. Depending on your topping choices, a huge 18-inch pie from the retailer’s food court is a bargain at $9.95 or $10.95. Even if you have to pick it up, you can call ahead or place your order and still purchase everything you might need.

Most would agree that Costco pizza is good in a pinch, but how does it compare to pizza chains that have become ubiquitous with takeout pizzas?

To find out, I ordered pizza from four popular chains – Domino’s, Papa Johns, Pizza Hut and Little Caesars – and also grabbed a pie from Costco. I ordered each pie with half cheese and half pepperoni to test how they all fared with the two most popular varieties. Pizza Hut did not respond to my request and sent me a whole pepperoni pie instead. So I had to peel off the meat slices so they were part plain and finish this test.

I also enlisted the help of the best fast pizza connoisseurs I know, a bunch of teenagers. They communicated their feedback with words like “average” or “bet”, but they had strong opinions on what was best and also matched my views pretty well.

As with any food, location matters, and my local Domino’s may make a better pizza than yours, or the adorable pizza maker at Costco today may not be the same one making our pizza next week. This is important, but the characteristics of the recipe (cheese, sauce, dough) must remain relatively similar from one place to another.

Without further ado, here’s how these pizzas ranked in descending order, from my least favorite to the best of all.

Little Caesars

Nutrition:
Pepperoni (for 1 large classic pizza)
Calories: 2,300
Fat: 97 g (Saturated fat: 42 g, Trans fat: 3 g)
Sodium: 5,050 mg
Crabs: 250 g (Fibre: 13 g, Sugar: 19 g)
Protein: 109g

Growing up in the Detroit area, where Little Caesars originated, I ate a lot of that pizza as a kid and even sold the chain’s pizza kits for school fundraisers. So I was very disappointed to discover Little Caesars as an adult. This particular pie didn’t live up to my childhood dreams at all. At the same time, it didn’t hurt my wallet as much as some others. This pizza only cost me $7.

The look: Slightly inconsistent in how the sauce and cheese were distributed, with some parts having a large portion of gloppy sauce uncovered by the cheese, but this pie had nice brown spots on the cheese and a golden crust.

Taste: As one of the boys said: “That one didn’t hit well.” The sauce was extremely spicy, so much so that it was all you could taste in some bites. The crust was soft and breadier than other versions and the cheese was just okay. The pepperoni was tasteless. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will order this again.

I’ve tried the classic pepperoni pizza at Domino’s, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut and it was the best!

Pizza Hut

Nutrition:
Hand mixed pepperoni (per slice)
Calories: 300
Fat: 12 g (Saturated fat: 6 g)
Sodium: 590 mg
Crabs: 34 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 2 g)
Protein: 13g

I may be dating myself here, but remember the old Pizza Hut buffet? This is what dreams are made of! Unfortunately, this reference is completely lost on younger diners. None of the kids who helped me taste these pies had ever eaten at Pizza Hut before and they were super excited to try. I could only get it delivered to my house through GrubHub, which was annoying and expensive (the extra fees alone were a drag). The 14 inch pizza itself cost me $24.74.

It was a tough decision whether to rank this pizza before or after Domino’s. Some tasters were big fans, some weren’t, but I think the two were pretty darn close.

The look: Slightly thinner than some other tarts. The crust wasn’t as uniform as the others. It looked a bit like the kind of pizza you’d find in a cafeteria line.

Taste: “Like school pizza,” is how one of my pre-tasters described it. I’m not sure this should be considered a terrible comment. It was definitely the sturdiest of pies with a bread-like crust. However, the sauce was very heavy, which is not something I personally like on my pizza. I wouldn’t count it completely, but for me, Pizza Hut didn’t top the bill.

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Domino’s

Nutrition:
Hand mixed pepperoni (per slice):
Calories: 290
Fat: 12 g (Saturated fat: 5 g)
Sodium: 570mg
Crabs: 32 g (Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 1 g)
Protein: 11g

Yet another Michigan chain that I grew up with! Domino’s still seems to be a fan-favorite chain. I would say the person making my pizza might want to turn the oven down a bit, but that’s probably an anomaly. This pizza cost me $16.68.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: Pretty well done. Another minute or so, and it probably would have been overcooked. This one, however, had a nice golden crust.

Taste: Domino’s boasted the tastiest pepperoni in this survey: not too salty with a good amount of spice. The crust of the pizza smelled of garlic salt and some pieces were slightly too salty, but it gave a nice flavor. The sauce here is very tomatoy. Overall, this pizza was definitely overdone but at least it didn’t taste burnt.

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Costco

Nutrition:
1/2 whole pepperoni and 1/2 cheese (per order)
Calories: 4,080
Fat: 162 g (Saturated fat: 84 g, Trans fat: 35 g)
Sodium: 10,440mg
Crabs: 453 g (Fibre: 42 g, Sugar: 33 g)
Protein: 224g

You can think of Costco as the most convenient or least convenient place to buy pizza. Unlike every other chain, the warehouse club food court does not deliver. If you live nearby, this may not matter. Picking up this one was easy, I placed an order at the kiosk when I got to the store, did my shopping in 15 minutes, then picked up the pie hot and ready on the way out.

However, there are times when I run out the door and order pizza for my kids, a situation in which I wouldn’t want to run to the store. So that’s definitely a plus and a minus. For size, though, you don’t beat this price anywhere. The entire pie cost me $10.65. Most of the large pizzas at other places were much smaller and cost almost twice as much.

The look: By far the most in the toppings department, both in terms of cheese and pepperoni. A little less top crust than some of its competitors and the slices were longer. It’s definitely a “softer” pizza, as my husband said. When you pick it up, it’s hard to hold all the weight of the cheese and toppings. Like everything at Costco, it’s big or go home. This pizza probably had more cheese and pepperoni than the other pizzas combined.

Taste: Some said the first few bites were great and then it wasn’t, and that’s probably due to the amount of stuff on the pizza. One slice here is two and if you don’t like cheese you’ll want to look elsewhere, it’s almost like a double layer of cheese. The dough is a little soft and the sauce is nice and sweet. The pepperoni here also ranked well.

Papa Johns

Nutrition:
Pepperoni (for 1 large slice):
Calories: 320
Fat: 13 g (Saturated fat: 6 g)
Sodium: 810 mg
Crabs: 38 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 5 g)
Protein: 12g

I’m not afraid to admit that Papa Johns breadsticks are a guilty pleasure of mine, but I don’t eat pizza often. However, it’s a must-have for my kids and I appreciate the number of coupons the chain often offers. Although some of our middle picks received mixed reviews, this was hands down the favorite cake of everyone involved. It had just the best balance of cheese and sauce and a great crust. This pizza cost me $20.99.

The look: A nice thick upper crust with a thinner undercarriage. The coverage was uniform. The cheese had nice brown spots without looking overdone. The crust looked nice and soft.

Taste: Everyone loved the crust of this one. It had a nice chew to it and had a more defined crust than some of the other pies. The sauce to cheese ratio was balanced and the sauce was not too strong. Although the pepperoni wasn’t our favorite, it wasn’t tasteless like some of the others. Papa Johns also had a secret weapon in their garlic butter sauce that seemed to elevate the pizza even more for some of these boys.

Even though Papa Johns was the big winner, it’s remarkable how well Costco fares against true pizza chains. The food court option probably won’t win the World Pizza Championship anytime soon, but it compares quite favorably to many of the biggest names in the business.