# Papa Johns - How do they manage to make some of the greatest pizza on earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705 "2017-10-13T05:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/21 "2017-10-13T14:45:18Z")
They don’t. They don’t even make the best pizza in town. Far too sweet. Schenectady has dozens of better places; the local one actually went out of business. The rule for pizza is iron-clad: The quality of the pizza is inversely proportional to the number of restaurants in the chain. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/22 "2017-10-13T15:08:51Z")
Papa John’s pizza is pretty lousy, IMHO. However, their sides are awesome. Of the chains, they have some of the best garlic knots and cheese sticks. So, it’s a conundrum. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/23 "2017-10-13T15:29:00Z")
Pizza is nature’s most perfect food. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/24 "2017-10-13T15:32:00Z")
With a beer, it includes all four of the major food groups: Starch, carbohydrates, fat, and alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/25 "2017-10-13T15:45:20Z")
ProTip: Once you’ve received your delivery from Papa John’s, throw away the pie and eat the box. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/26 "2017-10-13T15:45:45Z")
I Live in St Louis, home of the CRAPPIEST style of pizza ever! I also run a “Mom and Pop’s” Pizzeria. We sell REAL NY style Pizza, the only thing missing is the NY city water. Papa Johns sucks…plain and simple. Canned mushrooms, REALLY? FTR…We cold ferment dough (make it three days out), grate our own 100% whole milk Mozzarella, make our own sauce cut and chop all veggies fresh, cook and grind our own sausage and beef… If your ever in St Louis come in and get some NY Pizza, by the slice or by the Pie! Pizza with and attitude! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/27 "2017-10-13T15:49:30Z")
The nicest thing I can say about Papa John’s is that their pizza aspires to be mediocre. The second nicest thing is that it is better than frozen pizza. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/28 "2017-10-13T15:49:38Z")
According to OP’s profile he lives in the St. Louis suburbs. This post suddenly makes a lot more sense because St. Louis pizza is [fucking weird.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provel_cheese) ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/29 "2017-10-13T15:58:55Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > They don’t. They don’t even make the best pizza in town. Far too sweet. > > Schenectady has dozens of better places; the local one actually went out of business. > > The rule for pizza is iron-clad: The quality of the pizza is inversely proportional to the number of restaurants in the chain. We don’t need a “Like” button, but how about a “Ditto” button, except you spelled Schenectady wrong, it should be “A-N-Y-W-H-E-R-E”. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/30 "2017-10-13T16:00:32Z")
I like St Louis style pizza, in that I like the cracker-style crust that doesn’t get in the way of the toppings. Not the biggest fan of provel cheese, but the place closest to us you can choose provel, mozzarella, or half/half. I like other styles too. Just saying I like St. Louis style FTR. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/31 "2017-10-13T16:04:33Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Papa John’s pizza is pretty lousy, IMHO. However, their sides are awesome. Of the chains, they have some of the best garlic knots and cheese sticks. So, it’s a conundrum. I think you may have hit on a law of pizza - the quality of the pizza is inversely proportional to the number of sides on offer ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/32 "2017-10-13T16:12:19Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Most of the other local pizza places seem to have been turned into stupid hipster wood-fired sourdough-crust pizza joints offering only about five pizza choices involving weird ingredients like artichokes and capers. And if you eat at the restaurant the beer selection is all “Obscure Microbrewery of the Week Ale” with extra hoppy froth and whatnot. I’m hoping that this trend dies out quickly. The trend that I hope dies out quickly is the cracker crust and thin crust bullshit. Yuck! > [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > I Live in St Louis, home of the CRAPPIEST style of pizza ever! I also run a “Mom and Pop’s” Pizzeria. > We sell REAL NY style Pizza, the only thing missing is the NY city water. > > Papa Johns sucks…plain and simple. Canned mushrooms, REALLY? > > FTR…We cold ferment dough (make it three days out), grate our own 100% whole milk Mozzarella, make our own sauce cut and chop all veggies fresh, cook and grind our own sausage and beef… > If your ever in St Louis come in and get some NY Pizza, by the slice or by the Pie! > > Pizza with and attitude! I had New York style pizza in New York once and it was horrible. Papa John’s was even better than that and Papa John’s sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/33 "2017-10-13T16:14:20Z")
I was raised with crappy pizza (think: the $1.19 Jeno’s frozen discs) and I really like Papa John’s about once a month. I also occasionally liked Little Caesar’s, until it became apparent that my local store was incapable of cooking the crust thoroughly – nothing like a mouthful of dough with your pepperoni :eek: That said, living at the epicenter of good pizza I also like the regional pies such as the “Trenton tomato pie” and other good stuff. That said, I also like the abomination of pineapple on pizza 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/34 "2017-10-13T16:16:46Z")
I hate their pizza. My son likes it though, and since I usually eat one slice, and he eats four, he usually gets to pick. There are three places I’d pick before Papa John’s. Two are local, and one is Pizza Hut. Actually, there are probably multiple places, but we don’t do much exploring, because the boychik is so enamored of PJ’s. Wait’ll I tell him the franchise gave money to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![witzel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/edb3f5/32.png) [@witzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/witzel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/35 "2017-10-13T16:26:43Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I had New York style pizza in New York once and it was horrible. Papa John’s was even better than that and Papa John’s sucks. I think I’d like to know what you considered to be “New York Style” pizza in NYC. Did you wander into a Sbarro or La Famiglia or a dollar-slice place? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/36 "2017-10-13T16:30:04Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The nicest thing I can say about Papa John’s is that their pizza aspires to be mediocre. > > The second nicest thing is that it is better than frozen pizza. Frozen has better crunch. And no waiting. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/37 "2017-10-13T16:31:42Z")
> [@MinnesotaBorn\_Raised](#): > > I actually filed a complaint with a local chain that has been in business since the 1950s and I brought up to them it’s a massively epic fail on their behalf that they only have around 20 locations…\ Why did you do that? > [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > I Live in St Louis, home of the CRAPPIEST style of pizza ever! I also run a “Mom and Pop’s” Pizzeria. > We sell REAL NY style Pizza, the only thing missing is the NY city water. I grew up on St. Louis style pizza, and I like it a lot. I took my six year old to Imo’s just the other day! He loves it! I lived in New York for a few years and found the pizza I had there to generally be gummy and greasy. YMMV, of course. To be honest, though, I wasn’t in New York of my own accord, and I didn’t enjoy my time there. I’m still kind of averse to anything that advertises itself as “New York style”, because, fuck New York. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/38 "2017-10-13T16:31:43Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Schenectady has dozens of better places; the local one actually went out of business. > > The rule for pizza is iron-clad: The quality of the pizza is inversely proportional to the number of restaurants in the chain. I’m fairly sure, but not 100% sure, I agree with this. Have you ever gotten up north to the Pizza Works in Burnt Hills? They’re worse than any other local pizza joint I’ve had, but still, they’re better than any national chain _except old school Papa John’s._ PJ’s suck now for some reason, but their combo of spices used to be superb. But I have to admit that Pizza Works is better than today’s Papa John’s. What are the better Schenectady local pizza joints? I might try them some time if I am up to visit my mom and for some reason I don’t feel like visiting Jumpin’ Jacks. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/39 "2017-10-13T16:32:00Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > They don’t. They don’t even make the best pizza in town. Far too sweet. > > Schenectady has dozens of better places; the local one actually went out of business. > > The rule for pizza is iron-clad: The quality of the pizza is inversely proportional to the number of restaurants in the chain. To a certain extent, that’s true. Except there are plenty of standalone pizzerias offering lousy food. And meanwhile Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, one of the finest pizza restaurants in the world, has gone from one restaurant to two (but right next to each other) to nine, one each in in Massachusetts and New York and the rest in Connecticut. Meanwhile, the OP’s claims about the superiority of Papa John’s Pizza surely demonstrate his/her lack of taste and good sense. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/40 "2017-10-13T16:34:21Z")
> [@witzel](#): > > I think I’d like to know what you considered to be “New York Style” pizza in NYC. Did you wander into a Sbarro or La Famiglia or a dollar-slice place? I was in NYC and went to a pizza place that wasn’t a national chain and got a slice of pizza, therefore it was New York-style pizza to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705.md?page=3)