# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/141 "2017-10-20T22:58:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > From Wikipedia: > > Schnatter chose to use his business as a springboard for his political opinions. My response has been to eschew his pizza. Fuck him and his pizza. > > There’s a pizza shop near me with a single location, a few decent beers, and excellent food. It’s been decades since I’ve purchased a chain pizza. I never understood posts like this. So you’re boycotting Papa John’s pizza specifically despite the fact you haven’t eaten chain pizza in general in decades? So before Papa John got political in 2012 why didn’t you run out and eat it if his political stances are apparently the reason you don’t eat it? If Papa John renounced his position would you run out and get his pizza? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/142 "2017-10-20T23:20:32Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Eh, I disagree with the whole “It’s a tourist” thing. There’s now 5 Lou’s, 2 Gino’s, and I don’t know how many Giordano’s outside of the Loop/River North. Not to mention all of the small pizza places that also have deep dish. It’s time and labor intensive. They wouldn’t carry it if it was just a tourist thing. Chicagoans like deep dish pizza. But if we say “I want pizza tonight” without any qualifiers, it means thin crust. Yes, I was going to say something, but it depends on what is meant by “tourist thing.” If you’re a tourist in Chicago, you probably want to try the deep dish pizza. So, in that sense, it’s “tourist pizza.” But, yes, of course locals eat it. Like I said above, it tends to be (but not exclusively so) a special occasion thing. In my family, over the last year we may have had deep dish once, but local thin crust a couple dozen times. In my neighborhood, there are at least four places that have stuffed: Giordano’s, Angelo’s, Positano’s, Obbie’s, and then a couple more like the newly opened Lou’s and some other places that I’m blanking on that also have regular Chicago deep dish (which is different than stuffed pizza, but it seems few people notice), but all of those carry non-deep dish pies, too, and the bulk of their sales (outside maybe Giordano’s) is thin crust pie. And even at Giordano’s – at least around here – it’s pretty common to see thin crust being eaten. But, yes, locals definitely eat it, and most of the places outside the loop will be filled with locals. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/143 "2017-10-20T23:31:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Home Run Inn Home Run has the best frozen pizzas I’ve ever had and I can get them here in Cincinnati now. As far as the OP…meh. It’s almost spam levels of adulation for very mediocre pizza. I think the Big Three pizza chains all suck. Pizza Hut is always so greasy, Domino’s seems flavorless to me, and PJ’s slices come with some Republican mojo and bad vibes. There’s a place in Cincinnati that I wish I could get to more often called Ramundo’s that makes great pies. IMO, the best way to judge a pizzerias pizza is by having plain cheese pizza first. It’s like eating vanilla ice cream: not complicated, but when done well, it’s extremely satisfying. Ramundo’s is like that. Link: [http://ramundospizzeria.com/](http://ramundospizzeria.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/144 "2017-10-21T03:07:53Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I think the Big Three pizza chains all suck. Pizza Hut is always so greasy, Domino’s seems flavorless to me, and PJ’s slices come with some Republican mojo and bad vibes. > ] Agreed. If you live in or near a metro area and are resorting to eating at one of these you’re just not trying hard enough. I’m not sure what part of Minnesota the OP is from but if it’s anywhere near the twin cities I can name dozens of better places not to mention the local chains; Davanni’s, Carbone’s, Chanticlear, Broadway, Red Savoy’s, Punch. I lurrrv pizza and I can go the rest of my exsistance without ever eating at the big three. ---
**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 21, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/145 "2017-10-21T03:50:59Z")
If you’re anywhere near a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods they both sell really good, really cheap pizza dough. The key is to take it out of the fridge and let it rest like 2 hours until the bag is about to burst, then stretch it out. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/146 "2017-10-21T04:17:11Z")
As someone who grew up on Long Island, this thread is so disturbing. Papa John’s is abhorrent. It doesn’t remotely resemble pizza. I understand that there aren’t the best pickin’s in Minneapolis or wherever, but to try and compare it to New York and Chicago? Give me a break. Papa Johns isn’t as good as the pizza we got on Fridays in school as a kid, and that was pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/147 "2017-10-21T05:50:04Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’m not sure what part of Minnesota the OP is from but if it’s anywhere near the twin cities I can name dozens of better places not to mention the local chains; Davanni’s, Carbone’s, Chanticlear, Broadway, Red Savoy’s, Punch. Despite the OP’s user name, his profile says that he’s in Salinas, California, for what that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/148 "2017-10-21T07:15:25Z")
> [@Club\_33](#): > > As someone who grew up on Long Island, this thread is so disturbing. Papa John’s is abhorrent. It doesn’t remotely resemble pizza. I understand that there aren’t the best pickin’s in Minneapolis or wherever, but to try and compare it to New York and Chicago? Give me a break. Papa Johns isn’t as good as the pizza we got on Fridays in school as a kid, and that was pretty bad. Yes but do those fancy big city pizzas come with free garlic sauce? The only free toppings you’ll get with NYC pizza are the rat droppings. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/149 "2017-10-21T13:23:07Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > No one like McDonalds either. [I think tons of people, including me, think McDonald’s has pretty good food. I like Wendy’s more, but still.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDTfEhChgw) ---
**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 21, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/150 "2017-10-21T13:28:14Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Yes but do those fancy big city pizzas come with free garlic sauce? The only free toppings you’ll get with NYC pizza are the rat droppings. I’d rather take a gen-yoo-wine NYC pizza with rat droppings than a Papa Johns with all the fixin’s. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/151 "2017-10-21T15:51:32Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Yes but do those fancy big city pizzas come with free garlic sauce? The only free toppings you’ll get with NYC pizza are the rat droppings. Long Island pizzas generally don’t come with the rat droppings, and there are some really good pizza places out on the island…and just as many that belong in pizza deserts like Montana and Idaho, where they can compete with Little Papa’s Dominos. Personally, I only visit NYC pizza places with an “A” grade on the health inspection. It means the graft to the inspectors is fully paid and that the rats leaving their droppings are only eating at the upscale NYC eateries, enhancing rather than detracting from the flavor. Mmmm, truffle oil infused rat droppings. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/152 "2017-10-21T16:10:28Z")
I agree with the OP…for exceedingly large values of “some of the.” ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/153 "2017-10-21T19:56:43Z")
Pizzeria UNO is probably the very first pizza I ever had. Chicago. About 1968. They are a chain now. I still remember the original place. It did make an impression. Looked at the web site - [https://www.unos.com/](https://www.unos.com/) still there after 74 years. Sigh. eta- got date wrong. 1968 ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/154 "2017-10-21T20:06:23Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > If you’re anywhere near a Trader Joe’s or \*\*Whole Foods \*\*they both sell really good, \*\*really cheap \*\*pizza dough. The key is to take it out of the fridge and let it rest like 2 hours until the bag is about to burst, then stretch it out. My bolding… I see the words and that they are together in a seemingly coherent statement, but Whole Foods and really cheap in my experience are mutually exclusive, like matter and antimatter, unless you forgot the adjective phrase “wildly overpriced” in there somewhere. RE the op, and pizza in general…Papa Johns is bland at best, barely rising to the level of mediocre acceptability however is much better than dominos pizza which is greasy cardboard someone shat on. Pizza Hut is acceptable as long as the tomato sauce is ordered “light” haven’t had Little Ceasars in a long time but I don’t recall it being too awful, Papa Murphys can’t be compared because as was pointed out, the bake at home part destroys any hope of controlled consistency. RE new York and Chicago style. Obviously I haven’t had a good slice of either of those because the few times I’ve had pizza advertised as such, it was greasy and nasty tasting and for the ny style, floppy and limp (which is a big no no for me, pizza should NEVER require two hands or a knife and fork to eat) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/155 "2017-10-21T21:35:13Z")
> [@DMGuy](#): > > Amen…as a native Chicagoan who has moved away, I’m constantly informing friends/co-workers that deep dish pizza is more of a tourist thing…the vast majority of pizza sold to locals is thin crust. With sausage…gotta have sausage on any Chicago pizza. \*The Art of Pizza \*on Ashland has deep dish and stuffed slices every day. I have no idea if they have a thin because their deep and stuffed are so good. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/156 "2017-10-21T22:43:47Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Pizzeria UNO is probably the very first pizza I ever had. Chicago. About 1968. They are a chain now. I still remember the original place. It did make an impression. > > Looked at the web site - [https://www.unos.com/](https://www.unos.com/) still there after 74 years. > > Sigh. > > eta- got date wrong. 1968 It actually isn’t a chain. The Uno and Due in Chicago are the only examples of the original restaurants. The Uno Chicago restaurants license only the name, not the recipe. ---
**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 22, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/157 "2017-10-22T00:03:18Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > It actually isn’t a chain. The Uno and Due in Chicago are the only examples of the original restaurants. The Uno Chicago restaurants license only the name, not the recipe. And the pizza frankly shit compared to the original. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/158 "2017-10-22T00:57:17Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > It actually isn’t a chain. The Uno and Due in Chicago are the only examples of the original restaurants. The Uno Chicago restaurants license only the name, not the recipe. I’ve not been to Due, but my wife and I found Uno to be the dullest pizza in Chicago. The sausage was as bland and tasteless as tofu. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/159 "2017-10-22T04:20:31Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’ve not been to Due, but my wife and I found Uno to be the dullest pizza in Chicago. The sausage was as bland and tasteless as tofu. Uno and Due are fundamentally identical restaurants – same menu, same owners, a block apart. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-how-do-they-manage-to-make-some-of-the-greatest-pizza-on-earth/798705/160 "2017-10-22T05:02:02Z")
> [@MinnesotaBorn\_Raised](#): > > I actually filed a complaint with a local chain that has been in business since the 1950s How does one “file a complaint” with a restaurant? 😕 [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=7) [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=9)