I love being able to order from Domino’s online. I can specify a particular crust, light or heavy sauce, some ingredients on the whole pizza, some on just one half, some on just the other – and they always get it exactly right. The convenience of not having to deal with phone orders is a big plus.
Also, if you’re doing Weight Watchers, Domino’s thin crust pizza carries fewer points than Papa John’s (probably because of PJ’s sweeter sauce).
I think that’s probably less important to Domino’s, since most of their business is delivery.
You personally? You’re quite an important fellow. ;)
Maybe Domino’s isn’t as consistent as we think at different locations. Or maybe it used to be much better than it is now. I vaguely recall not hating it when I was a kid.
But in the last five years, every time I have had Domino’s pizza it has been roughly on the level of cardboard grocery store frozen pizza. I hate wasting food, but I have thrown out Domino’s pizza because it just wasn’t worth it.
In comparison, Pizza Hut is not great pizza, but it is much, much better than Domino’s. At least it gives you the sensation that you are eating pizza.
If you have a craving for pizza, Domino’s will not satisfy that craving. You feel like you had a cardboard pizza substitute.
Domino’s is my least favorite of the big pizza chains but I’ll still eat it and enjoy it if somebody else bought it. As mediocre as they are though, I’ve never had a Domino’s pizza that was as bad as a frozen pizza. I wonder if it’s different in different regions. Or maybe I just haven’t bought the right brand of frozen pizza.
Still, ‘better than frozen’ isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.
Yes, and I can assure you that this has not changed. We have one right near here where you can get one already cooked and ready to go for $5.99. Still not worth the money. Not even close.
I guess I’m a philistine. I find it difficult to believe many of you could tell a difference in a blind taste test aside from Papa Johns because they have that big, airy crust. The others seem pretty samey. I’m not understanding the Little Caesar’s hate. Maybe one is a little greasier than the others, I dunno.
How bad is it that Digiornos is my favorite go to pizza?
I like Domino’s. Perhaps I’ve just never had this fantastic pizza people talk about, pizza that would make all other pizzas seem like corrugated cardboard coated in paste.
I think a lot of it depends on what part of the country you’re in. Where there’s a regional variety of pizza, people in that region seem extremely loyal to it. In Buffalo, the local variety of pizza has a relatively thick crust with a thin crispy layer yet chewy for the most part, a somewhat spicy but sweeter-than normal sauce, thick sliced Margherita pepperoni (not really seen on pizza in the rest of the country; they curl up into little bowls that fill with grease), and a lot of voids in the crust and surface. Pizza is often sold in Buffalo not as small or large, but as “half” and “whole”; when one orders a half-pizza, they’ll literally get one half of a large pizza. Buffalo-style pizza is just as much about the texture as the taste.
The locals swear by it, and think the pizza in Buffalo is the best in the country, to the exclusion of all other varieties of pizza. However, it doesn’t seem to translate well outside of the region; no national pizza chains have originated from Buffalo, and the pizzerias that serve authentic Buffalo-style pizza outside of the region cater mainly to expats; there’s many in North Carolina where a good portion of the Buffalo diaspora has resettled, but few elsewhere.
Meanwhile, pizzerias serving New York City-style pizzas can be found close to the many college campuses in the Buffalo area. Why? Because the Noo Yawkers and Lawn Guylanders that make up much of the student body at Buffalo’s colleges and universities absolutely hate the local pizza with a passion. That’s another reason why the Domino’s where I worked, one of the few in the Buffalo area, did decent business; the downstaters thought it was better than the local pizza, while many Buffalonians thought it was a step above frozen.
From what I heard, Domino’s really is a regional variety of pizza: Detroit-style. Just like a Midwestern accent is considered the modal American accent, Detroit-style pizza is supposed to be … well, the typical modal American pizza. Thus, the large number of national pizza chains that started in the area; Domino’s, Little Caesar’s, Hungry Howie’s, and more. People either love or hate Buffalo-style, New Haven-style, Chicago flat- or thick-style, NYC-style, St. Louis-style, and so on, but Detroit-style seems to be universally tolerated.
Pictured at the top: typical Buffalo-style pepperoni half-pizza.
Like I said, locals think it’s like manna from God, while those not from the region react to it much the same way Dopers react to the thought of a meal at Applebee’s.
FWIW, LaNova isn’t mob pizza. It’s alleged mob pizza. You know you’re getting good pizza when the Mafia allegedly is involved in some way.
I quite like Domino’s (and Eagle Boys, and Pizza Hut) pizza. I realise it’s not haute cuisine and it’s not even close to being healthy, but it’s affordable, tasty, and you can reheat it the next day for lunch if you like. So you actually get two meals for the price of one, which is important for the budget-conscious.
The other thing is that, in my experience, “gourmet” pizza places tend to make very wanky pizzas, with all sorts of weird toppings (no, I don’t want rocket lettuce and pâté on my pizza, thanks) and rice-paper thin crusts.
A decent wood-fired pizza is an excellent “meal out” for two in a bistro or cafe or something like that, especially when accompanied with a glass of wine or imported beer.
But when it’s Tuesday night, you’re tired from work, you can’t be bothered cooking anything, and all the chain pizza places are doing $5-$6 large pizzas, then it’s no wonder that people continue to summon the minions of Pizza The Hutt to satisfy their culinary needs- they know what they’re getting, everyone (except SDMB posters- no surprises there) likes it, and cleaning up afterwards just involves throwing a cardboard box into the bin. Which makes it a very attractive food option for most people at some point or another.
This is exactly me, too, except substitute England with Australia.
I have been to other Pizza places and sampled their wares, often at the behest of friends who recommend their superior product, but as my tastes are somewhat… basic and pedestrian, I still prefer Domino’s.
I wish there was a store closer to where I live, so I could visit it right now; this thread has made me really hungry for one.
I never understood Domino’s myself. It has always been at the bottom of my list and that includes frozen pizzas. Obviously someone likes it. If I had to say something nice about it I’d say it’s chewylicious.
I never got the Domino’s hate. To me it is an acceptable pizza just like any other national chain pizza. Not the greatest in the world, but nothing to complain about.
I actually like Domino’s as well. I tend to stick with basic pepperoni and sausage when I get a pizza, which is greasy enough, so I like the fact that a Domino’s crust is less greasy than some others (I’m looking at you, Pizza Hut).
I’ve had plenty of better pizza in places like Chicago and NY, but for my location (Virginia, just outside DC) and the delivery convenience of Domino’s, I like them just fine.
Plus, I tend to subscribe to the same view as whoever it was that said “Pizza is like sex. Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.”
Hey, don’t knock it. Lately I’ve been buying frozen four-cheese Uno’s pizzas that are much better than any place that currently delivers to us… I’d much rather eat a well-made frozen pizza (possibly customized with a few extra toppings of my choice) than a slab of lukewarm corrugated cardboard covered with glorified ketchup and tasteless pseudocheese.
Domino’s is so clearly substandard that it makes me a little sad when I hear people try to deny it—as if they’d rapturously told me a Twinkie was the best cake they’d ever tasted. If you think Domino’s is good, you *truly *do not know what you’re missing in a real pizza. Yeah, yeah, I know there’s a range of opinion, but come on. Shit is shit.
For me, there are only two fast food places I actively avoid: Domino’s and Taco Bell (although Papa John’s is close to being on this list, too). I don’t understand how people can eat it, much less label it “good” pizza but, hey, the differences make the world go 'round. (For example, I actually quite like McDonald’s, preferring it to Burger King, which tastes like artificial grill and smoke flavor, and even Wendy’s as of late.) What boggled my mind most was the Domino’s in Hoboken, NJ, when there’s an outpost of the awesome Grimaldi’s a couple blocks away, and who knows what other pizza joints I never got to discover because I found myself addicted to Grimaldi’s.
I’m not sure I buy the Dominos/McDonalds comparisons.
When I go to McDonalds, it’s because I’m either within a block of one and in need of cheap sustenance, or I’m hung over and driving by one. It’s rarely Option A, but convenience can dictate.
Pizza is largely a delivery business. It’s no more convenient than anything else. And if you’re so stoned that 30 minute Dominos is better than 45-60 minute <good local pizza> then you wouldn’t be able to tell time anyway.
This thread really made me think of how my situation has changed in the past 25 years. In college, we very often went for the 30 minutes or less delivery. Simply, nothing was cheaper, quicker, or easier. Nowadays, my closest pizza is Giordanos. I often feel I should try some competitors, but I know their phone number by heart and almost always have a coupon . . .
And I don’t understand the hate for frozen za. Sure, it doesn’t compare to a good delivery, but it’s easy to cook, and especially if you add tomatoes and other toppings . . .
