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America' diet is based on 3 main food groups, burgers, tacos and Pizza. Most people list 'pizza' as their favorite food. When you are going out for food after a game, it's always pizza. Most popular delivery food? Pizza. Like a moon in the sky, pizza is an ever present part of our lives. So the best pizza in town is an important award. But we don't just judge the pizza pie, but the whole experience- the ambience of the restaurant, the look of the box, etc. etc. This is important stuff! Rico's Pizza
We walked up to the large counter to order, and the girl working there was nice, and helpful. They had the pans nailed to the wall so you can see sizes, and a fairly decent menu. You order, and then just tell them where you'll be sitting, and they bring everything to you. They didn't give me a number or anything, but just found me. I liked that part. The only bad thing about the way they run the place is that there are no refills on sodas.
My fellow reviewers said. "I have a need for
more cheese" and "average crust, nicely Steve's Pizza
Steve's walks a fine line between being a faceless corporate pizza place, and a real home-town pizza parlor. I think they have the right stuff from each category and it works well. The restaurant is nice, clean, and the staff seems courteous, professional, etc. The bathrooms were in good shape. The employees wear uniforms, but they didn't seem like the type of dunces that work at Jack In The Box. They had a real live manager, who came out to make sure everything was fine. It seemed like a very well-run place. But it still had the ambiance of a restaurant where the owner cares about what is going on, and some thought was put into making it look good.
Overall, Steve's was very good. You could bring the soccer team here after the game, but I think it is a bit pricey, and those screaming little kids wouldn't notice the difference anyway. Steve's is a great place for family, and friends- the food is good, and the restaurant is enjoyable. I ended up liking Steve's a lot- just don't tell any of my friends in Davis.
My fellow reviewers said. "Garlic bread was soft, moist, good and hot" "Pizza sauce is delicious" "Pizza is tasty" casa de sapore
Casa de Sapore is not a 'pizza parlor' like the rest, but a regular italian restaurant (with prime rib, t-tone steaks, and baby back ribs for some reason). Because it is a restaurant, it is full service- hostess, waitress, bus-boy, mints with your bill, etc. This was a good change from the other restaurants, since this was just a dinner for two, instead of a strict 'eat it and review it' situation. So, with that said, one of the biggest benefits of it being a regular restaurant is the garlic bread. About 2 minutes after we sat down, they brought out a plate with some hot bread cut into triangles, and a little cup of garlic butter. I'm going to say that while this was not the same as a place like Steve's, where the bread has a lot of cheese, and a dipping sauce, this stuff is very good. Very good, and free too! The bread with the butter actually has a little bit of a 'bite' to it, not spicy, but you can feel something. They will also bring as much as you want. So for the garlic bread alone, this place gets very high scores.
I ordered a 12" pepperoni pizza for myself (co-reviewer ordered tortellini). The pizza was very, very good. Excellent in fact. It had lots of good, stringy mozzarella cheese, and the crust was good and chewy, like a sourdough. There was not a lot of sauce, but enough to add flavor. Between the mozzarella, and the crust, this pizza actually tasted salty, in a good way. My co-reviewer became jealous, and she also ate some of my pizza, which she said was far better than the tortellini. The pizza was excellent, but my only complaint was that the toppings did not extend far enough to the edge of the crust. Luckily I was able to dip it in my co-reviewers marinara sauce from the tortellini that was being ignored. The pepperoni on the pizza was excellent- even my pickiest co-reviewer who ate a piece of this pizza the next morning, said that it was very good pepperoni. Because they use good pepperoni, the pizza was not greasy at all.
My fellow reviewers said. After drinking a margarita, she doesn't talk too much, so no direct quotes this time. Sorry. Bob's Pizza Plus
I ordered 1 slice of pepperoni pizza, a small order of breadsticks, and a large lemonade. The pizza was ready right away (mmm...heat lamps) but I would have to wait for the breadsticks. I took my pizza and lemonade and sat down. My co-reviewer on this trip decided not to have any pizza at all, and went for some fried rice from the asian place. She reported that it tasted just as bad as Bob's pizza looked. Now the pizza looked pretty bad (take a look at the picture) but in some weird, sick, gross way, it actually tasted fine. Not good, but fine. I ate enough pizza in junior high - and this was the exact same stuff. Sad to say, I liked it then (what 14 year old boy doesn't like greasy pepperoni pizza?) and I found it to be quite edible this time around too. I am not going to say this was good pizza! Quality wise, this stuff was pretty gross- but it just had that same taste I grew up on, and my mind must have become accustomed to it. I ended up enjoying it, but not being impressed by it at all. So, if you are walking through the mall, and you don't want to wait for one of those pretzels by Target (why the HECK do they take 5 minutes?) this pizza would strangely bring you back to 8th grade, and occasionally that is nice.
My fellow reviewers said. "Your garlic bread looks like an undercooked pretzel" Picasso's Pizza
Because we would be having a total of 6 reviewers (plus two infants) I was going to order two medium pizzas. But, when talking to Picasso's on the phone, the guy told me that while a medium with 2 or 3 toppings was $8.99, a large with unlimited toppings was only $9.99. Okay, so let's go large! $9.99 for a large pizza with unlimited toppings is a good deal, so Picasso's scored big there. Because we were getting two large pizzas, I did not order breadsticks from Picasso's. Next, I had a problem with one of my co-reviewers not wanting any more pizza, so I needed to order her something else. There is a hoagie sandwich place next door to Picasso's, and they were able to get a turkey sandwich from next door, put it on our credit card, and deliver it at the same time as the pizza. This gives huge customer service points to Picasso's! (I must note though, that the reviewer who initially refused to have any more pizza, ended up eating some anyway...) The pizza came quickly (30 minutes or less) and the delivery guy was very friendly.
The combo pizza on the other hand was pretty good. There were plenty of toppings, which made the pizza very flavorful and it had a good feel. One reviewer said 'not too much, not too little'- so I guess the toppings were about perfect. The crust, while not spectacular, did not have any obvious faults. Most people ate all the way through, without leaving the ends on their plates.
My fellow reviewers said. "Good for big families and college students without much cash to spare." "Pepperoni pizza needs lots of Tapatio" Round Table Pizza When I was younger, I absolutely loved Round Table Pizza. Then I got a job working there, and realized that eating the same pizza every day for a week will just make you absolutely hate that pizza for quite a while. Well, it's been about 20 years since I was fired for drinking beer in the walk-in cooler, so I guess it is time to go back. Because I'm worried that they may still have a 'Wanted' poster on the wall with my picture, I decided to call for delivery instead of going in. We ordered a large pan pizza, half pepperoni, and half Guenevier's Garden Delight. Also an order of breadsticks. We paid with a credit card over the phone, and everything went well- but somehow the driver ended up at a completely different address across town. About 20 minutes after the order was called in, we got a phone call: (by this time I am really hungry) "hello...did you just order a pizza from Round Table" "Yes..." "Um, I'm on your front porch right now, can you open the door?" I look out my front door- and tell him "you're not on MY front porch" "yes, I'm here, with a pizza". I'm getting hungrier by the second, and I am thinking that if there was a pizza within 100 yards, I would know it...so obviously the guy is in the wrong place. After verifying the address (completely wrong somehow) it only takes about 5 minutes to get our pizza.
Round Table pizza is fine. Nothing bad at all, in fact I pretty much like it. Not as good as something like Casa de Sapore, but nothing negative at all. They have made millions of pizzas, so they really have the combination of cheese/sauce/crust down. Their sauce leans towards sweet, and the cheese is mild, but this is pretty tasty. And by now in the tasting process, I liberally dip my pizza in the ranch dressing, which gives it a different and nice character. Round Table, you didn't exactly smite me a blow, but then again I don't think I blew any money either. The pizza is more expensive than Picasso's, but I found it to be much better tasting, and worth the extra $5.
My fellow reviewers said. "Good pizza, I like the pan crust" "Do you mind if I have the last breadstick?" Mountain Mike's
Initially I was a bit afraid of going back- I had been there 4 years ago, and the stomach ache lasted for days. But this was one of the places I wanted to review, so finally on a Saturday, at about noon, I found myself pulling into the Raley's parking lot full of trepadation, wondering if this would be the last pizza I ate. It was a hot day out already, and when I went into Mountain Mike's, the first thing I noticed was that it was just as hot inside. The restaurant was pretty much deserted, in fact my co-reviewer and I were the only customers the entire time we were there. Mountain Mike's is a fairly decent place on the inside. They've got white walls, but there is some stuff nailed to it, to make it a little more homey in an 1849 gold miner kind of way. If the decor is not enough entertainment for you, they also have a big screen TV, and a huge assortment of gumball machines. I did not notice any video games. They also had a self-service drink machine, and a salad bar. They have an all you can eat buffet Monday-Friday 11-2.
The most distinctive thing about the pizza, was the fact that they use really tiny pieces of pepperoni. I must say right off the bat, I did not like the tiny pieces of pepperoni. I'm not sure if it was the flavor, or the consistency, but they just did not do it for me. The crust was crispier than any of the others that I have reviewed, and it was a nice change. The cheese was fine while it was hot, but it seemed to congeal and get strange as it cooled. The pizza was not horrible, but I would say that I actually enjoyed Bob's Pizza Plus pizza more. That's surprising. In fact, if I were to go back to Mountain Mikes, I would eat just the breadsticks and be happy- they were pretty good!
My fellow reviewers said. "It was bland, and not very interesting"
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Rico's
is one of the older pizza places in town, and it has the same feeling
of the places I grew up in - wood paneling, pizza parlor lights, and all.
Most of the signs are hand-written, and usually tell us what they DON'T
do ('no refunds on games' 'no refills on drinks' 'no personal checks')
This is the place that we would go after a soccer game, because the kids
could play the arcade games, there's a jukebox and a TV. They've got over
10 games, all of which seemed to work. And as a huge bonus, there is a
Dance Dance Revolution machine. There are plenty of booths which can seat
about 6 people, and an area of larger tables that can be pushed together.
This place is set up for large gatherings. 
The
pizza came out 17 minutes after I finished the order. The garlic bread
was about 5 minutes before that, but we were playing DDR so we didn't
notice. The garlic bread was different from what I'm used to, essentially
on some sort of roll that looked like a big hamburger bun (but much more
dense). They put a lot of mozzarella, and herbs on the garlic bread. It
was actually pretty good. The pizza looked good, with lots of pepperoni,
and the crust was cooked perfectly. The pizza tasted fine, but not exceptional.
The main problem was that the cheese did not go far enough to the edge
of the pizza, so we were left with large pieces of crusts on our plates.
The pepperoni was plentiful, but with a mild flavor. My assistant reviewers
thought the pizza was greasy, but I didn't think that at all. Overall
good pizza, but not stellar.
First,
let me start by saying I did NOT want to like Steve's Pizza. Steve's started
in Davis, and is somewhat of an institution, and fairly popular. Therefore,
if it's big in Davis, I'd rather it didn't do too well in Woodland. (For
instance, I really don't like Woodstock's pizza, and I'm glad they aren't
in the 'Big W'). So I went into Steve's hoping for the worst, but I came
out of the place with a completely different opinion, and very happy about
it. 
On
this trip, there were 6 of us. (or 5 1/2, since one didn't have any pizza)
We ordered some sort of family special they had, which included a large
pizza (pepperoni) and 4 drinks. The drinks are refillable, and two of
the tasters were very happy to see that they had Hawaiian Punch available.
3 people ordered salad- all 3 were very happily surprised that the salad
bar was very good (one tester who had been to Steve's before, said it
was 'much improved') and seemed very fresh. The only complaint was that
the cucumbers were sliced about 3/4 of an inch thick- they were huge!
The bean salad was excellent, and they had a great variety of salad items,
and dressing. (Like the rest of America, they are pushing the 'Low-carb'
right now)
The
rest of the food (garlic bread and pizza) were both really good. The garlic
bread came with ranch, and marinara dipping sauces. They cut it into strips,
and I believe there was cheese inside. The garlic bread could make a really
good meal for one person. The pizza itself, while not original in any
way, was a very good rendition of your classic pepperoni. One reviewer
said it was too greasy, but she said that about Rico's too- I'm starting
to think she doesn't understand pepperoni pizza. The crust was a medium
thickness, that was fluffy- not soggy, and not tough. The sauce was good,
and there was plenty of pepperoni. While the pizza was not really distinct,
it was a very good version of your typical American pizza.
Casa
de Sapore is the place that used to be Pietro's. Pietro's was always a
place to get halfway decent food in Woodland. For some reason the name
was changed (ownership change?) but everything seems to be exactly the
same on the inside- including the food. I went into Casa de Sapore thinking
the pizza would be pretty good, and it was.
The
decor is somewhat interesting. The booths are a muted green vinyl. Not
quite up to date, but what the heck it's an Italian place in Woodland.
The walls are covered in some wood, and plastic plants and fruit abound.
The service was good, our waitress was nice, friendly, but not annoying
at all. The service you don't notice is always the best service. My co-reviewer
did order a strawberry margarita, which she said was horrible- watery,
with a strange foamy film leftover. So, I would recommend avoiding that.
I
had actually planned on going to 'Cheezers', which is in the mall parking
lot- but that was closed. (Out of business?) So some quick on-my-feet
thinking brought me to the display case at Bob's Pizza Plus. My first
thought was "oh my god, that looks horrible". They had the remnants
of a few pizzas in the case, and not much else. I really wanted to take
a picture, but it didn't seem appropriate. Almost like if your best friend
fell on their bike and got a bloody nose. Yes- a picture would capture
that moment perfectly, but it just wouldn't be nice. The lady that was
working at Bob's that day was very nice, very polite, and very helpful.
She was friendly, and smiled a lot- and taking a picture at that time
would have been rude. Now on the other hand, if the display was attractive,
and looked good, I wouldn't have felt bad about taking a picture at all.
The
other two items I ordered were a little bit of a mixed bag. The lemonade
was really good, but for some reason my co-reviewer did not order her
own drink, and ended up taking a lot of mine. The breadsticks, when they
were done were a different story. First, they looked pretty strange. When
I picked up the plate I thought to myself "this is WHITE". White
cheese, on white bread, on a white plate. The bread was very white. In
fact, the breadsticks didn't seem like they were cooked enough, and they
were soggy, doughy messes with cheese on top. Like a pop'n'fresh biscuit
that was only in the oven for 4 minutes.. But once again, in some sick,
perverse way, they tasted pretty good. Maybe my tolerance for bad food
goes up while sitting in the mall. My co-reviewer, as repulsed as she
was by the breadsticks, ended up eating half of the order- even asking
for the last few bites of the under-cooked goo.
By
this time in the pizza review process, some of my co-reviewers were tired
of pizza (not me though!) and convincing them to go out to another pizza
place was difficult. Maybe it was after being scarred by Bobs Pizza Plus,
they were a little pie-shy. So, we decided on delivery this time. Calling
up a friend, he suggested that we order from Picasso's Pizza in Woodland.
I'd never heard of it, and I figured I would give it a shot.
I
ordered a pepperoni, and a combo (no olives) for review- both on their
standard crust. Frankly, I was a little disappointed by the pepperoni,
it seemed bland, because there was not a lot of pepperoni on the pizza.
They could have easily doubled the amount of meat. One reviewer said that
it was 'a little dry' and could have used more pepperoni. So, they definitely
went light. You can even see in the picture that some pieces only have
1 piece of pepperoni. Maybe for my 'unlimited' toppings, I should have
ordered triple pepperoni and double cheese.
Once
we get the pizza, all goes well. Round Table pizza is not a gourmet experience,
but it is not bad at all either. The breadsticks are extremely greasy
(see picture) but also very good when dipped into one of the sauces they
supply- marinara, and ranch. They actually remind me somewhat of a churro.
Not because they are LIKE a churro, but they just seem to be the "churro
of breadsticks", a little fast-foody, but pretty tasty anyway. 
Mountain
Mike's- what can really be said? 
Their
special was similar to a lot of other places - $9.99 for a large pepperoni.
I ordered that, and a basket of breadsticks. The breadsticks were actually
very good. It seemed like they took a small pizza crust, put olive oil,
butter, garlic salt and poppy seeds on it, and baked it for about
10 minutes. Actually it was surprisingly good. The fact that the breadsticks
came after the pizza was a bit strange, but they were good.
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