The Great Pizza Adventure #13 - Raimondos

Raimondo's is one of those local pizza places that constantly makes "best of" lists so a few years back I decided to give them a try.  Wowee mama!  It was good stuff, and cheap too!  They aren't exactly close to my home or work but they're close enough that once or twice a year I find myself handing over my credit card in their store*.  For $7.99 you get a large 14" generously loaded with toppings.  Good toppings.  And good cheese.  Lots of it.

Okay, enough raving about past Raimondo's experiences**.  The pizza was ready right on time and was piping hot, though oddly not "burn your mouth" hot.  So maybe it wasn't right out of the oven, like it only took ten minutes to cook but they told me 15 minutes.  Are they liars?  Perhaps. 

But before I dig in,  here's the obligatory measurement pic.  As you can see, they are true to their word, offering up a full 14 inches of pizza goodness.  

And now the first bite.  Yum!  Again I'm reminded of the quality and quantity of cheese they put on.  It almost has a bit of a snap or bite to it, but that's a good thing.  The crumbled sausage is hidden under the thick quilt of cheese and seems to be a bit less copious than in the past.  The flavor is good, though, but it's definitely overpowered by the cheese, playing second fiddle.  Did I mention that there is a lot of cheese?  Especially for an eight dollar pizza.

The pie is a bit on the salt size, which I don't mind.  The crust is good as well, definitely having some character and a bit of flavor of its own, though not a lot of flavor of it's own.  It was also both crispy and chewy, like a baguette***.  The sauce is also of a sufficient amount and of a complimentary but not over powering flavor.  Due to the quality of the rest of the pizza I'd be interested in getting a cup of the sauce for dipping next time to see if I can get a better taste.  

Some pizzas are dry and need a dipping sauce but this one is just a step under what would be called "greazy".  Okay, I'm biased.  It's greazy and you want to make sure if you're eating this in your vehicle that you have a napkin handy and on your lap so you don't drip.

Aside from hitting the 14" mark it also weighs in at a respectable 33.9 ounces, most of that probably cheese-heft.

Weight: 33.9 oz

Diameter: 14" 

Cost: $8.41

Service: 8

Crust: 8

Sauce: 8

Toppings: 9 (quantity) + 7 (flavor) / 2 = 8

Value: 10 (24.8 cents per ounce) / 5.5 cents per square inch

                  Overall Score: 8.2

                  Flavor Score: 7.7

An 8.2... this is why Raimondos consistently gets mentioned on "best of" lists... plus it's cheap, which is a very strong appeal for penny pinchers like me.  24.8 cents an ounce is Little Caesers territory!  It's not the best tasting pizza in Fort Wayne but it's up there with pizzas that cost twice as much.  Congratulations Raimondos... I'll see you in about four months!

* But not today... I left my drivers license and credit card at home.  Not that I was planning on eating there... I was just there in October!

** Except that I'm writing about a past experience... I went to Raimondos two months ago but am only now getting around to writing about it.

 *** I'm just making things up.  I've never had a baguette and didn't even know how to spell it.  Thanks spell check!