I’m lucky enough to live in New York City, meaning I can pretty much get great pizza any time I want it. There are no shortage of mom and pop shops in this town (particularly in Brooklyn and the Bronx) that have pizza that other places around the country can’t even imagine, so it may come as a surprise to you that I enjoy the national chain pizza joints, also. Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut are also crave favorites. Why? Well, mainly because they are different kinds of pizza than what you would get at a local place (at least in New York City). Sometimes you need to scratch an itch, you know?
Domino’s has been the butt of a lot of jokes for a long time for the quality of their pizza and the ingredients they use to make it. In fact, the criticism reached such levels that Domino’s decided to scrap the old recipe and make a new attempt at pizza. Here’s the video they posted on their YouTube account explaining what happened and what started the process.
So the question, of course, is how does it taste? I wanted to know, so I got a regular hand-tossed pie with just cheese on it last Sunday to see for myself. Let’s talk about the three “points of improvement” in the new pie.
1. The crust: Domino’s old crust was crap. In fact, the only crust I enjoyed was the thin crust, which turned their pizzas into, essentially, a snack food. Domino’s claim is that they seasoned the crust with garlic and parsley, baked it in, and that it provides a better experience. My opinion? They’re right, but with a caveat. The only place you really taste the difference is the crusts (ie: the “bones.”) Everything else tastes the same, mainly because the sauce and cheese overpower the hint of seasoning in the mix. In the end, it’s a really small and barely noticeable difference. The bones, however, are a lot more fun to eat, and bear a striking resemblance to their bread sticks. The seasoning stands out when not overpowered by the sauce and it’s actually very nice.
My biggest problem with Domino’s crust, though, has never really been the flavor; it’s the consistency, and this new recipe does very little to change that. It’s just not pizza texture; it’s almost bread texture. Too soft, too floppy, and too thick. It’s nice that they improved the flavor, but I would’ve been happier if they improved the texture.
2. The sauce: This is usually the make or break part of Domino’s. For some, the sauce was already too spicy. For those people, I say move on. You won’t be happy. This sauce has a seriously strong kick to it. The added red pepper makes it a much spicier than normal flavor, and it almost tingles on the palate. I personally don’t mind that, but if spicy isn’t your thing, this won’t cut it for you. Definite improvement, much bolder flavor, and the increased sweetness they achieved is outweighed by the kick of the red pepper. Well-played.
3. The cheese: God only knows what they were putting on their pizza before, but that being said, the new cheese blend is good. It doesn’t really taste that much different; just a hair sharper (most likely due to the introduction of provolone into the mix) and it does have a more Italian-cheese flair to it. It’s not overwhelmingly better, but it’s a nice improvement over the old blend of whatever processed cheese they put on the pizza.
Overall
The bottom line is simple. If you didn’t like Domino’s before, you probably won’t like them now. It’s not different enough to turn people around. If you were on the fence, this will definitely improve your perceptions. If you’re a fan, you’ll be a bigger fan.
In the end, the changes are noticeable, but small. You won’t be jumping for joy and singing its praises, but it’s nice to see that they took the criticism they got to heart and did something about it. If they improve the texture of the crust, I’d appreciate it more than all the other changes they made. Even without that, though, it’s worth another try. It’s not as revolutionary as they’re making it out to be, but you probably won’t be disappointed, either.