In the box, a pepperoni, sausage & mushroom pepperoni stuffed crust pizza
By Mike Thayer
I'm not normally a Papa John's fan. They make average pizza. Their sauce runs on the sweet side and their original crust is a bit too 'bready' (thick) and bland. When in the mood for pizza, I usually order local and my local go-to joints just flat out craft a better pizza than the national chains do.
But the local joints don't make a stuffed crust pizza, let alone a pepperoni stuffed crust pizza!
So Papa John's kicked their regular stuffed crust (just cheese) up a notch back in April, here's the description from their website: Just when you thought our stuffed crust couldn’t get more epic. Our original fresh dough is hand-stuffed with our signature pepperoni and melty cheese then baked into a seasoned crust. Finished with your choice of topping.
The aromas after lifting the lid were intense...
Promoted as a limited time offer and the company scheduled to take it off the menu at any time now (most likely the end of the month), I decided to sample this pizza before it's no longer an option. The indulgence of melted cheese and pepperoni wrapped in garlic butter dressed bread without the eventual drag of sweetness in Papa John's red sauce was appealing.
I went with a large pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pepperoni stuffed crust pizza. Let me tell you, this is better than their regular, original crust pizza. This offering is a bit of a hybrid with the Papa John's NY style crust, thin and foldable, but with a stuffed outer edge. That stuffed crust is quite nice, you get pepperoni and melted mozzarella in every bite and dressed with that Papa John's garlic butter, it's a better bite than the main sauced portion of the pizza.
Pepperoni in every stuffed crust bite
Costing me $31.65 with delivery and tip figured in, I'm giving Papa John's Pepperoni Stuffed Crust Pizza 4 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. The stuffed crust portion of the pizza was delightful, complimented by the garlic butter. I ate the stuffed crust first, yes, in Pizza Hut fashion, so the sweet Papa John's red sauce didn't seem so bad... This wasn't exactly a wallet friendly pizza purchase, but it was tasty and satisfied a craving. And although tasty, given the price it is not worthy of a repeat buy.
$pend Wisely My Friends...