Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor - Cedar Rapids, IA

3419 16th Avenue SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
Phone: 319-396-0626
http://www.happyjoes.com/

Sunday - Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.;
Friday and Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Styles of Pizza: Traditional Thin-Crust, Deep-Dish Pan, Chicago-Style
Sauces: "Original", Deep-Dish Pan Sauce, Taco, Italian, BBQ, Alfredo, or Nacho Cheese
Of note: Most locations also serve liquor (helps to deal with the kiddie birthday parties in the next room).

Tasty Tidbit: You say it's your birthday? Happy Joe's believes that all birthdays are special. Let them know and you'll get a giant ice cream sundae for dessert.

Review: My most recent trip to Happy Joe's was about a month ago and I have been putting off writing this review ever since. Why? Simply because I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe what it feels like to walk through the doors and into pizza heaven.

Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor is a fairly common midwest chain with over 60 locations in six states (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin). As a child, Happy Joe's was the first pizza I ever tasted and it's thanks to them that I'm such a zealot today. Birthday parties, family events, and ordinary pizza nights were all celebrated with the help of Happy Joe's. In fact, in the early days of dating my future husband, I took him to Happy Joe's on his very first visit to Iowa. The jury's out, but I'm pretty sure the allure of returning twice a year for great pizza was a primary factor when he proposed.

Recognizing the fact that we have such a long history together, I thought my Happy Joe's review might be a little biased. So, I returned with an open mind, a notebook, and a camera to determine once and for all - is it REALLY the best pizza ever?

The menu at Happy Joe's touts your typical pizza fare, but has some lovely surprises as well. "Traditional" pizza lovers might be taken aback to see such specialty pizzas as Happy Joe Special (ham and sauerkraut), Taco pizza, or a Spaghetti Pizza, but every 'za here is done deliciously.

Our most recent visit took us to one of two locations in Cedar Rapids. Being closer to the airport (and our first stop after we arrived in town) it's not the location we'd typically go to, so I was excited to try my objective review on a new joint. We ordered a large Happy Joe Special, a staple for any of our visits, and a Little Joe with onion, pepperoni and sausage. We got there a little after 1:00, right when the all-you-can-eat pizza lunch buffet was ending, and had our choice of tables. (You read that right - an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. Did I say this is pizza heaven or what?) Soda is served at a do-it-yourself fountain and refills are free and unlimited, so I filled up on Cherry Coke and waited patiently.

The pizzas were delivered in about 20 minutes, and looked (and smelled) as delicious as ever. Real cheese is used and the toppings are always fresh (although some are sure to debate how "fresh" sauerkraut really can be). The large, 16" 'za was cut into 12 narrow slices - perfect for having "just one more piece" no matter how stuffed you are.

The buttery crust was perfect; crispy but not over-cooked. The sauce, cheese, and toppings were all evenly dispersed, not allowing one taste to over-dominate the others. Even my mom, who doesn't like sauerkraut, took a bite and commented on how tasty it was.

I have no complaints when it comes to this pizza, and wish all could be this good. The only drawback to dining in comes when you walk by the ice cream parlor at the end and are too darn full for dessert.

Skeptical? Try for yourself. For a $50 delivery charge with a minimum of three large pizzas (it's cheaper than gas and worth every penny!), you can have Happy Joe's delivered right to your door.

Zippity-do-za,
SupaCoo

Beniamino's Chicago Pizzeria- Denver, CO

*CLOSED*

1 Broadway
Suite 108B
Denver, CO 80203
http://www.beniaminos.com/


Styles of pizza: Chicago-Style stuffed crust, thin-crust “flat pies” and slices
Service: Dine-in / counter, carry-out, take home half-baked pies, delivery

Review: When Westword – our local, independent newspaper – comes out with their “Best of Denver” every year, the first thing I do is check out their various pizza picks. Since SupaCoo has already covered the pick for “best” NY-style pie for 2006, I took it upon myself to check out Beniamino’s, the “thick crust” title winner for both 2005 and 2006.

Located at the corner of Broadway and Ellsworth, Beniamino’s is in a great spot for someone who is hitting the vintage “SoBo” shops, hungry after a movie at the Mayan Theater, or stumbling through the middle of the Broadway Bar Crawl. The restaurant is clean and has an open feel, with maybe a dozen small tables sprinkled throughout. The walls display a mix of Chicago paraphernalia, local concert flyers, and modern paintings.

Ben Guest, the head honcho at Beniamino’s, will proudly let you know that he has received a bevy of “Best Thick Crust/Chicago Pizza” accolades since opening a couple of years ago. He really lights up, though, when he breaks out his 50-year-old, well-worn, deep dish pans. He credits the pans with his ability to make a true south-side Chicago pie unlike anyone else in Denver.

Being a vegetarian, I couldn’t take up Ben’s suggestion to try his favorite combo – any volunteers? – a sausage, spinach, and jalapeño-stuffed crust pie. I have previously tried his “secret recipe” spinach on a “flat pie,” and can’t honestly say I was a fan. Maybe the healthy dose of nutmeg mixes better with the heat of jalapeños. Next time perhaps…

This visit, we settled on a 14” (large) stuffed crust pie filled with veggies. The pizza arrived after the requisite 30 minute baking time in the traditional oven (no conveyor belts here). The high, golden walls of crust contained a pool of sauce that had been ladled on top of the “upper crust.” The rest of the fresh ingredients (olives, green peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms) were all safely tucked away between the top and bottom layers of crust (much like in a calzone), where they retained their moisture and mixed with a thick, soft layer of tasty mozzarella.

The sauce was slightly seasoned, tasted very fresh and “tomatoey,” and had a hint of sweetness. Ben applies the sauce on top at the beginning of the baking. This prevents the upper crust from baking to the same degree as the rest of the shell. Although I was fine with it, a couple fellow Zealots were put off by the variation in crust texture. For a moment, we were trying to determine if the gooey, unbaked top crust was actually a second layer of cheese. The sides and the bottom crust had a nice, slightly buttered flavor and were firm, evenly browned, and light in texture.

The slices of this stuffed crust za are very thick and clearly meant to at least be started with a fork. I had to argue with my full stomach to just let me finish a second piece. This 14” pie (along with some Greek salads and a few bottled microbrews) filled up 4 adults, and there were still a few slices left over for lunch the next day.

Most of us agreed that this pie deserved a “pretty good” overall rating. Clearly, it was the best true Chicago-style za we had tried in Denver…at least up to this point. A devout Zealot’s work is never done.

- Gavin

Uno Chicago Grill: Westminster

9310 North Sheridan Blvd
Marketplace at Westminster
Westminster, CO 80031
303-430-0931
303-430-5975 (fax)
Website

Styles of Pizza: Chicago deep dish, flatbread
Service: dine-in table service, carry-out

Standout Tidbits: Not really any to speak of.

Review: I realize that I have gone on public record as stating that my favorite type of pizza is a big, greasy, foldable slice of New York-style thin crust. However, when it comes to the so-called War of Pizza, the battle of NY-style versus Chicago-style, consider me Switzerland. When I say "pizza tastes good," I don't discriminate against style. It's all about substance.

On Easter Sunday 2005, Robin and I found ourselves returning to Denver from a brief, morning trip to Boulder. We were very hungry and couldn't find anything that was open and not packed with a fancy-dressed, post-church, Easter brunch crowd. Driving past Westminster, CO. we thought we were going to have to resign ourselves to Sweet Tomatoes, a huge salad-with-soups-taters-pastas-and-desserts bar (they also have french bread pizza that will be reviewed another time). Nearby, I noticed there were cars outside "Uno Chicago Grill" so we headed in for some deep-dish.

Pizzeria Uno is credited with inventing deep dish pizza in Chicago back in 1943. It became so popular that they were forced to open a second location just across the street which was called Pizzeria Due. Over 60 years later there are 200+ locations across the country.

Pizzeria Uno now operates under the name "Uno Chicago Grill" in what I interpret to be an attempt to tap into that virgin territory of the major-chain-suburb-neighborhood-bar niche. When you walk in the door, you could be walking into a Bennigan's, Applebee's, Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, etc. The wood may be a little darker, the framed posters may have more of an italian food or Chicago slant, but you get the picture. Simpson's fans can simply think "Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag." A pizza-heavy menu has given way to the standard steaks, ribs, chicken wings, fancy foo-foo cocktails, and crazy desserts fit for a whole family.

Of course we were there for one thing, the pizza. We each ordered a small pizza "for 1." I got a straight-up cheese and tomato sauce pie, and Robin ordered a "Spinoccoli" with spinach and broccoli. I must say that both were delicious.

Uno builds their pies in an order some may not notice or be used to. Instead of going dough, sauce, toppings, and cheese, Uno starts with the dough in the pan, then adds the cheese, then toppings, and finally covers it all with the sauce. True to Chicago-style the cheese and toppings are quite plentiful. Native Chicago-ans will claim that pizza is a meal and meant to be eaten with a fork, and not with your hands, and this pie lives up to that specification.

The crust was very buttery and pastry-like. The oil coating the inside of the pan had made the outer crust slightly browned and crisp while the inner crust was still soft and slightly chewy. The toppings were quite fresh and not overcooked to the point of losing their flavor. The cheese was tasty and the perfect gooeyness. Finally, the sauce was amazing. It was very chunky, without being just tomato chunks, and quite seasoned without losing the full flavor of the tomatoes. Quite often, I have found the sauce on Chicago-style pizzas to be too sweet. This was certainly not the case.

Although the setting wasn't the greatest, the restaurant was clean, the service was good and attentive (how can it not be with only 2 other seated tables in the joint), and the food was exceptional. If there was a location closer to our home, I could see us getting carry-out or even stopping by about as often as we give in to our cravings for Red Robin veggie burgers and shakes (about once every 2 months).

Gavin